annual book publishing industry survey 2013 · 2015. 7. 7. · book publishing annual employment...
TRANSCRIPT
ANNUAL BOOK PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY SURVEY
2013
EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT
JANUARY 2015
SCHOOL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SCIENCE
PUBLISHING STUDIES
Liam Borgstrom
Willem Struik
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 1
Foreword This report represents the Employment and Equity Profile of South African
publishing as of the 2013 financial year end (or as close to it as possible).
This survey was conducted simultaneously with the BEP survey (Business
Economic Profile) to assess the change in business ownership as well as
employment equity. The survey was delayed by numerous issues and
resulted in a limited response which prevents a total representative
industry profile. As a result, this report updates the 2012 report with the
data provided and provides comparative data where relevant.
The team would like to thank those publishers who did participate and
would like to encourage other publishers to contribute to future surveys in
order to create a more representative profile of the industry.
Liam Borgstrom
Willem Struik
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 2
Contents 1 Executive Summary...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
2 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Core list of book suppliers invited to participate .................................................................................................. 4
2.2 Participant profile .............................................................................................................................................................. 5
2.3 Sample Pool ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
3 Equity Profile .................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
3.1 Ownership structure ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Local vs foreign interest .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Fig. 3.3 BBBEE Rankings by score ................................................................................................................................................ 7
4 Author Demographics ................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Fig. 3.1 Author profile ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Fig. 3.2 Author numbers per population group ..................................................................................................................... 7
5 Company Demographics ........................................................................................................................................................... 9
Fig. 5.1 Employment numbers per turnover category .......................................................................................................... 9
Fig. 5.2 Employment numbers per population group.......................................................................................................... 9
Fig. 5.3 Total employment numbers per industry sub-sector ..........................................................................................11
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 3
1 Executive Summary Based on the information provided by the 2013 survey respondents it was
possible to create an updated profile based on the results of the 2012
survey.
The results show little change in business activities as regards turnover
and size. All companies remained in their respective categories from the
previous year.
BBBEE ratings have been only slightly affected, primarily by the
influence of two companies whose ownership structure has changed their
previous ratings.
One of the most significant points in this survey is the drop in author
numbers, specifically in the education subsector. This data is captured
differently by publishers and may be influenced by the state of the
publisher’s lists and by royalty payments. This is most likely indicative of the
implementation of the CAPS curriculum which will have led to the removal
of older titles and royalty payments from the publishers’ systems. Other
sub-sectors show a rise in author numbers.
Company demographics have been affected somewhat, with the senior
managerial, support staff, and marketing and sales categories showing the
greatest change in most companies. This change was reflected across all
industry sub-sectors. Smaller companies showed no change in their
employment numbers, and this complemented with the reduction of
larger companies is likely representative of the situation facing most
companies in the industry.
Overall the results of this survey cannot be considered wholly
conclusive without the input of the greater body of practising publishers,
however they do indicate some of the underlying changes that may be
affecting the industry as a whole.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
Author demographics
2012 2013
2012 2013
Black Male 283 284
Black Female 602 577
White Male 157 151
White Female 504 482
Total Employees 1546 1495
283 284
602 577
157 151
504 482
1546 1495
Employment numbers
Black Male Black Female White Male White Female Total Employees
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 4
2 Methodology The survey questionnaires were distributed in April 2014 with the final
results survey submitted in October 2014. This yielded 22 updated
employment and author records with which to update the previous year’s
pool to 46 (previously 45). The raw data was checked for internal
consistency and placed within the primary data set where the values were
compiled and compared to those of the previous survey.
The questionnaires request data on the company make up as regards
ownership, supported authors, and employment numbers.
2.1 Core list of book suppliers invited to participate The PASA office supplied the researchers with its current list of members.
Based on this information a broad survey address list of 141 entities was
compiled. This broad list included associate members, entities that are
divisions/imprints of holding companies and entities whose core business
is the rendering of services such as copy-editing. Based on information
about the business activities of members gleaned from The Guide to Publishing in South Africa the broad PASA list was trimmed to 112 in order
to target the primary business units (as opposed to holding companies or
imprints) engaged in local book publishing and book distribution.
The survey questionnaire was distributed to the full suppliers list
consisting of both PASA and non-PASA members, publishers and
distributors making up a total list of 183.
Invitations to participate were sent out on several occasions with only
25 indicating a willingness to participate in the survey, and only 22
responding with the questionnaires in the end.
Local publishers specialising in religious trade books have participated
in the survey for a number of years recording their data as a separate
industry sub-sector. None of these are members of PASA and all publish
religious books exclusively with no cross-over activity in any other industry
sub-sector. This sub-sector is characterised by increasing consolidation
through acquisitions and mergers. The dominant publishers in this sub-
sector have declined to participate in the 2013 survey, and no such data is
included.
Unlike the BEP, market share is not an influencing factor in the
identification of key participants, as this survey addresses the straight
numbers of employees and author. The size of the company is useful only
in highlighting changes in the profile of the differently sized businesses and
creating the totals, and the company make-up cannot be extrapolated to
create industry averages. Therefore this survey is dependent on the
number of participants and cannot rely on a core group for industry
representation. This could arguably be applied to author statistics, however
total industry equity relies on the largest possible sample group.
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 5
2.2 Participant profile The following figures detail the participant profile for the 2013 survey. Due
to the lack of participation, the 2012 survey data has been submitted with
the influence of the 22 updated profiles.
Company profile 2013 2012
Book supplier category 46 44
Local publisher only 23 23
Local publisher and distributor 17 16
Local distributor only 6 6
Primary publishing sub-sector 46 44
General Trade 18 18
Education 21 19
Academic 7 7
Annual turnover category 46 45
Large: Turnover exceeds R 50 m 17 16
Medium: Turnover between R5 m and R50 m 15 14
Small: Turnover less than R 5 m 14 14
Total number of permanent employees 46 45
Small: Less than 10 employees 22 21
Medium: Between 10 and 50 employees 12 11
Large: More than 50 employees 12 12
Company legal status 46 45
Sole proprietor 3 3
Closed corporation 11 11
Partnership 1 1
Private company 22 21
Public company 6 5
Public Benefit Organisation 3 3
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 6
2.3 Sample Pool
Macrat Publishing Cambridge University Press SA Naledi Books
NB Publishers Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd Real Books
Via Afrika Publishers Penguin Books (SA) (Pty) Ltd Best Books
Marumo Publishing Study Opportunities Marumo Publishing
Oxford University Press SA Lapa Uitgewers Edms Bpk Stimela Publishers
New Readers Naledi Everybody’s Books
Future Managers (Pty) Ltd Jacana Troupant
Van Schaik Publishers Maskew Miller Longman HSRC
Macmillan South Africa Heinemann PESA
Metz Press Pearson Holdings African Moon
RNA Distribution Briza Publications Juta
Lannice Snyman Phambili Wits Univ Press
Faradawn Awareness Trumpeter
Metz Press Shuter & Shooter Vivlia Publishers
NB Uitgewers Via Afrika
Jonathan Ball Publishers Fantasi
3 Equity Profile Between the two surveys there has no significant change, BBBEE ratings
have remained stable affected only slightly by changing company
structures.
3.1 Ownership structure The ownership structures of companies are difficult to determine as not all
companies are able to provide an accurate division of ownership based on
the grounds of ethnicity. This is can also be complicated by the ownership
structure of the parent company. The majority of publishers maintain a
small degree of variation often being wholly owned by one group or in a
50:50 division. As all companies reported on this differently it is impossible,
to provide an accurate industry average on this front.
3.2 Local vs foreign interest In terms of the involvement of foreign ownership, in many cases the
companies were able to report on the ownership structure in terms of local
and foreign infrastructure. In most cases this reflected a 25:75 relationship
favouring either scenario, however the majority of the companies were
locally owned. Out of the sample group 93.8% were locally owned
business.
93.8
6.2
Company Ownership
Local Foreign
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 7
Fig. 3.3 BBBEE Rankings by score
BBBEE Scores 2013 2012
BBBEE rated 47 45
Yes 30 29
No 10 10
Exempted 7 6
BBBEE Rating Tally
1 AAA 1 2
2 AA 3 3
3 A 6 6
4 BBB 12 12
5 BB 1 1
6 B 2 1
7 C 0 0
8 D 5 4
Not compliant 0 0
4 Author Demographics The number of authors has drastically decreased, particularly in education.
These statistics are difficult to collect as the different companies use varying
means to keep track of their author pool. These drops may indicate a
reduction in the total publishing list, or be influenced by business factors
such as mergers. These stats are often pulled from payroll data, and may
also be affected by sales. For specific royalty payments please see the BEP
report.
Fig. 3.1 Author profile
Number of unique authors 2013 2012 Difference
Participating publishers 36 35 1
Individual authors 16 924 19 248 -2324
Estates, etc 1 743 1 354 389
Fig. 3.2 Author numbers per population group
Author profile General trade
2013 2012 Difference
Black male 269 249 20
Black female 364 286 78
White male 1 605 1 646 -41
White female 2 333 2 000 333
All authors 4 571 4 181 390
1. The increase in authors is reflected in the output of the trade
publishers adding 1,481 new (and revised) titles to the
market.
1. The main influencing factors
came from changes in ownership
in a small number of participants.
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 8
Author profile
Education 2013 2012 Difference
Black male 2 064 2 112 -48
Black female 1 954 2 035 -81
White male 1 860 3 222 -1362
White female 2 622 3 858 -1236
All authors 8 500 11 227 -2727
1. Despite the drop in authors, the educational sub-sector
produced 5,003 new (and revised) editions in 2013.
Author profile Academic
2013 2012 Difference
Black male 396 386 10
Black female 491 449 42
White male 1 571 1 555 16
White female 1 359 1 270 89
All authors 3 817 3 660 157
1. The academic sub-sector produced 944 new (and revised)
titles in 2013, the 72% of which being professional books.
Author profile All sub-sectors
2013 2012 Difference
Black male 2 728 2 760 -32
Black female 2 803 2 772 31
White male 5 141 6 577 -1436
White female 6 253 7 236 -983
All authors 17 644 19 345 -1701
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 9
5 Company Demographics The demographics for companies show a change in structure, particularly
in the larger companies and in senior management and support staff. This
was reflected in support staff of medium enterprises as well. In smaller
companies, no significant change is noted.
Fig. 5.1 Employment numbers per turnover category
Employment numbers per company category
2013 2012 Difference
Large companies 1 087 1 154 -67
Medium companies 291 278 13
Small companies 117 114 3
All employees 1 495 1 546 -51
Fig. 5.2 Employment numbers per population group
Employment profile Black male
2013 2012 Difference
Chief executive officers 8 10 -2
Functional heads of department 11 13 -2
Editiorial staff 12 12 0
Design and production staff 32 31 1
Marketing and sales staff 108 116 -8
Finance staff 3 4 -1
Human resources staff 6 1 5
Office administration staff 13 8 5
Information technology staff 10 7 3
Warehousing and distribution staff 46 43 3
Other support staff 37 38 -1
All employees 284 283 1
Employment profile Black female
2013 2012 Difference
Chief executive officers 5 6 -1
Functional heads of department 14 19 -5
Editiorial staff 68 65 3
Design and production staff 55 54 1
Marketing and sales staff 208 217 -9
Finance staff 64 56 8
Human resources staff 10 6 4
Office administration staff 78 94 -16
Information technology staff 6 5 1
Warehousing and distribution staff 38 44 -6
Other support staff 30 36 -6
All employees 577 602 -25
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 10
Employment profile White male
2013 2012 Difference
Chief executive officers 28 31 -3
Functional heads of department 24 24 0
Editiorial staff 29 25 4
Design and production staff 34 33 1
Marketing and sales staff 22 25 -3
Finance staff 2 4 -2
Human resources staff 2 0 2
Office administration staff 1 3 -2
Information technology staff 11 9 2
Warehousing and distribution staff 2 2 0
Other support staff 1 1 0
All employees 151 157 -6
Employment profile White female
2013 2012 Difference
Chief executive officers 23 33 -10
Functional heads of department 62 60 2
Editiorial staff 143 139 4
Design and production staff 70 69 1
Marketing and sales staff 113 118 -5
Finance staff 25 27 -2
Human resources staff 9 8 1
Office administration staff 27 31 -4
Information technology staff 4 3 1
Warehousing and distribution staff 8 10 -2
Other support staff 0 3 -3
All employees 482 501 -22
Employment profile All employees
2013 2012 Difference
Chief executive officers 63 80 -17
Functional heads of department 111 117 -6
Editiorial staff 246 242 4
Design and production staff 187 188 -1
Marketing and sales staff 454 476 -22
Finance staff 94 91 3
Human resources staff 24 15 9
Office administration staff 118 136 -18
Information technology staff 31 24 7
Warehousing and distribution staff 97 99 -2
Other support staff 68 78 -10
All employees 1 495 1 546 -51
© Publishers’ Association of South Africa
BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EQUITY REPORT 2013 11
Fig. 5.3 Total employment numbers per industry sub-sector
Employees by
population
group
2013
General trade Education Academic All employees
2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012
Black male 53 46 163 170 68 67 284 283
Black female 124 122 323 352 130 128 577 602
White male 59 56 51 60 41 41 151 157
White female 213 221 186 199 80 81 482 501
Total 449 445 723 781 319 317 1494 1 546