The Quarto Group Explained

Founded:1976 (as The Quarto Group)
Founders:Bob Morley, Michael Jackson, Laurence Orbach[1]
Country:United Kingdom
Headquarters:London
Distribution:Hachette (UK, US)[2] [3]
Revenue: $ 151.5 million (2021)
Imprints:Below

The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countries and in 40 languages, through a variety of traditional and non-traditional channels. Quarto employs c.330 people in eight offices in London, Brighton, New York City, Boston, Seattle, Southern California and Hong Kong.[4] In July 2020, its publication This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell reached the Number 1 position on The New York Times bestseller list.[5]

The group was established by co-founders Laurence Orbach and Robert Morley and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1986.[6] Laurence Orbach was chairman and CEO until November 2012, when he was replaced as chairman by Tim Chadwick and Marcus Leaver as CEO.[7]

Chuk Kin Lau, the principal shareholder, became Group CEO in July 2018.[8] In February 2020, the Italian publisher, Giunti took a significant shareholding and Andrea Giunti joined Quarto's board of directors.[9] [10]

In September 2020, Chuk Kin Lau became President and Polly Powell was appointed Group CEO. In January 2022, Alison Goff was appointed new Group CEO.[11]

History

The Quarto Group was founded by Bob Morley, Michael Jackson and Laurence Orbach in the early 1970s and was finally established as The Quarto Group in 1976.[12] In 1986, Quarto listed on the London stock exchange.[13]

By the late 1990s, Quarto had acquired three new imprints, Rotovision, Book Sales Inc and Rockport Publishers and founded Quarto Children's Books, Quintet and Quintessence that published art, health, lifestyle and children's books. The group expanded further in the US – with the addition of Book Sales, Rockport Publishers, Walter Foster, Creative Publishing International, Motorbooks, and more recently, Cool Springs Press. In the UK, Quarto grew by acquiring Aurum Press and then Jacqui Small in 2004.[14] By the 2000s, The Quarto Group had increased imprints and genres, along with this, a steady increase in its share value. In August 2011, The Quarto Group acquired independent UK book publisher Frances Lincoln for £4.5 million.[15]

In 2012, Marcus Leaver took over from Laurence Orbach as Group CEO[16] By 2014, the group had started two new children's imprints: Wide Eyed Editions and Words & Pictures,[17] and acquired Small World Creations. In 2015 Quarto acquired Ivy Press and Ivy Kids for £1.5m and continued its expansion[18] In 2016, Quarto acquired SmartLab and becker&mayer, a co-edition publisher based in Bellevue, WA, for $9.8 million.[19]

Quarto sold its last two non-publishing businesses in 2017 – Books & Gifts Direct (Australia/New Zealand) and Regent Publishing Services (Hong Kong) – and is now solely focused on its core publishing expertise.[20]

Awards

Controversy

Investigative research by the Financial Times found out that since 2020, Quarto has been censoring some of its books in order to allow them to be printed and sold in China. References to Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, and the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei were deleted or altered, including in the award-winning book This Book is Anti-Racist.[25]

International publishing partnerships

The Quarto Group has launched a number of foreign-language imprints through international partnerships with foreign publishers. These include:

Quarto EditoraThe Quarto Editora imprint was launched in Brazil in 2014 through an international publishing partnership with Brasil Franchising and their publishing business Editora Nobel. Quarto Editora publishes in categories such as cookery, beauty and self-help. Nobel Editora distributes the books through its franchises and main book trade channels.
Kalimat QuartoKalimat Quarto was launched in 2016 as an international publishing partnership with Sharjah-based Kalimat Group. The imprint publishes books in Arabic and distributes them throughout the Middle East and North Africa.[26]
Quarto Iberoamericana Announced in May 2017, Quarto Iberoamericana is Quarto's Spanish language imprint launched in partnership with Argentina-based publisher Catapulta Editores S.L. The imprint publishes 20 books a year with the first six books, launching in Autumn 2017, in adult categories such as cookery, lifestyle and spirituality. Catapulta Editores will be responsible for sales and distribution in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Quarto is expected to announce more partners to distribute the books in the rest of Latin America and North America in the near future.[27]

Imprints

Source:[28]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Quarto Group (UK): The Quarto Story . 4 February 2016 .
  2. Web site: Our Clients . 17 September 2017 . 18 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170918022446/http://lbsltd.wp.hachette.co.uk/our-clients/ . live .
  3. Web site: Hachette - Our Clients . 17 September 2017 . 11 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170911205034/https://www.hachettebookgroup.biz/client-publishers/our-clients/ . live .
  4. Web site: Investor Reports & Presentations The Quarto Group. www.quarto.com. 2019-06-27. 27 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190627125946/https://www.quarto.com/reports-and-presentations. live.
  5. News: Young Adult Paperback Books - Best Sellers - Books - July 12, 2020 - The New York Times. The New York Times. 2020-07-19. 2020-12-14. 7 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210507094741/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2020/07/19/young-adult-paperback-monthly/. live.
  6. Web site: The Quarto Grp Inc. . 4 February 2016 . 15 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215112047/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/FC013814/filing-history?page=4 . live .
  7. News: Orbach removed as Quarto director . The Bookseller . 8 November 2012 . 9 July 2013 . 22 June 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130622083418/http://www.thebookseller.com/category/tags/laurence-orbach . live .
  8. Web site: Orbach departs Quarto board The Bookseller. www.thebookseller.com. 2019-06-27. 27 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190627125952/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/orbach-resigns-quarto-board-838996. live.
  9. Web site: The Quarto Group. 12 April 2022. 12 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220412130513/https://www.quarto.com/aboutus/ourpeople.aspx. live.
  10. Web site: Italy's Giunti Buys into U.K.'s Quarto Group. Publishers Weekly. 2020-02-11. 2020-12-14. 22 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210322145421/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/82391-italy-s-giunti-buys-into-u-k-s-quarto-group.html. live.
  11. Web site: Powell made group c.e.o. at Quarto. The Bookseller. 2020-09-18. 2020-12-14. 30 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201030173358/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/powell-made-group-ceo-quarto-1219585. live.
  12. News: Quarto Group Comes of Age . Jim . Milliot . . March 25, 2016 . 7 June 2020 . 7 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200607171351/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/69780-quarto-group-comes-of-age.html . live .
  13. Web site: The Quarto Grp Inc. . 4 February 2016 . 15 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215112047/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/FC013814/filing-history?page=4 . live .
  14. Web site: Quarto's Jacqui Small prepares to step down The Bookseller. www.thebookseller.com. 2019-09-26. 26 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190926170813/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/jacqui-small-prepares-step-down-630976. live.
  15. News: Quarto Snaps-up Frances Lincoln . Graeme . Neill . The Bookseller . 16 August 2011 . 4 February 2016 . 15 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215200400/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quarto-snaps-frances-lincoln . live .
  16. Web site: Directors & Dealings . 4 February 2016 . 16 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160216123256/http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Directors-and-dealings?s=QRT:LSE . live .
  17. News: Quarto predicts annual profits 122m . charlotte . Eyre . The Bookseller . 16 October 2014 . 4 February 2016 . 15 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215200335/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quarto-predicts-annual-profits-122m . live .
  18. News: Quarto buys Ivy Press for £1.3m . Joshua . Farringdon . The Bookseller . 25 February 2015 . 4 February 2016 . 2 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160202001359/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quarto-buys-ivy-press-13m . live .
  19. Web site: Quarto Buys Becker&Mayer. PublishersWeekly.com. en. 2019-09-27. 27 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190927083129/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/71139-quarto-buys-becker-meyer.html. live.
  20. News: Quarto disposes of Regent Publishing Services for $7m . Lisa . Campbell . The Bookseller . 24 March 2017 . 11 May 2017 . 25 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170325124415/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quarto-disposes-regent-publishing-services-7m-513511 . live .
  21. News: David Solomons wins Waterstones prize with superhero story. Pauli. Michelle. 2016-03-17. The Guardian. 2019-06-27. en-GB. 0261-3077. 27 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190627125943/https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/mar/17/david-solomans-wins-waterstones-prize-with-superhero-story. live.
  22. News: Waterstones children's book prize goes to 'mesmerising' debut adventure story. Kean. Danuta. 2017-03-30. The Guardian. 2019-06-27. en-GB. 0261-3077. 10 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190410063950/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/30/waterstones-childrens-book-prize-kiran-millwood-hargraves-the-girl-of-ink-and-stars. live.
  23. Web site: 6 Books You Should Buy For Your Kids, According To Blue Peter Book Awards. 2019-03-07. HuffPost UK. en. 2019-06-27. 30 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210430050929/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/blue-peter-childrens-book-award-winners_uk_5c81004de4b020b54d8275e7. live.
  24. Web site: 2018 Winners The Bookseller. www.thebookseller.com. 2019-06-27. 23 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200523111628/https://www.thebookseller.com/2018-winners. live.
  25. News: British publishers censor books for western readers to appease China . Oliver . Telling . Financial Times . 15 March 2022 . 16 March 2022 . 15 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220315211816/http://www.ft.com/content/63cbf209-656f-4f99-9ee3-722755c228ed . live .
  26. News: Stock Exchange . 14 April 2016 . 11 May 2017 . 14 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514074245/https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news . live .
  27. News: Quarto launches Spanish language imprint: Quarto Iberoamericana . Catherine . Cowdry . 26 April 2016 . 11 May 2017 . 29 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170429215303/http://www.thebookseller.com/news/quarto-launches-new-spanish-language-imprint-quarto-iberoamericana-542921 . live .
  28. Web site: Our Imprints The Quarto Group. www.quarto.com. 2021-11-25. 25 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211125004829/https://www.quarto.com/ourimprints/default.aspx. live.

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