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Our professional/trade offerings include books and subscription products, both print and electronic. We serve professionals in specialized markets and consumers in selected categories, a strategy that permits product franchising and deep market penetration in such areas as business, accounting, nonprofit institution management, computers, psychology, architecture, engineering, hospitality and culinary arts, and general interest. Products are developed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia for worldwide distribution through multiple channels, including bookstores, online sales, and direct marketing.
Professional/trade continues to grow rapidly through an effective combination of organic growth and acquisition. Our acquisition of Hungry Minds, Inc. in September 2001, the largest in Wiley history, brought us a portfolio of high profile brands that includes For Dummies®, Webster's New World™, CliffsNotes™, Frommer's™, Betty Crocker®, and Weight Watchers®. Jossey-Bass, acquired in June 1999, publishes books and journals for professionals and executives in business, psychology, and education/health management, and has important publishing relationships with the Center for Creative Leadership and Booz-Allen & Hamilton. The acquisition of the J.K. Lasser guides in November 1999 fortified our position in the tax and finance market. We plan to develop an online franchise for the Lasser guides to further expand our presence. In 2001, we acquired two publishers of high-quality finance books for the professional market, Frank J. Fabozzi Publishing in the U.S. and Wrightbooks Pty Ltd., in Australia. Our 2002 acquisition of approximately 250 teacher education titles from Prentice-Hall Direct (a unit of Pearson Education) brought us a leading position in that market, while our 2003 acquisition of 34 high-end computer titles from Wrox Press Ltd. in the U.K., in conjunction with our existing high-end technology titles, has given us a position in the high-end market to match the dominance of the consumer market achieved by our For Dummies and Visual™ brands. That position was further strengthened by our 2005 acquisition of the California-based Sybex Inc., a leading publisher for the global professional Information Technology community. Sybex publishes about 100 new titles a year and has a backlist of approximately 450 titles, with a strong presence in the area of IT and business certifications.
Our alliance strategy continues to work extremely well. We have recently signed an agreement with Mergent, Inc. to publish Mergent's Dividend Achievers, Handbook of Common Stocks, and Handbook of NASDAQ Stocks. General Mills's popular Pillsbury® brand has joined Wiley's industry-leading roster of cookbooks. And our partnership with the American Medical Association now extends to the much-anticipated fourth edition of the American Medical Association Family Medical Guide.
Electronic products are a growing part of our professional/trade program. One example is TheraScribe 4.0, an innovative software program that allows mental health professionals to create individualized treatment plans. In partnership with VantageMed Corporation, we are developing an interface that will allow TheraScribe to interact with VantageMed's Therapist Helper to provide a seamless practice management solution. Wiley distributes ebooks, a channel which has significant growth potential, through netLibrary, Lightning Source and the University of Phoenix, among others. In addition, we license content to numerous public Web sites such as Books24x7.com and TaxAct.com. Applications such as Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Online are also successfully bringing content to our customers online.
Starting from a small base 20 years ago, we have built a robust and profitable professional/trade business. We believe we have the momentum and the market positions in target subject areas to continue our above-industry-average growth. |
