Preview

Harlequin Enterprises Case Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
846 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Harlequin Enterprises Case Analysis
Harlequin Enterprises: The Mira Decision

Harlequin Enterprises has dominated the series romance fiction novel market since the 1970’s. Harlequin has fought off every major competitor in this genre and maintained consistent performance for multiple decades. Brand loyalty, worldwide production capabilities, production efficiencies, creative control, and distribution are the strengths that Harlequin utilizes to dominate the series romance genre.

Having a consistent product has helped Harlequin establish a loyal customer base with over 70 million readers worldwide. Surveys indicate that four out of five readers continue to purchase Harlequin books the next year. To keep creativity at a high level Harlequin utilizes over 1,300 authors worldwide to develop the stories while the editors maintain strict control to ensure that the product remains consistent. This method allows Harlequin to maintain a high level of creativity and at the same time keep costs low since they do not have to pay up front the millions of dollars single title novel authors require. Legal fees for retaining authors are also low for Harlequin since they use standardized contracts vs. custom contracts typical to the single title genre.

Harlequin has a very strong distribution, selling and production system. Harlequin distributes and sells its products in two successful ways: direct retail sales and direct mail. Harlequin novels are available in over 250,000 retail outlets around the world. They do not solely rely on the typical “big box” book stores such as Barnes and Noble; instead Harlequin utilizes supermarkets, drug stores, kiosks, etc. The book dimensions are designed especially for the racks at the supermarkets. The other source of readership comes from Harlequin’s loyal “Reader Service” book club. Nearly 60% of all books sold in the U.S. were from the book club. Book club sales are sold at full cover price so Harlequin has healthy profit margins from this market.

A weakness

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    One of the most popular leisure activities in the world is reading. The reading industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and Barnes & Noble is no small player. Primarily a retail business, New York-based Barnes & Noble has cemented themselves as a pillar of strength in the industry by operating over 1300 retail stores in the United States. More recently, they have entered the technology field as the reading industry moved more towards digital media. Currently, Barnes & Noble provides retail services on over 600 college campuses, and operates one of the world’s largest e-commerce web sites. With their entry into digital media, Barnes & Noble has expanded its profitability by selling digital e-books to its customers, as well as traditional paperback, hard cover, textbooks, reference, fiction, and all other types of print media. Barnes & Noble remains one of the literary industry’s top firms, and looks to continue this performance long into the digital age.…

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    1. Describe clearly the accounting changes Harnischfeger made in 1984 as stated in Note 2 of its financial statements…

    • 1524 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Business Quiz Week 4

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages

    | (TCO 1) The Book Promoters Association of Canada members recently questioned what could be done to rejuvenate the Canadian book publishing industry. Some members claimed the problem was Canadian retailers had been replaced by Wal-Marts. Others said the problem was with stodgy promotions. Still others said the problem was caused by too little money being budgeted to fund marketing programs. It was time that Canadian book publishers used __________ to save the industry.…

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dominick10 tb ch06 3

    • 1037 Words
    • 8 Pages

    6. The contemporary book industry has seen a jump in the number of outlets selling…

    • 1037 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The editors analyze the aspects of commodity culture and advertising linked with Elizabeth Teare’s article, “Harry Potter and the Technology of Magic.” Giving several examples, the writer focuses on identifying the main claim of Teare’s article, “twenty-first-century commercial and technological culture” that shapes consumerist themes in children’s literature and the marketing of merchandise associated with children’s books and films. The author helpfully points out that whether or not you are a fan of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, this article can be proven useful when the same thought process is applied to any fiction readers might enjoy. The editor’s perspective was very useful in narrowing down Teare’s main point from other claims made within the article.…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    * Category managers worked with store managers to review the previous year’s lineup, order and actual sales…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Strategic Recruitment is critical to the success of an organization in meeting its goals and mission because the organization needs people that can think out of the box and grasp concepts that are different from the normal. An organization is only as successful as it is able to keep up with change. By bring in strategic and aggressive people it allows the organization to bring in new and fresh ideas to motivate the current staff that maybe stale with confident from tenure.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The series, “Harry Potter”, penned by British author J.K. Rowling, offers more than just a quick read for young and old readers alike, it now has become part of American culture. Created in 1997, with new releases in the seven book series every couple years, its intrigue with American culture has lasted 14 years. It has reached across many media types, making it available to large groups of people in different genres. Though this series has been touched by controversy, bringing up issues of religion, witchcraft, occult practices, and not being appropriate for children, it has not stopped individuals from purchasing the novels. Headlines from The New York Times said it was the fastest selling book in history (2007). When a new book in the series gets released, individuals will wait in lines for hours to receive their treasured copies. It is also not uncommon for readers, and fans to stand in line at all hours of the night to view a movie that is being released. Readers might find themselves attending parties held in the books name, dressing up as characters from the book, even serving food mentioned by the author in her literary works. The influence of Harry Potter goes well beyond just reading for simple enjoyment. The lessons in the books are life lessons most can relate to, which may be why readers seem to stay interested. A simple keyword search on the internet of “Harry Potter” will for tell just how engrained in our culture this book is. You will find everything from the books themselves, to party favors, to numerous websites devoted to the phenomenon, Harry Potter.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One major trend in popular culture in the U.S. is that of the popular novels and movies. For example, the Harry Potter novels were written by J.K. Rowling, who is thus far the only known billionaire author. The story is about Harry Potter, an adolescent wizard, and his close friends and their adventures as they attend a school of Wizardry. The main plot involves how Harry is a special wizard that has a purpose in defeating his nemesis, a dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, who wants to take over the wizard world. Rowling sold the movie rights to Warner Brothers which resulted in the series of Harry Potter block buster movies. Harry Potter popularity opened a vast market of merchandise to its fans. Warner Brothers has an Internet site, wbshop.com, where people can order their favorite Harry Potter “official” merchandise ranging from coffee mugs, t-shirts, wands, wizard hats, posters, necklaces, sculptures, ring tones, etc. (Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., 2011). The Harry Potter hype also caused controversial views, such as beliefs from some Christian groups that the stories were causing children to indulge in practicing witchcraft. Some also believe that the stories teach adults and children to have over-glorified…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    With technological evolution of digital media, eBooks and an abrupt rise in tech savvy readers there had been a dire need to understand change in consumer need and fulfil the growing gap. With the failure of its NOOK e-reader, declining tradition hardcover readers and constant pressure by competitor such as Amazon, it is no wonder why it is so difficult for them to compete. Apparently Barnes & Noble's present strategy is not working and is bringing…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Nook has created a product line for Barnes and Nobles during a time they were facing declining sales and customer loyalty. The company was in need of a way to keep their existing consumer base and also extend their business in to the advancements made in literature from a technological standpoint. The company has been trying to combat the industry 's ongoing…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ask anyone on the street if he or she has heard of Harry Potter and you will almost certainly get an affirmative answer. In some cases, you may even get a passionate, in-depth reply, followed by a myriad of questions concerning your own opinions. While this type of popularity and fascination in literature seems encouraging, some believe that the mania behind certain novels and series hides a less than stellar trend. Ron Charles, senior editor of Book World, argues that the United States is experiencing a steep decline in the integrity of reading in his article “Harry Potter and the Death of Reading”, published in the Washington Post in July 2007.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The hugely successful Harry Potter series has been embraced by millions of readers worldwide. It’s sold more than four hundred million copies and has been translated into numerous languages. Both children and adults alike have rejoiced to the whimsical story, told by the author J.K. Rowling, about a hero and his perilous journey to an ultimate goal. What many probably do not realize is that they, more likely than not, have read stories like it before. For centuries, various cultures have told similar tales that contain the common themes that Rowling’s book exhibits. These themes are the blueprints for stories that have high appeal to everyone in the world and any author that makes use of them can find success. The Hero with a…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tiffany has decided to sell direct in Japan as opposed to selling wholesale to Mitsukoshi and Mitsukoshi selling to the public. In this agreement Tiffany will give Mitsukoshi 27% of net retail sales in exchange for providing the boutique facilities, sales staff, collection of receivables, and security for store inventory. This new agreement exposes Tiffany to the fluctuation in the yen-dollar exchange rate. Therefore, they are considering two basic hedging alternatives to reduce exchange-rate risk on their yen cash flows. The first alternative was to sell yen for dollars at a predetermined price in the future using a forward contract. The second alternative was to purchase a yen put option allowing them to exercise their option only if it was more profitable in the future at the future spot rate. Two more alternatives that we think are appropriate are a synthetic forward using options and a synthetic forward using interest rate parity. Furthermore, Tiffany needs to understand the hedging alternatives and determine what, if any, strategy is right for them.…

    • 1677 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Vershire Company was a diversified packaging company with several major divisions. In their organization chart, reporting to the divisional general manager were two line managers, vice president in charge of manufacturing and marketing division. These vice presidents headed all division’s activities in their respective functional area.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics