CATEGORY % CHANGE September % CHANGE YTD
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2006)
* Number of reporting compaines.
In posting solid gains in the third quarter, executives at the nation's three major bookstore chains cited strong sales of bestsellers, and that trend is reflected in the AAP monthly estimates for September, which showed sales in the adult hardcover category (format for most bestsellers) up 23.6%. Sales in the juvenile paperback segment were up 8.7% in the month, but sales were down in the other trade segments. In elhi, sales to adoption states were down in September, but up 5.8% in the nine-month period, while sales in open territories were up in September but flat for the nine months.
Adult Hard (18)* 23.6% 14.8%
Adult Paper (19) -10.7 -1.8
Mass Market (9) -7.5 -6.3
Juvenile Hard (14) -12.8 63.0
Juvenile Paper (15) 8.7 4.4
Audio (12) 36.5 40.1
Electronic (13) 27.7 23.6
Religious (11) 1.6 8.3
Higher Ed. (12) 17.0 8.9
Univ. Pr. Hard (38) 7.5 7.0
Univ. Pr. Paper (38) -6.0 2.5
Professional (9) -6.3 4.8
Elhi (9) 0.6 3.0