Readers, the new 'in' thing for India's oldest publisher

At 75, when people usually bask in their past achievements, one of the oldest book publishers in India is adapting to the fast changing market trends, entering new genres and firming up expansion plans overseas, always keeping the reader in mind.

"For us the reader is the new 'in' thing," says Kapish Mehra, Managing Director of Rupa & Co, the publishing firm which introduced into the Indian market aggressive marketing and pricing trends along with genres such as campus and corporate fiction, chic-lit, even experimenting with pre-teen authors.Graduating from a bookseller's representative in 1936, to an independent publisher, Rupa & Co set up by D Mehra had played a role in the freedom struggle supplying books to Allahabad's Naini Jail where the frontline soldiers of the movement were lodged.

"I would say the reader is coming back to the books. I probably would not have said that earlier but look at what the success of Chetan Bhagat's 2 States which sold two million copies already and is still clocking sales," Mehra told PTI in an interview.Since its inception, India's only publisher-cum- distributor, says Mehra, has been constantly ahead of the curve by anticipating the reader's needs.In its platinum year the firm which prides itself as a mass market publisher with a wide variety of books ranging from anthology, non fiction, self-help and management books among others, is now looking to expand operations.

"We are already very strong in Middle East and some East Asian countries. We want to deepen our presence in smaller B towns in India as well as are looking to grow our networks in East Asian markets in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines among others," says Mehra.The 27-year-old director who helms the firm points out that to maintain a market position they strive to bring out books that mass readers would like to pick up."A book is a noble product. We believe it should be affordable to the reader rather than pricing it so the reader can afford to buy it," he says.

Full report here IBNLive