Hachette Antoine : Publishing and Bookselling in the Lebanon
by Roger Tagholm
Sharjah is one of the most important and most “joyful book
fairs we attend”, says Emile Tyan, CEO and General Manager
of Hachette Antoine, the unusual joint venture equally
owned by publisher Hachette Livre in France and Lebanese
bookseller and publisher Librarie Antoine. Tyan says that as
a publisher and bookseller the fair is invaluable because “we
see how our new titles are appreciated by the public; we see
if our marketing is working – we see all our customers, our
distributors around the Arab world; everyone is there. And
it is joyful because it is so well-organised and we deal with
people who speak straight”.
Hachette Antoine was established in 2010, bringing
together one of Lebanon’s oldest and most distinguished
booksellers, Librarie Antoine, and the giant global
Hachette empire. But Tyan stresses that the company is
totally independent of Librarie Antoine and Hachette,
“with its own agenda, its own separate business”. He adds
that the joint venture came about “because Hachette
wanted to be present in all the big markets, and at the time
they did not have a presence in the Arab World, Russia or
China. So they invested in these three regions. Its aim is to
be one of the leading publishers in the Arab World for trade
and school books”.
Hachette Antoine publishes around 200 titles a year, 150
of which are trade and the rest educational. It has a number
of children’s licences – Disney, Brainquest and Sesame Street
– and also translates Arabic children’s titles. It publishes
around 20 novels a year, split between French books bought
from French publishers, and English titles acquired from
agents. “We would like to introduce Young Adult books in the
Arab World – they haven’t really taken off here – but first we
have to create the demand.”
Librarie Antoine was founded in 1933 by Tyan’s
grandfather, Antoine Naufal. His two brothers, Pierre
and Emile, joined the business in 1935, and by 1960 they
had opened three stores. In 1970, Pierre founded Naufal
Publishing which published some Arabic titles. Rapid
expansion came between 1985 and 2009 when Libairie
Antoine opened a number of stores in malls to make it a
13-strong chain of bookstores.
Today it has 15 stores, chiefly in Beirut and its suburbs,
comprising 11 general stores and a number of concessions in
universities and schools. The company is a respected survivor.
In 1975-76, during the Lebanese civil war, there was a fire and
looting at its three stores in central Beirut and the head office
was moved out of the city.
Business today is tough, according to Tyan, though there
are reasons for optimism too. “Physical books are fine – we
have maintained the same level of sales, though some
reference areas have been hit. But for novels and children’s
books we don’t have problems.
“However the [geopolitical] situation in Arab countries
doesn’t help. We used to have a lot of people from the Gulf
who loved to come to our bookstores – they were very good
customers, but they are not traveling to Lebanon anymore
because of security issues and political reasons.”
The competition that physical books face from ebooks
is an issue too, though Tyan notes that Amazon is not yet a
threat. “Digital books in Lebanon are still a very small market
– we don’t have Amazon and we don’t have the iBookstore
because Arabic is not yet available.
“Our prime concern is real estate. The cost of real estate
is very high. Bookstores need a lot of space. If we don’t have a
special rate, I’m not sure bookstores are sustainable.” Yet almost
in the same breath Tyan notes that the many dark predictions
about printed books and bookstores have proved untrue.
“Really I am against all extreme views – people have
said there won’t be any printed books, there won’t be any
bookstores. I have seen a lot of new products come in and
then go away – like CD Roms for example. But we are still
selling printed books, and I think that will continue. We just
have to be ingenious and find new solutions, to find new
product.”
On the latter he says the chain opened a new concept
store in Beirut Souks in 2012, which sells more non-book, gift
and gadget items. “We were afraid that our customers would
react badly, but they didn’t, so we now stock a range of this
non-book product,” Tyan says.
How does he think his grandfather would react coming into
the stores today? “I hope he would be proud that we are still
here. He always said that we don’t have to look backward, that
we shouldn’t look to the past. He said we should always look
for ward, always change and adapt and look to the future.”
A good message for any business.
