Interesting news about the new direct-to-consumer division. Pearson is spending big on this as they continue to cut costs in North American Higher Ed sales (14% decline reported last month - I understand the shift to digital means lower price per unit blah blah blah, but with the pandemic’s demand for remote learning technology, this is still pathetic). My prediction is they’ll cut more rep and district manager jobs. Pearson will no longer need reps for IA conversions/FDOCs and can easily offload desk copy requests on some other department, like customer service, for cheaper. Gaining new business is nowhere to be seen on Pearson’s list of priorities in US HE, so they definitely won’t care to keep many sales layers for that. I’d like to hear your predictions - please share.
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Finally decided to join the party!! Its a direct to consumer world!!
@3rct+183P6Dv5. Because execs were too busy raising prices, selling frontlist titles to distributors at huge discounts and kicking the can down the road a couple of years until they could retire. Truly horrible people.
Why didn't they do this 10 years when the bookstores (esp. B&N) were fighting us tooth and nail on every adoption? I was told we aren't good at sending out 1 or 2 copies. Now profs and students both hate publishers. Too late folks.
Remember. These are the same geniuses, although most have retired or been fired who spent $500mm on eCollege and let someone who just joined the company with no HED or publishing experience name it “learning studio.” That worked out awesomely.
Rumor that TB is out in the new Direct to Consumer model? Probably good news if true. Otherwise, direct to consumer sounds too stupid for words and is more clueless than even efficacy.
Speaking as someone who left the world of giant, corporate educational publishing a while back in favor of a much smaller house, all I can say is - bravo! Well done, Pearson! Again!
In another recent thread, employees speak of a focus away from content in the NA HED market space. Great move! In a market that remains focused primarily on content and secondarily on delivery...
It is absolutely astounding to me that Pearson has reported a double-digit decrease in this pandemic-induced stampede to publisher-produced content of all sorts: print and digital. We all heard the phrase "too big to fail" during the 2008 recession, in Pearson's case it almost seems like a matter of "too big to succeed". In my company, a mid-sized competitor, we are experiencing one of our biggest growth years ever right now. My personal growth rate to date as a sales rep is hovering around +38% and is about to explode into the +++60% range in the 4Q, and I am on the lower end of the internal growth rate internally. We have multiple reps out there who are close to doubling their sales base. It could be said that a smaller, less dominant pubcos have an easier row to hoe and that is true, but consider that even the large Pearson competitors are managing to report modest revenue growth so far this year in HED.
If you cannot make money right now in the HED space, you're doing something wrong. In this case, it seems to be a de-emphasis on content and technology that is unwieldy and challenging to use.
It is difficult to celebrate Pearson woes because that ultimately means job loss for hardworking, rather innocent worker bees on or close to the ground level. I know this because I was once one of those drones. It s—s, and it leads to a split reaction for someone like me. As a competitor, you feel glad to hear the news. Just makes the job easier for the likes of myself. On the other, it s—s to learn of peeps like me out there who are finding themselves out on their ear in the worst of times to be unemployed, and all through no fault of their own.
He's right about lifeling learning. Its called Wikipedia.
"By doing this, we will be able to seize an incredible opportunity to have a direct relationship with millions of lifelong learners" -AB new CEO
What AB doesn't know, same with KC who misunderstood the market, is our actual customers DO NOT WANT OUR PRODUCT, it's their instructors who need it not the students. Want to know what a "Direct to Consumer Model" looks like? It's the local public library, which operates at a loss and is supported by the tax base. AB has spent years creating and delivering a direct model for Disney Movies, yep 5 yr old kids want to watch Frozen, Cars, The Little Mermaid directly on their iPad, yep! There's not too many college freshmen pining away for Martin-G– pre-algebra over Thanksgiving break.
With 2020 sales down as much as they are, and continuing the slide of NA HE revenue into complete irrelevance how are we not going to have additional layoff's. The SP2019 round was reported to have been deeper than needed to sustain the sales staff for two years of stability. We'll, we're here folks. And I'm sure we're keeping the RAV4s too.
The leaders at this company continue to astound me
Gheez, this strategy is about 20 years too late.