Solid Start to 2005
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 3/21/2005
Category
% Change January
Adult Hardcover
29.2%
Adult Paperback
1.2
Adult Mass Market
25.0
Juvenile Hardcover
59.1
Juvenile Paperback
31.2
Audio Books
25.4
Electronic Books
69.9
Religion Books
3.8
Higher Education
-1.8
University Press Hardcover
-14.5
University Press Paperback
3.6
Total Professional
-0.1
Elhi
13.3
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2004)
Although it is hard to draw meaningful conclusions from one month of figures, January estimates from the AAP show book sales off to a good start. Sales were up in all but three of the 13 segments measured by the association, with many categories posting double-digit gains. Among the hottest segments was children's, where sales rose 59.1% in hardcover and 31.2% in paperback. The elhi segment, which is predicted to have big gains in the year, had a solid start with a 13.3% increase, led by a 24.3% jump in basal sales, which offset a 4.9% decline in supplementary sales.
