Market Structure, Trends and Technological Innovation in the Italian Book Publishing Industry

The Italian book publishing industry is characterized by a remarkable production unevenly distributed along the territory. Production is highly differentiated and increasingly concentrated, and gives rise - for each title - to a limited number of printed copies. As predictable in a mature industry, a highly differentiated supply matches with a structurally weak demand, which constitutes the main constrain to market growth in the sector. Besides, the industry is increasingly dependent on sales of few best sellers which often compensate the loss due to other titles, not able to reach the break even point. As in other mature industries, competition is based not only on prices, but on complex acquisition strategies, on the creation and negotiation of entry barriers, and on the redefinition of supply segments. The combination between a mature demand and the concentration of sales on few titles is affecting the concentration in the retail phase too. Finally, service and product innovation (i.e. print on demand, Google Books, e-books, e-readers) will likely facilitate to adapt supply to readers' consumption habits.