Recently in Europe, I chaired a panel on European distribution channels for multimedia and found that the market in Europe shows both similarities and sharp differences from ours in the States. In general, the market is about two years behind ours. One researcher told me that, as a general rule of thumb, America represents 50 percent of the multimedia market, Japan 35 percent and Europe 15 percent. That 15 percent is the number for the combined market across all European countries.
A software model only
At this point, multimedia distribution in Europe appears to be following a distinct
software model. Multimedia products -- hardware, upgrade kits, titles
and applications -- are distributed only in computer stores and consumer
electronic stores. These stores sell a mix of computer-related products; there
are virtually no software-only stores in Europe. A couple of years ago, high-technology
distributors completed a frenzy of mergers and acquisitions creating rapid expansion
of major companies. Europe then suffered a severe recession that has not lessened
for more than two years. This recession has hit both the buying public and the
corporations, and has slowed the growth of the high-technology industry. Most
multimedia titles are copyrighted as software and treated as such. The few exceptions
are those entertainment titles brought in from the United States, which have
avoided the software copyright. There is no notion in Europe of rental through
video stores at this time. This means that there is virtually no preview mechanism
available for the market. Furthermore, continuing the software model, distributors
take title to the stock they buy, and cannot return it to the publisher. This
means that the risk for creating the market is shared between the publisher
and the distributor. The distributor therefore is more careful in his stocking
of items, orders more often, and tends not to overload the channel. Although
this may decrease the publisher's access to advances on purchase orders (often
available in the States), this shared risk and careful planning can be advantageous
to both publisher and distributor.
No cross fertilization
While preparing for the panel, I discovered the element missing among the European
community of multimedia distributors and retailers and publishers: no cross
fertilization of ideas, market opportunities or models among the participants.
I asked if they spoke to one another very often. They all shook their heads.
When I explained that our informal networks communicate with each other every
day, they were astonished. But only for a moment. Then one panelist said, "Of
course, you speak every day, when Texas is just like Connecticut." Well, yes,
in that they speak the same language, use the same currency, share the same
national school system, and are standardized on only two major (computer) platforms.
What a wealth of opportunity we have here! So the "European" market is not growing
as a community, but as fragmented markets segmented by territories, language
(very few titles are localized into more than one language), and distribution
models (France's market is centralized in Paris, for example, while Germany's
is dispersed across three distinct regions).
Other obstacles
Several market factors beyond these cultural forces will hinder the immediate
expansion of the multimedia market throughout Europe.
Still, there are positive factors to counterbalance these obstacles.
I spoke with Diane Heppting, chairman of Aris Entertainment, and asked why she has localized World View for the German market. "Because we have a strategy that builds product lines using a single software engine, it is cost effective to localize our products. We can localize two or three of the products to create brand name recognition, and then as the market develops, we can localize the balance of our product line." Jessee Allread of Ebook said, "Ebook invested early in relationships with CD-ROM distributors and our investment from an exposure and contact representative is reaping great returns. The market growth and its related monetary benefit is not far behind the U.S. We are receiving products for U.S. distribution as an additional benefit from the development of these relationships." These publishers, and other aggressive entrepreneurs like them, know how to open up emerging markets.
More optimism
I believe there are a few additional compelling reasons to believe the European
market will arrive sooner than we might think.
So, even though the European market
seems two years behind the U.S. market now, it is likely to be no more than
six months behind us in the next two (or three) years. This window of opportunity
should compel the market participants to add one more task to their already
overburdened list: prepare for international distribution now since it will
take a year for the learning curve, and a year for the market penetration that
will let them take early market share worldwide.
Joey
Tamer refines the vision, strategy and success of companies --
Fortune 1000, capitalized start-ups and investment fund.
www.joeytamer.com
(310) 245 5310 joey @ joeytamer.com