Hachette Cements Its Place in the U.S.

The five largest trade houses in the U.S. generated total revenue of $4.44 billion in 2006, according to PW's latest estimates. The major change in the ranking of the largest publishers was the addition of Hachette Livres, whose purchase of the Time Warner Book Group moved the French company to fifth place among the trade houses, replacing Time Warner.

The TWBG purchase also moved Hachette past Random House in worldwide book revenue. According to parent company Lagardère, Hachette Livres had total sales of 1.97 billion euros ($2.59 billion) last year; worldwide revenue at Random, according to parent company Bertelsmann, was 1.95 billion euros ($2.55 billion). Unlike Random House, however, which publishes only in the trade segment, Hachette's global operations publish in a variety of segments. While trade is Hachette's largest category, accounting for about 78% of sales, the company is also a major educational publisher.

In the U.S., of course, Random House remains the largest publisher, as it has ever since it was acquired by Bertelsmann and merged with Bantam Doubleday Dell. Penguin's American operations accounted for about 60% of total Penguin Group sales in 2006, according to parent company Pearson, a figure that includes revenue from DK's U.S. business. HarperCollins's U.S. operations, which include Zondervan, are estimated to represent about 65% of total company sales (although parent company News Corp.'s fiscal year ends June 30, HC's 2006 revenue is for calendar 2006).

Simon & Schuster's international division is estimated to have accounted for about 13% of revenue last year, giving it sales of $702 million in the U.S., and it trails HC by much less in the U.S. than it does worldwide. Hachette Books Group USA accounted for 14% of its parent company's total revenue, a figure that includes sales for only the final nine months of 2006 (its acquisition of TWBG closed March 31, 2006); sales for the first quarter are estimates. In 2005, TWBG had estimated revenue of $510 million, a figure that included sales from its U.K. operation that are now counted as revenue at Hachette Books Group UK. The U.K. is Hachette's second largest market, accounting for 24% of revenue, while France represented 37% of sales.

2006 Top Five U.S. Trade Houses
($ in millions)