Beano tops annual market despite huge Pokémon boost

The Beano Annual 2017 (D C Thomson) is on track to be the biggest selling children’s annual this Christmas, with sales of 13,401 units (£52,549 in value terms) to date, according to Nielsen BookScan. Sales of the perennial favourite, starring characters such as Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx, are 15% up year on year: The Beano Annual 2016 sold 11,139 copies across the comparable period last year.

Duncan Hamilton, licensing director at Parragon, which is part of D C Thomson, said sales of the annual were strong as the weekly comic has a readership of more than 400,000, and because it appeals to two markets: older fans who buy it for nostalgic reasons, and children who are discovering the characters for the first time. “The Beano constantly evolves to reflect what kids are doing so although it’s considered a classic property, it’s satisfyingly contemporary.”

Parragon has six of the 20 top-selling annuals in volume terms, with a combined value of £156,955. Its next biggest seller is Nickelodeon PAW Patrol Annual 2017, described by Hamilton as the company’s fastest-growing title year on year, with Nielsen sales of 6,832 units (£25,584).

Its The Dandy Annual 2017 is in eighth place, (5,574 copies, £22,230), The Broons is in ninth (5,440 units, £21,189), Oor Willie is in 10th (5,427 copies, £21,492) and the Jacqueline Wilson Annual 2017 is in 20th, having sold 3,675 copies for a total value of £13,911.

Egmont has seven of the top 20 annuals, with combined value sales of £139,912. Its biggest seller is The Official Minecraft Annual 2017, which has sold 11,498 units to chart second, followed by Trolls Annual 2017 (sixth, 6,386 copies) and The Official LEGO Star Wars Annual 2017 (seventh, 5,593 copies). John Packard, brands and licensing publishing director at Egmont, said the company had increased its share of the market from a percentage in the mid-twenties last year, to more than 32% in 2016 to date. “Our strategy is now to publish fewer annuals. We published 12 this year and we used to do around 20, so it’s a sizeable decrease.” When asked how Egmont chooses which topics to turn into annuals, he said: “We always turn to tried and tested topics. Annuals buyers always want a known performer. When we do go for new topics we choose things that are already big hits, such as our Trolls annual.”

However, Packard said the market had been “quite tough” for the past few years. “Buyers are becoming more risk-averse and there is limited space at retail. The market is flat this year compared to last year as volume sales are going up but value sales not so much.”

D C Thomson publishes around 15 annuals every year, four or five of which are for adults. Hamilton said the market had not changed significantly, but agreed that buyers were buying fewer titles. The challenge, he said, is placing the right annual with the right retailer at the right price, because “you don’t want to oversell—that will damage the reputation of the brand. You also don’t want to over-publish because then you’re left with lots of stock”.

Hamilton said D C Thomson was always looking for the next “big thing”, adding: “The challenge is always scooping up the hot new properties in terms of brands. So we will talk to retailers and customers, see what’s trending in other markets. Is the brand big in South Korea, for example? Or is it a new game that’s got great reviews?”

Other publishers with annuals in the top 20 are Orchard (The Official Pokémon Encyclopedia in 11th, and My Little Pony 2017 in 17th) and Ladybird (LEGO Official Annual 2017 in 13th and Peppa Pig Official Annual in 14th). Macmillan’s Match Annual 2017 is in third place and Scholastic’s Pokémon Deluxe Essential Handbook is in fourth. An unofficial Minecraft annual, Independent & Unofficial Guide: Minecraft Secrets & Cheats, published by Dennis, is in 15th place.

According to Nielsen BookScan data, the brand to have shown the biggest growth year on last year in terms of its annuals is Pokémon, with sales of affiliated annuals up 820% from a volume of 2,736 in 2015, and the Match Annual, which is up 20%.

Sales through Nielsen BookScan year to date.