NO RETURNS IN FINLAND

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NO RETURNS IN FINLAND - with a few
exceptions Doris Stockmann European Booksellers
Federation London Book Fair 14.3.2004
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• FINLAND AND BOOKS
• 5 million inhabitants
• Importance of literature for identity
• Kalevala 1835 (Finnish)
• J L Runeberg 1848 (Swedish)
• two small official languages
• High educational level
• Good libraries
• Reading skills

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SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE BOOK TRADE

• Many publishers
• Many titles published
• Good booksellers
• Many titles imported from all over the world
• Effective logistics in a big country
• FREE PRICES since 1971

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Total number of titles published in Finland
19632000, new titles and reprints
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(No Transcript)
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Finnish titles available, by publisher in 1999
and 2001
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Distribution of deliveries by Kirjavälitys (major
distributorin Finland) during on one day in
December 2001 (17.12.2001)
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RETURNS

• School books can be returned up to a certain of
  purchases - if more the bookshop does not get
  full credit
• Marketing campaigns
• Christmas time
• Special campaigns

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SPECIAL FEATURE
- Sample stock - 1 copy as commission stock -
Reordered when sold - Publishers ask for returns
1-2 years later but offer extra high margin if
kept - 70-75 - Yearly big book sale campaign
to clean the stock of both bookshops and
publishers - Catalogues with pre-orders
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• CONCLUSION
• Both publishers, distributors as well as
• bookshops have realised the high handling
• costs of returns.
• Imported books especially expensive
• to return.
• Work together to minimize the returns.
• Free prices makes it possible to reduce price
• on overstock and to make it interesting for
• consumers to visit bookshops and find good
• titles at special prices -
• EVERYBODY IS HAPPY!

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MORE INFORMATION - not only aboutFinland
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Sales of books by distribution channel at retail
prices including VAT