Essay About International Publishing Program And Peter Booth Wiley

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India Update
INDIA — you may never have been there, but theres a pretty
good chance the sound of your voice has, if youve made any
tech support calls lately. The countrys emergence as a provider
of such services, however, is only one aspect of a much broader
transformation underway.With rapid economic growth and a
huge expansion in education that is fulfilling the cultures deeply
ingrained respect and thirst for knowledge, India appears to be
on course for occupying a key position in the global economy.
This is good news for Wiley. Along with China,
India is a pivotal part of our Asian strategy, and
the market there is healthier than it has ever
been; our year-to-date revenue is up 12 percent
against plan, 24 percent against prior year. “I
have never seen a market as buoyant as this,”
says Peter Booth Wiley, Chairman, recently
back from a 10-day trip timed to coincide with
the Delhi Book Fair, held every February. “Its
exciting to see such enormous vitality.”
Wileys presence in India actually dates
back to 1965, when then-President and CEO
W. Bradford Wiley, Peters father, formed
Wiley Eastern in New Delhi. An extension
of our international publishing program, its
primary mission was the production of locally
printed paperback editions of American textbooks,
priced to market. In the face of Indias
chronic political and economic volatility, the
venture has prevailed through some challenging
times. Although Wiley Eastern ceased to
At the Delhi Book Fair: Steve Miron, Vice President, Asia;
Vikas Gupta; Peter Wiley; Mark Allin; A.K. Bharti
function under that name in 1994, signifying
a refocusing of our efforts in the country,
continuity has been assured in our venture
there (now known as Wiley India) by the involvement
of General Manager A.K. Bharti,
a highly respected figure within the Indian
publishing industry, who has been with us
since 1976. We are currently based in five
locations in India, with the main office in Delhi.
Wiley India Today
Our established textbook operation is now just
one part of Wiley Indias business, which is
also driven by STM books and major reference
works in the library market, a growing demand
for journals (both print and online), and by
select Professional/Trade titles. The Hungry
Minds acquisition of September 2001 brought
us a joint venture now known as Wiley Dreamtech,
which combines the reprinting of Wiley
technology titles with an indigenous publishing
program under the direction of Vikas Gupta,
who is the author of more than a dozen computer
books. Peter describes the combination
of Wiley India and Wiley Dreamtech as “a marriage
made in heaven. Bharti is an expert in
Indias hugely complex distribution system and
represents Wileys long tradition in the country,
while Vikas represents new entrepreneurial
drive.”
The juxtaposition of the traditional and the
new seems ubiquitous in India. “There are
400 publishers offices in Delhi,” says Peter —
“and 15,000 cows wandering the streets.” The
byzantine distribution system, the negotiation
of which is such an important part of Bhartis
work, is most certainly an example of the traditional.
“The distribution of books in India
passes through several layers of booksellers,”
says Bharti: “first the wholesaler/importers, then
the sub-wholesalers in each region, and then
the retailers. From there a book reaches the
end customer, whether individual, library, or
academic institution. While one has to make
the stock available at the wholesaler level, it
is also important to create the demand at the
customer level to ensure that the stock moves
down through the various layers. If there is not
sufficient demand, the wholesalers are reluctant
to place the orders to keep titles in stock.”
Growth and Opportunity