“The problem with this Gfk report is that it reflects only print sales from selected consumer avenues, namely 75 (of 335) bookstores reporting cash turnover at the till. Digital sales, which by some estimates total 25% of the market, are therefore excluded.
Bad news for the book market in the francophone part of Belgium – that’s according to a recent GfK study which reports a 6% decrease in sales in 2023.
Sales dropped 6% by volume last year, a sharper decline compared to France (-4%), while the Flemish market saw a 1.2% increase.
Excluding digital sales, 16.8 million books were sold in Belgium in 2023, generating 219 million euros in revenue, down 1%.
Q1 2024 saw the pattern repeated, with a 4% drop in volume and a 2% fall in value.
Comics, traditionally one of the strongest portions of the francophone book markets, fell 8%, although the segment still holds poll position at 29% overall market share.
Within that segment, manga fell by 145, which is out of sync with what’s happening elsewhere in the world, while children’s comics grew, thanks to new Gaston and Asterix releases
The problem with this Gfk report is that it reflects only print sales from selected consumer avenues, namely 75 (of 335) bookstores reporting cash turnover at the till.
Digital sales, which by some estimates total 25% of the market, are therefore excluded, as are direct sales, sales at book fairs, etc.
All of which means the report should at best be considered indicative rather than comprehensive.
