The Scribo Group
The Scribo Group is Australasia's largest independent book distributor. It was formed in February 2008 by the merger of four leading Australian book distribution companies. With a total staff complement of over 150 people, offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and some of the most experienced sales represenatatives in the Australian market, The Scribo Group collectively represents over 500 publishers to the retail Australian trade. Scribo's publishers come from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and UK, Canada, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, India, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland and France.
Each of the four businesses has a long history in book distribution, and each has a capable senior management team.
In relation to Sales, Marketing and List Management, the four businesses work entirely independently. This enables each business to retain its own brand and identity, and to provide tailored personal attention to clients and customers. Each business has its own management structure, sales team, selling materials, monthly newsletter and website. In relation to Operations, Administration and Finance, The Scribo Group will seek to maximize the level of integration within the company so as to extract the benefits of scale. The integration and consolidation of operations is likely to take 18-24 months.
The Scribo Group is also involved in music and DVD distribution through the New World Music and One World Music divisions of Brumby Books & Music.
The Scribo Group was privately owned until 4 September 2008 when it was acquired by Gordon and Gotch, one of Australia's oldest companies. Gordon and Gotch is a subsidiary of PMP Limited, an Australian listed company with annual revenues of over $1b. Full details of the acquisition are contained in the "Latest News" section of this website. The Scribo Group is structured as follows:
The Structure of the Scribo Group
The name...
"Scribo" is the Latin word for "I write". It is an active, present tense, first person verb. It connotes doing here and now. Writing is directly connected to our businesses, although it is not specific to books. One can write prose, poetry, music, drama, film scripts, and even software. It does not have to be literal either: we talk of "writing our own destiny" and "writing a meal ticket". Writing is the act of capturing ideas, concepts, thoughts and actions and recording them in organised form for the purposes of sharing. It is one of the great accomplishments of humankind. It is both high art and one of the essential requirements of literate people all across the world.
Subsidiaries
For further information about the various businesses that comprise The
Scribo Group, please use the links below.
Bookwise | Brumby Books & Music | Tower Books | Gary Allen
New World Music | One World Music
About the Businesses
Bookwise International Pty Ltd is Australasia's largest independently owned book distributor, and is based near Adelaide, South Australia. The company was founded 50 years ago. It was sold to AMS Inc in 2001, and to Brumby Books in May 2007. The list is predominantly non fiction, with a focus on Art and Design, Lifestyle, and Children's titles. Its website is at www.bookwise.com.au
Gary Allen Pty Ltd has been in business for over 55 years, and is based near Sydney. It was a family owned company until it was sold to Tower Books in October 2007. The list is predominantly non-fiction and children's, with books ranging from one-off Australian authors and self-publishers, through to full lists from large and small Australian and International publishing houses. The company has a very strong Australiana and Crime list, and currently (March 2008) has the No. 1 and No. 2 bestselling non-fiction titles in Australia on its list ("Underbelly" and "4 Ingredients"). Its website is at www.garyallen.com.au
Tower Books Pty Ltd has been in business for over 20 years, and is also based near Sydney. It was bought by the current directors in 1998. Tower is primarily noted for its large range of art, design, architecture and photography books as well as a large list of literary fiction. Tower also has a considerable range of middle market non-fiction in areas of personal finance, motivation, parenting, gardening and crafts. Its website is at www.towerbooks.com.au
Brumby Books & Music (formerly Gemcraft Books) has been in business for 23 years, based near Melbourne. It was bought by its current directors in 2004. It acquired New World Music Australia in 2007, and the Bloomings Books wholesale business in 2008. Brumby operates as a distributor into the book trade, and a wholesaler outside the book trade. Its primary focus is to service niche market customers in the mind-body-spirit, health, gift, gardening, music and dvd market segments. Its website is at www.brumbybooks-music.com.au