Encyclopaedia Britannica bullish on India plans

Mumbai: After deciding to end the publication of its 32-volume printed encyclopaedia, Chicago-based Encyclopaedia Britannica says it would launch more online learning and knowledge products in India.

The Indian market, in which Encyclopaedia Britannica has been present for 12 years, accounted for about five per cent of the company’s global print sales, as the share of North American and European markets diminished. It has sold around 1,100 of each edition in the country over the past 30 months.

However, Leah Mansoor, senior vice-president (international business), in an email interaction with Business Standard, said the decision to close the print version was unlikely to have an impact on its financials or operations, as print accounted for just one per cent of its global revenue.

The company has a history of 244 years, with the first encyclopaedia sold in 1768.

It has big plans for the Indian market, given the importance given to education in the country, Mansoor said. “Our focus now is on the school market, for which we offer a series of electronic knowledge and instructional services. We recently launched the Indian version of our Britannica School Online service, which aligns to the curriculum in India and includes learning materials for both teachers and students. We are looking forward to adapting and launching some our instructional material in science and math,” Mansoor said.

“This is an ongoing development process that would be aligned with the Indian market needs. Our consumer web strategy is global and India also takes part in it,” he added.

Encyclopaedia Britannica India saw double-digit growth in financial year 2010-11 and expects similar growth over the next two to three years, Mansoor said.

“We launched our first curriculum books in math, social studies, science and general knowledge three years ago and our sales have grown dramatically ever since,” Mansoor said.

Last year, Encyclopaedia Britannica entered into a partnership with telecom player Airtel for providing free access to its volumes to broadband users. “We received some exposure, increased traffic to our web properties and, most importantly, we started to co-host here in India in order to improve the quality of our online services,” Mansoor added.

Encyclopaedia Britannica India has two primary divisions — consumer and institutional. The consumer division handles the sales of books, CDs and online subscriptions to consumers and trade as well as handling B2B relationship with original equipment manufacturers and co-publishers.