by Julie White
Pulling its approximate 2,000 titles from Amazon.com in 2012 was a bold and precarious move for Educational Development Corporation (“EDC”), which originated in 1965 as a developer of curriculum materials for schools and whose Publishing Division was created in 1978 to distribute children’s books. While the focus of the article (link below) is on EDC’s relationship with Amazon, EDC also emptied the shelves of its materials at Target, Sam’s Club, and Costco.
Perhaps a large part of the Publisher’s success is owed to its Home Business Division, which distributes books through book fairs, Internet and direct sales, but also through consultants who hold book showings in individual homes. On the other hand, another and possibly more likely factor in EDC’s ability to rebound from exiting the Amazon platform, as well as the discount retailer arena, is its publishing niche - children’s books. Usborne Books is a line of books, largely printed in magazine format, produced in the United Kingdom and EDC is the US trade publisher for them. Many of the Usborne materials have features like puzzles, stickers, or other interactive activities, and most of the books are colorfully illustrated. These books are often found in toy and gift shops, in addition to being sold in bookstores, which gives them a potentially broader audience than solely being marketed in bookstores. The article points out that sales of EDC’s materials have increased since they are no longer available on Amazon.com.
For now it appears that EDC’s move has paid off, having just booked its most successful year ever in net revenues. Now that I know who EDC is and what they publish, I will be curious to learn if this positive trend continues for them and if other publishers will follow their model as it relates to Amazon.
Review the full article here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/edc-beat-amazon-2014-8
Pulling its approximate 2,000 titles from Amazon.com in 2012 was a bold and precarious move for Educational Development Corporation (“EDC”), which originated in 1965 as a developer of curriculum materials for schools and whose Publishing Division was created in 1978 to distribute children’s books. While the focus of the article (link below) is on EDC’s relationship with Amazon, EDC also emptied the shelves of its materials at Target, Sam’s Club, and Costco.
Perhaps a large part of the Publisher’s success is owed to its Home Business Division, which distributes books through book fairs, Internet and direct sales, but also through consultants who hold book showings in individual homes. On the other hand, another and possibly more likely factor in EDC’s ability to rebound from exiting the Amazon platform, as well as the discount retailer arena, is its publishing niche - children’s books. Usborne Books is a line of books, largely printed in magazine format, produced in the United Kingdom and EDC is the US trade publisher for them. Many of the Usborne materials have features like puzzles, stickers, or other interactive activities, and most of the books are colorfully illustrated. These books are often found in toy and gift shops, in addition to being sold in bookstores, which gives them a potentially broader audience than solely being marketed in bookstores. The article points out that sales of EDC’s materials have increased since they are no longer available on Amazon.com.
For now it appears that EDC’s move has paid off, having just booked its most successful year ever in net revenues. Now that I know who EDC is and what they publish, I will be curious to learn if this positive trend continues for them and if other publishers will follow their model as it relates to Amazon.
Review the full article here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/edc-beat-amazon-2014-8