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Press Contact:
Dave Gladney
Writer/Editor
856-241-7772
dgladney@AEPweb.org
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Educational Niche Industry is an Economic Sleeper
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Stacey
Pusey
Communications Manager
February 2, 2004—Almost while no one was looking,
an often under-reported segment of the U.S. economy, an industry
that helps your child succeed educationally, has proven to be a
financial sleeper. Supplemental educational publishers, a diverse
field of companies providing a wide range of learning materials
from printed page to Web page, has quietly grown to become a $2.5
billion business in America. And the business resoundingly bucked
the slow economic trend of the early 2000s, growing by nearly 5
percent in 2002 , twice the rate of the nation’s most-watched
measurement, the Gross Domestic Product.
If the industry itself is less than famous, supplemental
educational publishers include some of the most recognizable names
in the country:
- Time Magazine's Time for Kids Media Group;
- Scholastic Inc.;
- Highlights for Children;
- LeapFrog, the interactive software publisher;
- and Texas Instruments, among many others.
The field marked a 4.6 percent increase in sales for 2002 compared
to 2001 according to a broad-based, independent survey of the industry.
The survey was conducted by Education Market Research (EMR) of Rockaway
Park, NY, and was commissioned by the Association of Educational
Publishers. AEP, a member-supported trade organization, is based
in Southern New Jersey.
"This is a benchmark survey," said Charlene Gaynor, executive
director of the AEP. "We needed an independent survey of the
full industry, not just the size, but how the pieces fit in."
Among the findings, besides the strong growth of the industry during
an economic recession:
- The average revenue for sales of supplemental educational material
per company was $24.3 million in 2002, a $1 million increase over
2001.
- Materials in the Reading/Language Arts/English category generated
the largest industry revenue, but materials for the study of mathematics
had the highest growth rate, at 8.2%.
- Computer and interactive software and online sales were a smaller
segment than the other categories (print and video/audio) surveyed,
but showed the strongest growth, at 8.6%.
- Book and other store sales were up a remarkable 24.3 percent.
"The supplemental publishing industry is ... one of the best-kept
secrets of the economy," Gaynor said. "People are getting
(excellent) return on investment." Some Wall Street analysts
are taking notice. Recently (January) Bear Stearns upgraded LeapFrog
Enterprises (LF) to outperform from peer perform. Other well-known
names in the industry, such as Texas Instruments (TX) and Scholastic
Corp. (SCHL) are long-term presences on the stock exchanges.
The just-published survey is already being offered to the 288 members
of AEP, who are expected to use it to "plan production, development
and marketing strategies," Gaynor said. "One of the strengths
of supplemental publishing is that you can bring an (educational)
product to market much more quickly than you can a textbook. So
supplemental publishing tends to be where real innovation takes
place."
The second annual survey is already contracted, Gaynor said. Meanwhile,
initial information from the industry leads her to conclude that,
"Like everyone else, we're cautiously optimistic about our
growth."
For more on AEP, and for information on the industry survey, its
components, and how to purchase a copy, visit AEP's website
or call 856-241-7772. Or you can go to the Education
Market Research home page, for a concise description and table
of contents of the survey.
About AEP
AEP, a national, nonprofit organization, represents, supports and
promotes the publishers of supplemental educational resources, key
tools for reading and learning at school and at home. Its membership
includes the giants of the supplemental education industry, and
spans the gamut from magazines to television channels, books to
interactive computer software and CDs. Please visit www.AEPweb.org
for more information.
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