Newcastle firm Inpress takes on publishing giants
Jul 1 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal
A BUSINESS which helps independent publishers compete against the industry giants is aiming to recruit more members after relocating to the North East.
Tynesider Rachael Ogden has taken over as managing director of Inpress and moved the seven-year-old firm to Newcastle from Ealing in West London.
The business, which receives regular funding from the Arts Council, sells books on behalf of its members to the big bookshop chains and is developing its online market.
Ms Ogden said: “It really exists to represent the interests of its members to the book trade.
“We enable these independent publishers – they are micro-publishers often just employing one or two people - to bridge the gap between the creative sector and the commercial. It’s strength in numbers.
“As a group of 40 publishers at the moment, we can get their titles under the noses of the national buyers at Waterstones and get them on the radar. On their own, they wouldn’t get a foot in the door.”
Since taking over as managing director in January, former journalist and ex-Arts Council employee Ms Ogden has been looking at ways to develop and grow Inpress.
She said: “One of those is the membership – we are now ready to start looking for new members. We could probably take another 10 members.
“Part of the move to the North East was about making us more efficient. In the current climate, it’s really important to look at where you can apply cost reductions and cut overheads. We probably save £15,000 a year on rent and other overheads.” Ms Ogden has been based in the region for 15 years and was given the opportunity to relocate the business when she accepted the post.
Now with two full-time staff, a network of freelance sales staff and a new programme to take on graduate interns over the summer, Inpress is looking to further develop its online and overseas markets.
Ms Ogden said: “That’s a really important part of the business. The e-commerce does get me really excited.
“It’s really maximising that long tail. There are 1,700 titles on the website. You can sell quite a significant amount on the web.
“The overseas market is a big area we want to look at over the next months, it’s the main area for growth. We’re really keen to exploit overseas market.”
Around 20% of online sales are abroad and she is keen to hold that figure steady during the recession. The business is also aiming to maintain its £250,000 turnover figure next year, which it achieved after selling 28,000 titles. Its members publish around 160 new books annually.
