The Hindu Business Line : A Muggle farewell

The world prepares to bid the Harry Potter book series goodbye much in the same style that it welcomed the other books – with discounts, carnivals and freebies.

“Most of the hype is self-generating.” _ Thomas Abraham, CEO & President, Penguin India

The cover of the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series published by Bloomsbury

Sravanthi Challapalli

How did such a Muggle world as ours take so overwhelmingly to this magical boy? Did Harry Potter and the attendant train of characters quench a thirst in us for the kind of thrill we almost certainly will not experience? And now that t he series of books about the teenage boy wizard’s life is coming to an end, with the seventh and final novel to release on July 21, the air of anticipation is suffused with various emotions depending on your position/stake in the phenomenon created by J. K. Rowling and her publishers.

One would think a swan song of this stature would sell itself, given the unparalleled success its predecessors have had in earlier years. But no, all those concerned are leaving no stone unturned, also perhaps to make sure they leave their mark on what is one of the most extraordinary sagas in world publishing history.

As in previous years, bookstores and online sellers are offering discounts and incentives on the purchase of the book, more so on pre-booking; planning big events to kick off a week before launch day – the stakes are higher because the world is preparing to bid goodbye.

Thomas Abraham, CEO and President, Penguin India, which is distributing the Harry Potter series in the country, says, “We’d be very surprised if we didn’t top 230,000 in sales for the first week.” The first three books were successful but in a routine sort of way, he says, adding that it’s from Goblet of Fire that the series really took off. That book did about 30,000 copies in 2000. Book 5 did about 60,000, and the last one did about 160,000 copies.

“True, the book should be able to sell itself, on one level. But remember the old adage, however successful a brand, one has to keep promoting it. Having said that, Potter is again a fairly unique phenomenon. Most of the hype is self-generating,” Abraham says. And “the quantity is doubling with the hype,” says M. Raju, Store Manager at Chennai’s Oxford Book Store.

A pricey affair at Rs 975, the sweeteners are the discounts some booksellers are offering. If some aren’t, well, they’ve got something else in store for you. Oxford Book Store is offering 17.5 per cent off on the book if you pre-order and pay Rs 300 in advance. Landmark is not offering a discount but has some exclusive gifts up its sleeve. Crossword is giving out a gift voucher of Rs 200 and membership of its store loyalty programme on pre-booking.

Pre-bookings aren’t really necessary, copies will continue to be available, but for a book of this magnitude, it’s always better to be certain – that’s the sentiment ruling readers’ hearts as they rush to book their copies. “This time, pre-booking is much higher. It’s not all marketing; you can’t have this kind of response if the quality wasn’t good,” says Aniyan Nair, Head (Operations & Marketing) of Crossword.

These stores are not stopping with discounts/freebies. Apart from special offers on the entire Harry Potter series, they have in-store excitement planned as well. Oxford’s ’Pottermania’ will kick off a week before the launch and will offer incentives on the set of Harry Potter books.

Landmark is planning a surprise but what it will reveal is that it’s doing up its stores with witches, broomsticks, owls and other Harry Potter paraphernalia to set the mood. All of them, of course, plan to build castles in their stores a la Hogwarts and will open at the crack of dawn to service the long queues outside.

“The Harry Potter books gave a fillip to the reading habit among children, and people discovered fantasy old and new,” says Hemu Ramaiah, CEO, Landmark. They revived interest in several authors such as C. S. Lewis (The Chroni cles of Narnia), J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and Eva Ibbotson (The Secret of Platform 13 and others), and made the genre popular. Since Potter, there have been several fantasy and teen heroes and he roines: Artemis Fowl, Eragon, Alfred Kropp, Young Bond, Percy Jackson, Lemony Snicket and Lyra of Dark Materials (the first novel in the series was actually published in 1995, before Harry Potter) – they may not have the same readership as Potter, but have a dedicated following.

The book’s arrival also coincided with a period in time when people were able to afford them and when parents were getting keener on their children developing the reading habit, she says.

Just why is Potter so popular? Says brand expert Harish Bijoor, “Harry allows us to escape where we want to be. This is a brand that seeps into our psyche and helps bridge the explored with the unexplored. We as human beings want this. The brand formula is, therefore, perfect.

“Added to this, the brand’s marketing is seamless and transitions media to great advantage. The editorial dissemination of the brand is big as well. All this helps build the cult of Harry Potter and the brand becomes one that monetises value.”

Penguin’s Abraham does not see a formula in Potter’s success. “There would have been a lot more similar successes otherwise. But yes, the storytelling, the characters, the emotional connect it builds up, the effortless writing, the universe it creates and exists in all go a long way,” says Abraham. “Worldwide, Harry Potter has an amazing impact. In India too, this can be seen, albeit on a lesser scale. There’s huge excitement, a sluggish summer market seems rejuvenated and most importantly it’s good for everybody’s turnover. On the flip side there’s the absolutely unnecessary discounting (again a worldwide phenomenon) that eats into margins,” he adds.

However, the discounting spree this time across stores real and virtual has turned this into a volumes game. “It’s the best-selling consumer product and it’s being discounted,” says Landmark’s Ramaiah with a laugh.

For Penguin, the children’s segment brings in 15 per cent of its turnover. Piracy is a big concern, most so when a new Harry Potter is releasing.

There will be some strong anti-piracy initiatives on, says Abraham. “A lot of Potter readers don’t buy them,” says Ramaiah, explaining that the story may not be correct or printed right. The books have also come to be regarded as collectibles.

The series has thrown up several parodies, such as the Barry Trotter series, Harry Putter, Henry Potty and Parry Hotter, but these come up and evoke interest soon after a Potter book is released and lie low till the next one. They don’t really have a lasting impact, says Ramaiah.

The movies, of course, rendered Harry and his world of wizardry much closer and clearer to the Muggles and have topped $3 billion in revenue as box-office block busters.

As with the books, each movie has generated more interest than the previous one and more and more pockets in India have come to be aware of Potter, says Sanjay Narayanan, Marketing Manager, Warner Bros India. This year, the release of Ha rry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is just 10 days ahead of the release of the final book, and that is seen as complimenting the book release, though Narayanan says he cannot comment on whether the timing was deliberate. Harry Potter is among the top three movie franchises in terms of revenue and each sequel has been one of the biggest movies in the year that it was released, he adds. Warner Bros is also releasing a set of the movies on DVD and games for PC and PlayStation II, he informs.

Will Harry live? Who will die? Rowling has set off a frenzy of guessing by revealing that at least two characters will die in this final book but for those in publishing and book selling, where budgets are made based on Harry Potter, the big question is What Next?

“Publishing is an inexact science in terms of predicting bestsellers. But everybody hopes that they’ll have the next Rowling or Dan Brown. And it’s hoped that the Potter effect will have left its mark in at least widening the readership base and in rekindling the reading habit. But if not, life will go on as before,” says Abraham. But one thing is for sure – achieving a similar level of success will be a hard act to follow.

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A Muggle farewell