British publishers return en masse to Beijing to find a changing Chinese market

The largest contingent of British exhibitors since the pandemic will be at this week’s Beijing International Book Fair, with book trade professionals “tiptoeing” back to re-engaging fully with their Chinese counterparts. Yet UK publishers have noted more tricky trading conditions in China, stressing a need to be able to adapt with their partners to a rapidly changing retail landscape.

Twenty-seven UK companies will be taking part at this BIBF, 25% up on last year, which was the first fully physical iteration of the fair since Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020. For BIBF in general, the direction of travel for fairgoers is equally positive, with organisers expecting 1,800 exhibitors—1,050 from abroad—17% up on 2023. This is still some distance off the pre-pandemic heights: at BIBF 2019, there were 56 British and almost 2,600 exhibitors in total.   

Pan Macmillan is “fully” back at BIBF 2024, where it will launch a Julia Donaldson and Friends Pop-up Store Exhibition—devised and in collaboration with China National Publications Import and Export—to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s The Gruffalo in China. Pan Mac international director Jonathan Atkins said China has had “tough market conditions [with a Covid] recovery, which has probably taken longer than anywhere else in the world”. He added: “We are tiptoeing back to full face-to-face meetings in China, and [BIBF] will be a welcome chance to re-establish relationships and properly catch up on future trends.”

Atkins noted that the shifting retail landscape—particularly with the enormous influence of social media/short-video e-commerce channels—meant being nimble with Chinese partners was key: “We are trying hard to support them as they adjust to new patterns of buying… we’re also finding new ways to collaborate around their work with online influencers, which has become a very dynamic and striking new focus for us all.”

Overall figures support the view that, while there is uncertainty, the Chinese market is keen to buy British books. The UK Publishers Association said its members’ export sales to China hit £63m in 2023 (on invoiced sales), a rise of 13% on 2022, and back to the 2019 level. 

Sarah McLean, Bloomsbury international group sales director, echoed Atkins on the changing shape of China’s market: “It has taken a while for the market to recover fully after the pandemic, but we feel things are firmly turning around now with new, exciting routes to market opening in a constantly evolving marketplace.”

Bloomsbury continues to have success in the country with its Harry Potter brand, and has done well with its kids’ middle-grade list (including graphic novels such as Sheena Dempsey’s Pablo and Splash), while Neil Gaiman and illustrator Levi Pinfold’s Norse Mythology has been receiving a lot of interest ahead of BIBF. McLean said: “Flexibility and speed to react are vital to moving with consumer demands; we spend a lot of time working on our local social media channels to tailor our marketing to the Chinese audience.”

DK is an old China hand, having established its office in the country with local partners 27 years ago. Its business in the country is up on pre-pandemic levels and has outperformed the overall Chinese market in the past year; in fact, June 2024 is set to be its record month. But DK sales director for Asia Caroline Purslow noted this has not been straightforward, as “sales [have been] fluctuating as the overall market navigates a constantly changing backdrop, with more economic uncertainty than there has been in the past”.

DK and its partners have also been tapping into the social media e-commerce phenomenon, but Purslow added: “We have recently seen more high-end bookshops opening, which are a great showcase for DK books, and we have been working with our local partners to focus a little more on these channels as well as online.”