Distripress '83: the international marketplace - column

Distripress '83: The International marketplace On October 2, 1983, publishers, circulation directors, distributors and freight forwarders from all over the free world gathered in West Berlin to attend the Distripress Congress. For all of us, part of the journey was strange and disconcerting: We had to fly over or drive through a wall constructed in part to separate people from the opportunities of freedom of expression.

Those of you in the publishing industry who have not seen the Berlin Wall--an inhuman sight of concrete some 16 feet high behind which a government has placed some very sophisticated machinery for killing or maiming any of its people who attempt to cross-should perhaps do so: It will make you, as it did me, deeply grateful to be living on the free side.

It was in the shadow of this thought that the Congress began.

Opportunities in the marketplace

As I have written before, the Distripress Congress is unique in that it enables one to hold discussions with other members of the free press from all over the world. On one typical day, for example, I met with the magazine and book distributors from Belgium, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Holland and Japan.

As a result of many discussions with those attending this year's Congress, the following pictures emerged of the four primary marketing areas in the international marketplace (given the assumption that Canada is an integral part of the U.S. market).

* The Latin American Market: One major Latin American distributor told me that the U.S. dollar had increased by 260% in the last year against his home currency; that his inflation rate is now 200% per year; that more than 20% of the labor force is unemployed; that his country still buys U.S. magazines--but not as many as before because prices are so much higher when denominated in his home currency. Still, the thirst for ideas and information does continue. This is a typical Latin American situation and indicates the extreme problems which we all face in this difficult market.

* The European Market: This market is schizophrenic in that economic conditions--and hence magazine sales--vary from the stability of West Germany and Switzerland to the instability of Italy and France, whose currencies continue to weaken vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar. The challenges of marketing in Europe remain those of assessing each country individually and of tailoring marketing programs to meet the varying degrees of economic strength.

* The African Marekt: This vast market remains extremely difficult to penetrate. Problems of debt repayment, weak currencies and social unrest are compounded by the devastating drought that has affected even the relatively strong economies of South Africa and Nigeria. It seems t me that it will be a long time before this market will be of much importance to U.S. publishers.

* The Pacific Market: The most stable and indeed fastest growing international market today is in the Pacific, where the economies of Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, etc. are very strong and where Australia and New Zealand are at least stable. I believe this Pacific market holds the best potential for continued growth for U.S. magazine publishers.

Currency: A determining factor

Despite the potential for growth in some markets, the international marketplace today is in turmoil. Currency fluctuations, debt repayment problems, and local unrest make planning very difficult. Yet the channel of distribution continues to function and the attitude of most publishers and distributors continues to be positive.

Last year, there was much discussion about the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of other countries. The s trong dollar continues to inhibit the sale of American magazines outside the United States--a problem that has been compounded by the enormous debt that certain countries have accumulated and which they are unable to pay. However, the consensus seems to be that the U.S. dollar will weaken against the stronger currencies within the next year--that is, against the German mark, the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen and possibly agains the Australian and New Zealand dollar, the South African rand and the Scandanavian currencies.

Only time will tell us if these forecasts are accurate, but if they are, we can expect increased volume of American magazines and books into the international marketplace.

Discount your price

In my opinion, the next 12 months will continue to be a time during which aggressive publishers who understand profitable international circulation will continue to discount their U.S. selling price to allow foreign distributors to keep their selling prices to the consumer low enough to increase market share against U.S. and foreign competitors who are holding their U.S. selling prices too high. When, and if, the U.S. dollar does weaken against some foreign currencies, these publishers will be able to increase their profit margins on increased volume, while their competitors will have lost volume during the time the dollar has been overly strong.

Unfortunately, because most American publishers are so preoccupied with the powerful U.S. economy, very few are taking advantage of the market share opportunities available to them at this time. U.S. publishers are stronger and produce better products than the English, yet we continue to lose market share to them.

One last note on the mood in West Berlin: Just as one is about to enter the International Congress hall, one sees a kiosk on which is displayed the magazines represented at the Congress. The display is some 30-feet long and eight-feet high. On the display are hundreds of magazines in English, French, German, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, Greek, etc., etc. All of these magazines are freely circulated on this side of the wall: It is a criminal offense to possess them on the other side of the wall.

I believe all of us at the Congress felt very strongly the oppressive attitude about the free circulation of ideas and information that crept like a fog over that wall. Unfortunately for those on the other side, those who built the wall have not displayed any sensitivity to their citizens' needs and wants for this great diversity of information.

How much better a world it would be for all of us if ideas could climb walls, or even better--if walls to ideas could come tumbling down.

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