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| 5 years of Visual Publishing Excellence |
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Saturday, June 11, 2011
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 New Delhi, Saturday, 11 June 2011- Parragon, one of the world’s leading publishers of visual books, completes 5 successful years in India this June, with a grand celebration on 11 June 2011 at The Florian, MGF Metropolitan Mall, Saket, New Delhi.
As of date, close to 5 million copies have been bought by readers across the subcontinent, of books ranging from beautiful photographic general reference titles and visual cookbooks for adults to educational encyclopedias, learning workbooks, inspiring storybooks, fun activity books, baby books and interactive play novelty books for children.
Commenting on how brand Parragon has evolved in the subcontinent, Vineet Sharma, JV partner and Managing Director, Parragon Publishing India, said, ‘When readers buy books in the general interest category, the purchase decision is based primarily on the subject. However, after they have read the book and realized that it has surpassed their expectations, they are curious to know the name of the publisher – and there you have the brand connect! This is how we have created a massive consumer base and brand loyalty across the country in only five years, with readers making special requests for Parragon’s latest releases.’
Parragon has its headquarters in Bath, a picturesque little town near London, UK, where it was established over 20 years ago. It now operates in over 35 markets around the world, with regional offices in New York, Cologne, Delhi, Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Johannesburg, Auckland and Shenzen. Parragon Publishing India was set up in June 2006 to expand the Parragon Books global business in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle-East region.
‘The prospect of bringing high quality books at great prices to India where the thirst for knowledge and self improvement is so strong, was always going to be exciting – and so it has proved,’ said Paul Taylor, Global Chief Executive, Parragon Group.
With prices that are about 30-35% cheaper than any comparable product globally, Parragon has managed massive retail presence at all leading bookshops across the subcontinent and has established itself as the highest selling publisher in several leading national bookstore chains like Landmark, Crossword, Odyssey and Reliance Time-Out.
When it was first set up in India in 2006, Parragon had revolutionized the way books are sold in the country by introducing the concept of selling through modern retail outlets alongside the conventional book trade channel. Internationally, Parragon sells through popular retail chains such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Wal-Mart, Metro, Target, Coles Group, Karstadt, K-Mart and Toys R Us to name a few.
Parragon has now introduced yet another unique concept – of reaching out even further into the heart of India by setting up stockists and key accounts distribution across 50 cities to service non-bookstores in typical FMCG distribution plans, be it a stationery outlet, a toy shop or even a saree store!
Sanjiv Beckaya, COO, Parragon Publishing India, said ‘We have managed to ensure widespread availability of our books. Now entering into a growth phase, Parragon India will be targeting to expand its reach further by entering the Tier 2 & 3 markets and also look at developing books locally to cater to the ever growing demand.’
To further service the Tier 2 & 3 cities Parragon has recently introduced an early learning series in full colour and art paper at only INR 39. This will enable every segment of society, irrespective of socio-economic strata or demographic status, to have access to books of international quality. With more books in the pipeline to cater to smaller towns and plans to also launch a regional language programme, Parragon is working on a 35-40% growth plan year-on-year for the next three years.
Parragon Publishing India has also built a strong base outside India across Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Middle-East markets including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel.
Therefore plans are afoot for Parragon to launch a series of fabulous coffee-table books from India on subjects that focus more on the subcontinent and Middle-east regions such as Spirit of the Tiger, Spirit of Sri Lanka, Dubai etc.
Parragon further has an impressive licensed publishing portfolio globally, as the leading licensee for prominent brands such as Disney, Mattel: Hot Wheels & Barbie, Cartoon Network: Ben 10 & Generator Rex, Sesame Street, Discovery Kids, Saban: Power Rangers, Squinkies, Ludorum: Chuggington and Nickelodeon: Dora.
In India too, Parragon is the lead licensee for Disney in the subcontinent, bringing out books on all major characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Princess, Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Fairies, Hannah Montana etc. Parragon Publishing India is now expanding its licensed publishing range by launching books on Barbie with Mattel and Ben10 with Cartoon Network. As part of a global deal, plans are currently being finalized to introduce Discovery books in the Indian market soon.
Vineet Sharma concludes, ‘Our biggest achievement in the last five years in India has been to make great quality content available at affordable prices and raise the interest of consumers in general interest books.’ |
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