Bleak February
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 4/4/2005
Bleak February
Category
% Change February
% Change YTD
Adult Hardcover
-22.3
-1.8
Adult Paperback
-8.4
-3.7
Adult Mass Market
-43.2
-11.5
Juvenile Hardcover
54.4
56.2
Juvenile Paperback
-25.6
-6.3
Audio Books
-13.0
2.0
Electronic Books
19.5
39.5
Religious Books
-3.2
-0.4
Higher Education
-67.8
-4.0
Univ. Pr. Hardcover
-7.0
-10.7
Univ. Pr. Paperback
-15.3
-4.1
Professional
1.2
-0.7
Elhi
17.6
15.4
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2004)
After posting good gains in January, estimated sales fell at nine of the 13 segments tracked by the AAP in its monthly sales report. The biggest declines came in the higher education segment, where sales dropped 67.8%, and in mass market paperback, which had a 43.2% sales decline. The brightest spot in February was in the children's hardcover category, where sales jumped 54.4%. The elhi segment had its second strong month, with sales up 17.6%, led by a 23.8% increase in basal sales, while sales of supplementary materials rose 7.7%.
