Publishing disruptor Vincent Safrat is not only selling books like they are bread rolls – and at the same price as a baguette – but he is also doing so on a massive scale. Last year alone, Mr Safrat sold around 2.5 million copies in France.
So, what is his secret?
It is in the price: He is able to sell each book for 80 US cents (S$1.10), which drastically undercuts the €7 (S$11) on average you would pay for a children’s book. By taking on the distribution himself and printing the paperbacks for only 30 US cents each, Mr Safrat has been able to achieve this innovative model.
Having grown up in the suburbs of Paris, Mr Safrat was an indifferent student until he discovered Gustave Flaubert’s L’Education Sentimentale (Sentimental Education). He had a revelation. “I believe that reading can replace studying. Hence my notion of bringing reading to those who don’t read.”
In 1992, he began visiting various publishing houses every day, scooping up any unsold works to redistribute for free to homes in low-income suburbs.
In 1998, after a friendly salesman explained that a paperback does not cost much more than a franc to produce, he started to print books at a low price and distribute them to schools. This became his focus when he realised many lacked the means to equip themselves. Schools either buy the works for their students or organise book sales for parents.
Not yet satisfied with his social impact, Mr Safrat also organises book workshops for children in Paris. Writer and co-founder of Lire et Faire Lire, Alexandre Jardin, said: “He has revolutionised the market economy because he thinks differently.”
Today, Lire c’est partir has 12 staff and six vans distributing books, and even Mr Safrat finally has a salary.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 24 June 2017