Distributor Spotlight: Brodart Español

With Books on Wings, Brodart Español Takes Flight

By Andrew Albanese -- Críticas, 9/1/2004

One of the nation's most popular library suppliers, Brodart has been in the Spanish-language book market for decades. With the recent acquisition of the San Francisco–based Books on Wings (see Industry Moves, Jan./Feb. 2004), and, perhaps more accurately, the addition of Books on Wings's founder Nerissa Morán and marketing director Laura Bejarano, Brodart's service is truly taking flight.

"We are trending toward sizable growth," says Daniel Mendonca, who joined Brodart Español's marketing team in 2003. How much growth? Before the acquisition, says Morán, Books on Wings was growing roughly 20% annually, a pace Morán fully anticipates will continue as part of Brodart.

For Morán, joining with Brodart is a rewarding next step in a career that began, almost by accident, in San Francisco. "I started out in my basement 25 years ago, with about $12,000 in sales," she says. "I was working in a bookstore in the Mission district, and as you know, you can walk the streets there for 10 minutes and not hear a word of English being spoken, but there were no books in Spanish." Seeing the need, Morán began importing books for a local bookstore, expanded to offer her help to others, including public libraries, and eventually began her business. "At that time, I was sort of backing into an area of growing need without even realizing it."

If Morán didn't quite realize the significance of her importing business then, she certainly does now. Twenty years ago, she says, librarians were extremely happy just to know that there were Spanish-language books available. Today, she notes, they simply need more titles, higher quality bindings, and processing and cataloging services. "Those are the kinds of things that Books on Wings was just too small to provide and that Brodart is known for." Already, the acquisition, which Mendonca characterized as a collaboration, has been a win-win situation. "The major benefits are that we can now offer services like full cataloging and MARC records. Also, Books on Wings is now a national rather than a regional distributor," says Mendonca. "With Brodart's buying power and a stronger inventory position, we can pass savings on to the customer."

As the growing reach of Spanish-language books continues, the combination of Brodart's size and Books on Wings' experience (including Bejarano's international travels in search of Spanish language titles) should prove a winning formula. "It's the personal experience of Morán and Bejarano," says Mendonca, that will see to Brodart's success in the market. Brodart is even keeping the Books on Wings brand alive even though the company is now fully integrated within Brodart.

"What we really want to promote is Books on Wings and Brodart, and we are already reaping the benefits of working with the great reach Brodart has, combined with Nerissa's talent and capability," Mendonca says. "The fact is that in Spanish-language collection development, Nerissa is well known, and that is the main reason we wanted to partner with her. Brodart wasn't looking to partner with just any Spanish- language business. We wanted Books on Wings because of Nerissa and Laura. We put great value on their expertise."

Morán, says the Books on Wings brand is still "alive and well" and that its integration into Brodart has been seamless. But there is a difference. "My idea has always been to provide quality literature to the community. With Brodart, I can now do that on a nationwide level. That's the difference."