Random House: Difference between revisions

[[Phyllis E. Grann]] joined Random House as vice-chairman in 2001.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/5618/|title=Now for the Grann Finale|last=Maneker|first=Marion|date=January 1, 2002|website=New York|access-date=May 23, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806061904/https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/5618/|url-status=live}}</ref> Grann was the CEO for Putnam and had grown that house from $10&nbsp;million in revenue in 1976, to more than $200&nbsp;million by 1993 and without increasing their title output.<ref name=":2" /> A publishing insider commented that then CEO Peter Olson was, "I think maybe instead of buying a company he bought a person."<ref name=":2" /> Random House reentered the distribution business in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20030526/34909-random-house-to-reenter-distribution-business.html|title=Random House to Reenter Distribution Business|first=Jim|last=Milliot|date=May 27, 2003|access-date=February 5, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131141023/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20030526/34909-random-house-to-reenter-distribution-business.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Coinciding with the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the publishing industry was hit hard with weak retail sales. In May 2008, Random House CEO Peter Olson stepped down and Bertelsmann replaced Olson with [[Markus Dohle]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/business/media/21random.html|title=Publishing Outsider Picked to Head Random House|last=Rich|first=Motoko|date=May 21, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 26, 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414101358/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/business/media/21random.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

By October of that year, Doubleday, a division of Random House, announced that they would lay off 16 people or about 10% of its workforce.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/books/29book.html|title=Doubleday Publishing Lays Off 10% of Its Employees|last=Rich|first=Motoko|date=October 28, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 27, 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107115928/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/books/29book.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In early December 2008, which became known as Black Wednesday in publishing circles, many publishers including Random House took steps by restructuring their divisions and laying off employees.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/new-editor-at-random-house-layoffs-at-doubleday-and-broadway/|title=New Editor at Random House, Layoffs at Doubleday and Broadway|last=Rich|first=Motoko|date=December 17, 2008|website=ArtsBeat|access-date=May 17, 2018|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928102126/https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/new-editor-at-random-house-layoffs-at-doubleday-and-broadway/|url-status=live}}</ref> The reorganization consolidated and created three divisions—Random House Publishing Group, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Crown Publishing Group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20090119/16845-random-puts-its-house-in-order.html|title=Random Puts Its House in Order|website=Publishers Weekly|first=Jim|last=Milliot|date=January 19, 2009|access-date=April 3, 2016|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929192455/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20090119/16845-random-puts-its-house-in-order.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/major-reorganization-at-random-house/|title=Major Reorganization at Random House|last=Rich|first=Motoko|website=ArtsBeat|date=December 3, 2008|access-date=April 3, 2016|archive-date=June 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618101421/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/major-reorganization-at-random-house/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Susan Kamil]], was named editorial director for Dial Press and editor-in-chief of Random House imprints reporting to Gina Centrello, the president and publisher of the Random House Publishing Group.<ref name=":1" /> There were layoffs in the [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] imprint (now part of [[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf Publishing Group]]) and [[Dial Press]], [[Bantam Books|Bantam Dell]], and [[Spiegel & Grau]] were moved from Doubleday over to the Random House imprints. Random House also has an entertainment production arm for film and television, Random House Studio; one release in 2011 was ''[[One Day (2011 film)|One Day]]''. The company also creates story content for media including video games, social networks on the web, and mobile platforms. It is one of the largest English-language publishers, along with the group formerly known as the "Big 6", now known as the "Big Five".<ref>The Big Six publishers, which have since been reduced to the "Big Five" by the merger on July 1, 2013 of Penguin and Random House, were Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group/Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin Books, Random House; and Simon & Schuster.</ref> In October 2012, Bertelsmann entered into talks with rival conglomerate [[Pearson plc]], over the possibility of combining their respective publishing companies, Random House and [[Penguin Group]]. The merger was completed on July 1, 2013, and the new company is [[Penguin Random House]].<ref>{{Cite news|title =Penguin and Random House in deal talks|date=October 26, 2012|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/eaf8eaaa-1eac-11e2-be82-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/eaf8eaaa-1eac-11e2-be82-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription|last1=Edgecliffe-Johnson|first1=Andrew|last2=Wiesmann|first2=Gerrit|access-date=August 12, 2013|work=[[Financial Times]]|department=Media}}{{Registration required}}</ref> When founded, Bertelsmann owned 53% of the joint venture while Pearson owned 47%.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/media/merger-of-penguin-and-random-house-is-completed.html |title=Penguin and Random House Merge, Saying Change Will Come Slowly |last=Bosman |first=Julie |date=July 1, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=April 4, 2016 |archive-date=July 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714165934/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/media/merger-of-penguin-and-random-house-is-completed.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pearson sold 22% of its shares to Bertelsmann in July 2017, and since April 2020, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann, making Random House division again wholly owned by German parent. At the time of the acquisition the combined companies controlled 25% of the book business with more than 10,000 employees and 250 independent publishing imprints and with about $3.9&nbsp;billion in annual revenues.<ref name=":0" /> The move to consolidate was to provide leverage against [[Amazon.com]] and battle the shrinking state of [[bookstore]]s.<ref name=":0" /> In October 2018, Penguin Random House merged two of its most known publishing lines, Random House and the Crown Publishing Group. According to Madeline McIntosh, chief executive of Penguin Random House U.S., the two lines "will retain their distinct editorial identities."<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |first=Alexandra |last=Alter |date=October 18, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/penguin-random-house-merges-two-of-its-successful-publishing-lines.html |title=Penguin Random House Merges Two of its Successful Publishing Lines |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031003509/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/penguin-random-house-merges-two-of-its-successful-publishing-lines.html |url-status=live }}{{Registration required}}</ref> McIntosh explained some of the motivation behind the merger in a memo to employees, writing, "Book discovery and buying patterns continue to shift, resulting in growth opportunities in the nonfiction categories in which Crown in particular already has a strong foothold: food, lifestyle, health, wellness, business, and Christian."<ref name=":3"/> "We must invest even more aggressively in title-level and scaled marketing programs, capabilities and partnerships", she added.<ref name=":3"/>

Detailing additional growth strategies, McIntosh explained of the merger, "We will need to do two things simultaneously. First, we must expand and strengthen the expert publishing teams who are specialized in and dedicated to each category. Second, we must invest even more aggressively in title-level and scaled marketing programs, capabilities, and partnerships. This will ensure that we not only maximize the sales for each individual book but also keep pace with consumer trends."<ref>{{Cite news |first=John |last=Maher |date=October 18, 2018 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/78369-random-house-crown-merge.html |title=The Random House and Crown Publishing Groups Merge |work=Publishers Weekly |access-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116020118/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/78369-random-house-crown-merge.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, Penguin Random House acquired British children's book publisher Little Tiger Group (including American subsidiary Tiger Tales Press) and added it to Random House Children's Books.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/79649-prh-acquires-u-k-s-little-tiger-group.html | title=PRH Acquires U.K.'s Little Tiger Group |first=Ed|last= Nawotka |website=Publishers Weekly|date=March 27, 2019}}</ref>