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The company has many foreign books in the process of being translated into Thai. However, some already-translated titles have been unable to meet their sales target, managing director Suwadee Chongsatitwattana said yesterday.

Nanmeebooks may not be able to reach its overall targeted revenue growth of 10 per cent for the year, due to aggressive competition and the declining economy.

The company will focus on launching marketing activities to boost sales and will develop a website to promote books to target groups, she said.

The company has set a budget of Bt10 million for marketing next year. It will revise title categories, in order to make them clearer to readers and easier for the company to communicate with customers, she added.

Suwadee said she would be more selective in purchasing the licences of foreign titles for Nanmeebooks' readers, most of whom were young. About 80 per cent of the company's books are translated from a foreign language.

Suwadee said the firm would not, however, boost the proportion of its Thai-authored titles, because most readers preferred foreign books.

Meanwhile, Nanmeebooks recently opened a publishing firm named Jennie to produce books translated from South Korean novels and tap the market for youngsters aged up to 12, which Suwadee said was a new segment for the business.

Suwadee declined to reveal the investment it had put into establishing Jennie but said most of the unit's staff were from Nanmeebooks.

She added that Jennie should become widely known and accepted by readers within six to eight months.

The Nation