The Hindu Business Line : `E-books are an opportunity'

India has long been one of the powerhouse nations of Asia in terms of contribution to world scholarship, and Asia's significance as a source of world scholarship is rising rapidly.

Blaise Simqu, President and CEO, SAGE Publications

SAGE needs little introduction as a major academic publisher, globally publishing over 450 academic journals and over 500 new book titles a year. Its sales are currently $200 million. "We typically double in total sales every five years — a growth which is well above industry trend rates and is generated out of a constantly increasing market share," says Blaise Simqu, President and Chief Executive Officer of SAGE Publications since 2004. He was previously Vice-President in charge of the Journals Division in SAGE's California head office, and Executive Vice-President of the company's Higher Education Group, including both university level book and journal publishing.

Simqu talks to BrandLine , along with his colleague Vivek Mehra, the new Managing Director and CEO of SAGE India.

Mehra was earlier the head of the India operations of IDC Technologies. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, an MA in marketing from Columbia University, New York and a B.Sc. in textile technology from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. He has worked with Calvin Klein, patented special inks and created an inexpensive method to produce raisins from fresh grapes.

Excerpts from the interview:

Sage. On the reason behind the name, when founding in 1965.

[Blaise Simqu] A sage is a wise person. SAGE's business is about the creation and dissemination of research, knowledge, education and learning, all of which serve to enhance wisdom. There is also a personal aspect to the name. The company was founded by Sara and George McCune. They took the first two initials of their first names, SA and GE and created SAGE Publications.

How important is India in the global SAGE? What is the share in terms of revenues and employees? Also, how much of production work has been performed in India?

[Simqu] SAGE India is a very important part of the SAGE group of companies, particularly given the long tradition of excellence in higher education in India.

Although currently the annual sales income of SAGE India is a small percentage of SAGE's global sales, we have great hopes to develop SAGE India into an increasingly substantial proportion of our business. We currently have 700 employees worldwide; of these, 140 are based in India.

SAGE is in India first and foremost as a publisher, to serve the Indian market and educational needs and to support and disseminate the work of Indian scholars and educators.

Alongside our role as a publisher, SAGE is taking advantage of the opportunity to use India's strengths as a venue for outsourcing and offshoring.

Already much of the production work of SAGE globally including the majority of our typesetting and an increasing proportion of our editorial work is performed through Indian companies, facilitated and managed by SAGE India.

Does SAGE contemplate continuing as a privately owned corporation and forego the benefits of quick scaling up?

[Simqu] SAGE is absolutely committed to retaining its independence as a privately owned company. We do not see any impediment in our ownership to our continued growth.

Are any acquisitions on the radar of Sage in 2007? What did you acquire recently?

[Simqu] There are always acquisitions on the radar and we cannot comment at this point on any specific opportunities.

In 2006, SAGE had its most successful acquisition year ever with the acquisitions of three significant companies or publishing programmes: the journals lists of Prime National, Westminster and Hodder Arnold.

Is there any threat for the book industry from e-books?

[Simqu] We see e-books as an opportunity, not a threat.

What are the metrics you use to assess the success of a publication, both pre- and post-publication?

[Simqu] In pre-publication, the key assessment is the quality of the work both in terms of its quality of the research going into it and its utility for its purpose by readers. In post-publication, the key criteria include sales, contribution to SAGE's market share, reviews, awards and other indicators of general recognition of a work's quality.

You mention that India has been "bursting with ideas and intellectual activity." How does this rate internationally?

[Simqu] India has long been one of the powerhouse nations of Asia in terms of contribution to world scholarship, and Asia's significance as a source of world scholarship is rising rapidly. However, India's investment in education and research needs to compete with rising activity in China and other Asian countries.

Where do you see "the increase in the quality and depth of the science base in India"?

[Simqu] I was referring to the decade to come - the increase in the depth and quality of the science base in India will become a reality. We see a huge potential for STM (scientific, technical and medical) publishing in Asia and India will play a significant part.

What are the newer challenges in the markets you operate in? Are there barriers of entry into the global English language markets?

[Simqu] The biggest changes potentially are driven out of the transformation of the journals business through electronic dissemination which carries the potential to dramatically alter the business models as well as the ways in which scholars and students access and use scientific research.

Are there fields that SAGE shuns? Such as fiction?

[Simqu] Yes - SAGE is an academic and professional publisher. We publish journals, textbooks, reference works and associated tools of learning and scholarship. We do not publish fiction.

How do you resolve the product quality vs price dilemma? Are there ways in which books can be made more affordable?

[Vivek Mehra] SAGE has always stood for quality both in terms of the physical properties of the product and on content. There isn't an easy answer to meeting these objectives by making books cheaper.

Vivek Mehra, MD & CEO, SAGE India

What changes are required in our laws and policies to make the book industry flourish better?

[Mehra] The strict enforcement of intellectual property rights to control piracy both organised and unorganised — the unlimited photocopying that august institutions turn a blind eye too!)

You plan to enter textbook publishing and the vernacular market. Any details?

[Mehra] SAGE is entering the core textbook market addressing the need for high quality texts at the graduate level. Traditionally, Sage has been there as the first choice for secondary reading and not as a part of the core. Our focus will remain on the quality, both in terms of content and the physical quality of the book. Ninety-seven per cent of India speaks languages other than English. SAGE would like to meet the demands of this segment. We hope to seek strategic alliances with regional language publishers to assist us in the implementation of our program.

What's SAGE doing in China?

[Simqu] SAGE is developing its sales and marketing presence in China. We now have Chinese-speaking staff based in China reporting into our new Asia-Pacific office in Singapore. We work collaboratively with other partners in developing the presence of SAGE's books and journals in the Chinese market.

Are titles brought out in foreign languages, apart from English?

[Simqu] SAGE titles are made available in other languages through the sale of translation rights to international publishers working in other languages. SAGE does not publish such language editions itself.

Lastly, on the chemistry that brings a Chemical Engineering PhD as the CEO of book publishing!

[Mehra] The publishing industry worldwide attracts people from all types of professional backgrounds. SAGE's foray into science, technology and medicine publishing coupled with my background in production was a natural alliance that was fortunate to happen.