Price Push
in the Philippines
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (SEPTEMBER 2002)
The
Philippine archipelago may comprise more than 7,000
tiny, tropical islands, but from Manila to Mindanao,
the Southeast Asian nation speaks with virtually one
voice where books are concerned — and it’s in English.
With a population of 80 million, the Philippines is
said to be the third-largest English-speaking country
in the world (after the US and the UK), and English-language
titles account for as much as 95% of all book sales,
English being the second language of most Filipinos
— and a core requirement of the nation’s school curricula.
That’s all fuel to the fire for the Philippine Book
Fair, which runs from August 31 to September 8 this
year in Mandaluyong City, which is part of the sprawling
metro Manila thicket of more than 10 million Filipinos.
About 75,000 visitors are expected to crash the fair
gates this year, according to Cristina Capistrano,
Exhibit Manager for the 12-year-old event. Foreign booths
this year were set to include China, Germany, Iran,
and Spain, but surprisingly, perhaps, booths from US
publishers will be scarce. As the fair is a selling
fair, geared toward public attendance, US publishers
typically participate through major booksellers such
as National Book Store, which is the largest
chain in the country with about 60 branches. “Most major
US publishers have local regional managers who are very
active in the market, and who would attend the fair,”
says Simon & Schuster’s Dan Vidra,
who nonetheless was heading out the door for Manila
himself.
Those who do land at the fair will find a variety of
hot-selling categories. “Academic books in English are
still the bestsellers,” says Lirio Sandoval,
President of the Book Development Association of
the Philippines, partly because English is used
in most school subjects as the language of instruction.
But Sandoval cautions that despite the number of English
titles, “we cannot really expect tremendous sales” due
to Filipinos’ limited purchasing power: he estimates
that only about 30% of the population can afford to
buy books. Trade paperbacks can cost around $12, and
hardcovers up to $18, though children’s titles go for
$2 or less. In recent years the weak peso has put pressure
on booksellers to bump up prices, but they’ve struggled
to keep them down, mindful of customers’ limited means.
The lower price-points clearly have their appeal. “Children’s
books probably outsell all other categories by a huge
margin,” says Rino Balatbat, Random House
Regional Sales Manager for Southeast Asia and Micronesia.
Nonfiction inspirational titles and reference works
are also strong categories. Titles are imported from
the US, and to a lesser degree the UK, but neighboring
countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong
are getting in on the act. (Sales in the local Tagalog
language are mostly romances, often selling for less
than $1.) But price pressure has affected the fair as
well. “The fair has increasingly become a bargain book
fair,” Balatbat notes. “The booksellers are all trying
to trim their inventories by offering bargains and discounts,
so much so that the ratio of new titles to backlist
is becoming smaller and smaller.” Inflation has also
taken a toll on sales, as a mass-market paperback might
sell 500 copies, with a bestseller occasionally hitting
the 5,000 mark. “Five years ago, the retail prices were
just 50% of the current prices,” Balatbat says, “and
the quantities then were double what they are now.”
©2002
Publishing Trends
