With Hispanics topping 38 million in the United States – more than half of them Spanish-speakers – the U.S. market should be a prime destination for books from Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and other Latin American countries. And international publishers are certainly eager to get their books into the U.S. market. Yet despite significant industry growth over the last decade, only a handful of international publishers such as Santillana and Planeta have sales offices in the United States. The rest try to tackle the U.S. market from abroad.

To the dismay of Spanish-language bookbuyers and sellers alike, the U.S. distribution system for Spanish-language books is still as fragmented as ever. There are multiple players: large wholesalers, collection development specialists, mass merchandisers, combination retailer-distributors, publisher-distributors, and others. More than 80,000 Spanish-language titles are published annually worldwide. U.S. vendors stocking more than 5000 new titles per year are few and far between.

There are many issues international publishers should consider before attempting to navigate this distribution quagmire. For example, should you work with a single distributor on an exclusive basis, or is it better to work with as many suppliers as possible? What should you look for in a distributor-partner? Do distributors in the U.S. differ from those in other countries? What type of titles do U.S. distributors need?

Whether you are new to the U.S. market, or are ready for a change in distribution, the following steps and suggestions will help you simplify your search, qualify potential partners, and find the right mix for the U.S. market.


Step One: Get to know the market

The first step is to understand the idiosyncrasies of the U.S. market. Typically when publishers wish to sell their titles in other countries, the process is straightforward. First, you find a list of distributors for the country of interest (the International Literary Marketplace is a great source for contacts). Second, you send queries to identify which distributors might be interested in carrying your titles, which have lists that compete with yours, and which offer the best sales and marketing plans. Third, you might schedule in-person meetings at the Frankfurt or London Book Fair to get acquainted. Once you agree to terms and sign a contract, you provide the distributor with your titles and catalogs; they handle the rest. They create local marketing materials, they do the PR, selling, warehousing, shipping, invoicing, and collection. You, the publisher, receive monthly or quarterly payments, and you keep your distributor informed of upcoming titles.

With Spanish-language books, the U.S. market is more complicated. A common mistake international publishers make is to assume they should hand their entire list over to a single company who will market, promote, warehouse, sell, invoice, and collect funds on the publisher’s behalf. While there are certainly U.S companies that can handle these functions, there is no single distributor of Spanish-language books that actively markets and sells each of his lists equally to all sales channels: bookstores, mass merchandisers, public libraries, schools, discount stores, universities, school libraries, university libraries, supermarkets, specialty stores, and the Internet. There is also no single supplier that warehouses hundreds of thousands of Spanish-language books in the United States.

Instead, there are more than 100 suppliers of Spanish-language material. These 100+ players can be categorized into four main groups: major wholesalers, traditional distributors, collection development specialists, and publisher-distributors.

Major wholesalers are the larger jobbers such as Ingram and Baker & Taylor. They carry hundreds of thousands of English titles and offer an array of services such as print-on-demand, cataloging, and MARC records. Their focus is primarily warehousing, volume selling, and order fulfillment – with less emphasis on promoting individual lists. Both Ingram and Baker & Taylor have made significant strides toward broadening their lists of Spanish-language material. Most recently, Ingram partnered with the Argentine company Grupo ILHSA to make more than 30,000 Spanish-language titles available in the United States through its OneSource program.

Traditional distributors, on the other hand, serve as a publisher’s exclusive representative for the U.S. market. Independent Publishers Group and Publishers Group West are two companies that function as the U.S. sales office for international publishers. They handle warehousing as well as marketing. They also tend to carry fewer publishers, which means they will have fewer titles that compete directly with yours.

The third group of suppliers are generally known as “Spanish book distributors,” but are more accurately referred to as “collection development specialists.” The bulk of suppliers of Spanish-language books falls into this category. They tend to specialize. Some carry only books from Spain; others stock primarily fiction or literature titles; many specialize in sales to public libraries; and others focus on the academic channel.
These specialists choose among the 80,000 Spanish-language books published each year and import those titles they think will do well in the United States. Few offer more than 5000 new releases per year, and most warehouse fewer than 20,000 Spanish-language titles total.

The last group of suppliers are the publisher-distributors. Publishers such as Santillana, Creative Publishing International, and Random House fall into this category. While they primarily publish and distribute their own titles, they are open to distributing titles from select international publishers as well.

The next step to finding distribution in the United States is to determine whether to go the exclusive or non-exclusive route. Lectorum Publications, one of the largest suppliers of Spanish-language books, carries seven publishers on an exclusive basis for the U.S. market: Editorial Everest, Editorial Noguer, Editorial Serres, Kokinos, Edelvives, Edebé, and Litexsa. “We are not actively looking for new publishers to distribute,” notes Teresa Mlawer, president of Lectorum, “but we are always interested in new publishers with interesting lines.”

Exclusive arrangements for the U.S. market have always been rare, but this is slowly changing. “We have never supported exclusives in the past,” notes Mara Iaconi of Mariuccia Iaconi Book Imports. “However, with the growing demands and the increasingly aggressive nature of the market, we have begun looking at exclusives as a means of survival.” Mariuccia currently handles titles from Ediciones Tecolote on an exclusive basis.

Independent Publishers Group is one of the few traditional distributors that work solely on an exclusive basis with publisher-clients. They currently represent nearly a dozen international publishers – including Alfaomega Grupo Editor, Blume, Combel Editorial, Gestion2000, and Edimat Libros – and are looking for new publishers to represent. “I am particularly interested in books for children and perhaps some fiction,” notes IPG’s Carolyn Ramirez, “but my greatest interest is in publishers that are committed to the market and to quality publishing. In general I try to look for books that are not too specialized and appeal to a more general market.”

What are the benefits of having a single, exclusive distributor? An exclusive arrangement is easier to administer from abroad, since there’s no need to ship titles to multiple vendors. A single vendor also gives the publisher more control over the retail price of its titles in the U.S. market.

Books purchased abroad are typically firm sales, since returning them to publishers in Mexico or Spain is costly. With the burden of international shipping falling on distributors, they tend to be more selective when deciding what to import. Most vendors prefer not to import and warehouse a large amount of books from any one publisher, particularly if the publisher's titles are available from other U.S. sources. Therefore, an exclusive arrangement with one distributor might give you a larger and more varied inventory of your titles in the U.S. market.

“Because IPG sells to the entire trade as well as museum stores, teacher supply stores, and libraries, we have a greater number of accounts than do most distributors or wholesalers that only service a specialized market,” Ramirez adds. “We work to build up the identity and reputation of a publisher, which adds value to the publisher's program.” Greater exposure is another advantage of exclusivity. Distributors that carry titles from hundreds of publishers typically do not engage in marketing campaigns to highlight just one.

What about the disadvantages of working with just one distributor? A distributor might not be interested in carrying your entire list, but rather, only your bestselling collections.
Granting an exclusive for only part of your list will dramatically reduce the appeal of the remaining titles, as other distributors would be unlikely to take them on without having access to the titles with greatest potential.

Another disadvantage is the specializing nature of distributors. Most distributors do not cover all sales channels equally. Very few target bookstores as their primary sales channel. Therefore, if you have titles that are appropriate for public libraries, bookstores, schools, mass merchandisers, and universities, an exclusive arrangement with one vendor may not give you adequate coverage in all sales channels.

As an alternative to traditional distribution, international publishers might consider partnering with U.S. publisher. Santillana, for example, recently began distributing titles from Spain’s RBA, including the Integral, RBA, and National Geographic imprints. “We are not actively seeking other publishers to distribute, notes Santillana’s Silvia Matute, “but we are open to considering other relationships.” Publishers should look for a U.S. publisher whose titles complement your own, then approach them about developing a distribution arrangement that benefits both parties.

Once you’ve decided on exclusive vs. non-exclusive, the next step is much simpler: identify potential distribution partners. Key distributors and publishers attend the major shows such as the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), BookExpo America (BEA), the American Library Association (ALA), and the Texas Library Association (TLA). Finding the right distributors to meet your needs, however, can be a bit more difficult. Both Críticas and Kiser & Associates have directories that list U.S. distributors of Spanish-language books. Start by perusing distributors’ websites to determine whether your titles would make a nice fit. One you’ve compiled a list of contenders, schedule an appointment with them at the next major trade show. Be prepared to discuss exclusivity, your publishing plans, discount schedules – and come prepared with a list of questions to evaluate your candidates.

What should you look for when evaluating distributors? The following is a list of questions you might ask potential partners:

• Are they actively seeking new publishers to distribute?
• What are the subjects and characteristics of titles they are looking for?
• Do they work on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis?
• Which publishers do they distribute exclusively?
• How many publishers do they carry?
• How many titles do they actually warehouse in the United States?
• Do they specialize in a type of title or in a particular country of origin?
• Who are their primary customers: Bookstores, public libraries, schools, universities, mass merchandisers?
• Do they have any sales reps?
• Do they actively market and sell to major retailers such as Borders, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon? Which ones?
• What is the minimum discount they need from publisher-partners?
• What discounts do they offer their library or bookstore customers?
• What are their requirements for establishing a distribution relationship (basic contract terms, marketing materials needed, and payment policies)?
• Do they accept titles on consignment? How would a consignment arrangement work?
• Do they have a catalog? How often is it updated?
• What is their fill rate, or turnaround time between receiving an order and shipping the materials? Do they have any references to verify it?
• How often do they communicate with their publisher-partners?
• What specific marketing efforts would be used to promote your titles?
• Which trade shows do they attend and exhibit?
• Other than catalogs and trade shows, do they engage in marketing or PR campaigns for individual publishers?

After interviewing potential distribution partners, it’s also a good idea to speak to some of the publishers they distribute. Are they happy with their distributors? How have sales increased? You might also interview some of the leading bookstores to get a sense of the distributors’ customer service, fill rates and sales reps.

While it is important to carefully evaluate your distributors, be prepared to have the distributors evaluate your business as well. How serious are you about selling to the U.S. market? Do you have a specific budget for marketing and promotion in the United States?

A common misconception about the U.S. market for Spanish-language books is that distributors will take care of all your publicity and marketing needs. Not so. The margins are too thin to allow most distributors to do more than create a catalog, maintain a website and exhibit at conferences and trade shows. Publishers that are successful in the U.S. market take an active role in promoting their books.

“The [U.S.] territory is immense, the readers are dispersed, and the media is mostly local to each city,” notes Santillana’s Matute. “Reaching the buyers is therefore a challenge; a lot of experience is needed to do this effectively.”

Choose distributors that will work closely with you to develop and implement a marketing campaign. Provide them with ample review copies, promotional materials, and catalogs. If your current materials are not appropriate for the U.S. market (distributors can tell you this), work with marketing professionals to design new ones. There are a number of Hispanic advertising firms, publishing consultants, and marketing specialists ready to develop and implement your promotional campaigns.

If after following these steps you still cannot find a distributor to fit your needs, you might consider opening your own U.S. office. Océano and Tusquets are two international publishers that have recently taken the plunge with their own offices in Brooklyn and Miami respectively.

Publishers could open a sales office only or have a combination sales office/warehouse facility. With the sales office option, you would need to partner with a fulfillment center to handle warehousing, invoicing, and shipping. This option reduces your initial investment, but it requires constant maintenance to ensure that the fulfillment center’s customer service and fill rate meet your standards. Look for a fulfillment center with Spanish-speaking staff and a dedicated phone line for your titles. Then open accounts with Baker & Taylor, Ingram, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Quality Books, and all other major accounts that require local fulfillment.

When weighing your distribution options, keep in mind that there is no tried-and-true formula. Large wholesalers, traditional distributors, collection development specialists, and publisher-distributors are all viable distribution partners. Publishers that get to know the U.S. market and its idiosyncrasies, ask a lot of questions, and develop a specific marketing plan will reap the greatest rewards in the U.S. market.