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Following its acquisition of Union Square & Co. from Barnes & Noble in November, Hachette Book Group (HBG) reported an 8.9% increase in sales during the first quarter ending on March 31, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Excluding the impact of the acquisition, HBG’s sales experienced a modest rise of 0.4%. According to HBG’s parent company, Lagardère, Union Square contributed €14 million to HBG’s revenue.
Lagardère Publishing’s total revenue for the first quarter reached €623 million, marking an 8% increase when excluding non-recurring items, such as the Union Square acquisition. The company credited this growth to robust performance across various global markets and a notable uptick in the board games sector. The U.K. division notably excelled, with sales surging by 13%, driven primarily by the success of Rebecca Yarros’s Onyx Storm.
David Shelley, CEO of both HBG and HUK, highlighted that the growth in U.S. sales was fueled by a series of high-chart debuts and immediate bestsellers. Notable titles contributing to this success included Quicksilver by Callie Hart, On the Hippie Trail by Rick Steves, and the newly released Will the Pigeon Graduate by Mo Willems, which was published under the Union Square imprint. Additionally, James Patterson had four titles ranking among HBG’s top sellers, while backlist works by notable authors such as Octavia Butler and Freida McFadden also performed well during this period.
In concluding his remarks, Shelley emphasized the ongoing importance of HBG’s Raising Readers initiative, stating its mission to “help develop future readers and directly address the crisis in children’s reading on both sides of the Atlantic.” He assured stakeholders that further details regarding the program would be shared in the near future.
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www.publishersweekly.com