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19th November 2008

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Gyldendal admits encyclopaedia struggle

05.03.08 Nils Bjervig

Danish publisher Gyldendal is the latest European publisher to encounter problems at its encyclopedia business, after making a decision to publish it online and as a DVD in 2006.

Gyldendal has admitted that it has not been able to sell enough subscriptions to the digital versions and has scaled back the number of staff updating the website. It has already stated that it does not intend to publish it again as a print edition.

Last month German publisher Brockhaus announced that it was moving its flagship encyclopedia product online in the wake of competition from Wikipedia and Google. It said it would be funded by advertising, and has yet to commit to a future print version. In France, the 2008 edition of Quid, the nation's favourite encyclopedia, has been cancelled after sales collapsed.

The Danish Encyclopaedia (Den Store Danske Encyklopædi), with 250,000 articles written by 4,000 Danish experts, sold 50,000 DVDs copies in the first four months after it launch priced at £70, which included online access for one year, compared with the £2,000 price of the print edition.
However one year on and Gyldendal has admitted that subscribers are failing to renew.

In September 2007 the DVD and online access deal was on offer in one of Denmark's largest supermarkets for £15, with online renewal priced at £60. This forced Gyldendal to lower the price, and online access now costs just £25 a year, while the DVD version can be bought for £35.

Gyldendal said that it had not been able to sell enough subscriptions either to consumers or to schools. In November the encyclopedia's staff was reduced by 50% to two, who together with freelancers are responsible for the future updating of the website.

Gyldendal had originally planned an online version much earlier with substantial subsidies from the Danish government, but postponed the development. According to c.e.o. Stig Andersen the publisher now believes that reference information must be digital.

The Danish Encyclopaedia was last published in print in 20 volumes over 1994-2001, with new supplements added in 2002, 2003 and finally in 2006.

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