Hachette Livre

Hachette Livre S.A.
Parent companyLouis Hachette Group (through Lagardère Publishing)
Founded1826; 200 years ago (1826)
Country of originFrance
Headquarters locationParis
Key peopleArnaud Lagardère (CEO and chairman)
Official websitehachette.com
Hachette head office

Hachette Livre S.A. (French: [aʃɛt livʁ]; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing group and public limited company established as a bricks-and-mortar specialty retailer in the Latin Quarter of Paris, France in the early 19th century. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as the bookshop Brédif, which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie (from French; English: "L. Hachette and Company"), Librairie Hachette ("Hachette Booksellers"), and Hachette SA before being given the name it is currently known by in France: Hachette Livre ("Hachette Book(s)"). After acquiring an Australian publisher, the company formed its Australian national subsidiary, Hachette Australia; in the UK, the company's British subsidiary became known as Hachette UK; and with its expansion into the United States, its American subsidiary was named Hachette Book Group.

Hachette Livre has been owned by the Lagardère Group since 1981 under their publishing division Lagardère Publishing. Lagardère Group in turn is majority owned by the French conglomerate Louis Hachette Group (LHG), resulting from the spin-off of Vivendi.

The company is today headquartered at 58 Rue Jean Bleuzen in the commune of Vanves in the suburban outskirts of Paris.

History

France

It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif, a bookshop and publishing company. It became L. Hachette et Compagnie on 1 January 1846, Librairie Hachette in 1919, and Hachette SA in 1977. The company was family led for several generations, including by Hachette's great-grandson, Robert Meunier du Houssoy. It was acquired by the Lagardère Group in 1981. In 1992, the publishing assets of Hachette SA were grouped into a subsidiary called Hachette Livre (French pronunciation: [a.ʃɛt liːvʁ]), the flagship imprint of Lagardère Publishing. Hachette has its headquarters in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. In 1996, it merged with the Hatier group, and acquired French art book publisher Fernand Hazan Éditeur soon afterwards. In 2004, Hachette acquired dictionary publisher Éditions Larousse.

International expansion

In 2002 UK publisher John Murray was acquired by Hodder Headline, which was itself acquired in 2004 by the Lagardère Group. Since then, it has been an imprint under Lagardère brand known as Hachette UK.

In 2004 Lagardère acquired Australian publisher Hodder Headline for Hachette Livre, who renamed it Hachette Australia.

In 2006 it expanded into the United States when it purchased Time Warner's book-publishing division, which was then renamed Hachette Book Group USA. Part of Time Warner's holdings was Australian independent publishing house Lothian Books, which was incorporated as an imprint.

In June 2013 Hachette announced that it would acquire the adult trade business of Hyperion Books from Disney. (Disney retained the young adult business and books related to existing Disney–ABC TV properties, under an expanded Disney–Hyperion imprint.)

In 2018 it announced its Robinson Millenials label, under which it would be publishing webcomics in partnership with Hiveworks Comics.

Hachette UK acquired Laurence King Publishing, original publisher of adult colouring book author and illustrator Johanna Basford, in August 2020. In 2022, it acquired Welbeck Publishing Group.

Corporate affairs

Since April 2015 Hachette's headquarters have been located at 58 rue Jean-Bleauzen in Vanves (department Hauts-de-Seine, France).

Hachette's head office previously occupied a building at the intersection of the Boulevards Saint-Germain and Saint-Michel in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area, then from 2006 to 2015 in Grenelle, in Paris's 15th arrondissement.

In June 2014 the company's U.S. affiliate in conjunction with Perseus Books Group, and Ingram Content Group, announced a three-way deal whereby Hachette would buy Perseus and then sell the company's client services businesses to Ingram. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. However, in August 2014, the deal was called off because Hachette and the other parties involved decided the deal was too complicated. The deal eventually went through in April 2016 with Perseus's publishing assets and imprints going to Hachette, and distribution assets to Ingram.

Hachette's English-language businesses in the UK, and the US will be moved to a single management team in January 2024, with Hachette UK CEO David Chelley taking the same position at the Hachette Book Group USA and reporting to the Hachette Livre chairman and CEO Arnaud Lagardère.

Company structure

Hachette Livre is involved in three core businesses: publishing, partworks and distribution.

Publishing

Hachette Livre has book publishing operations in their native France, as well as in Spain, Latin and North America (the former mostly in Mexico), the United Kingdom, Ireland, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, India, China, the Arab world (mostly in Lebanon and Morocco) and Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

Region/Country Units
France

Spain and Latin America (Hachette España/Grupo Anaya)

  • Anaya
    • Anaya Educación
    • Anaya ELE
    • Anaya Infantil y Juvenil
    • Anaya Touring
    • Anaya Multimedia
      • PhotoClub
      • Oberon
  • Ediciones Cátedra
  • Bóveda
  • Edicións Xerais de Galicia (Galician)
  • Algaida Editores
  • Editorial Bruño
  • Barcanova Editorial (Catalan)
  • Edelsa
  • Grupo Editorial Patria (Mexico)
    • Publicaciones Cultural
    • CECSA
    • Nueva Imagen
    • Promexa
  • Vox (Catalan and Spanish)
  • Hachette Heroes e Infantil
  • Editorial Salvat
  • Larousse Spain
  • Ediciones Larousse (Mexico)
  • Ediciones Pirámide
  • Tecnos
  • Alianza Editorial
    • AdN Alianza de Novelas
United Kingdom and Ireland (Hachette UK)

North America (Hachette Book Group)

Australia and New Zealand

  • Hachette Australia
    • Lothian Children's Books
  • Hachette New Zealand
    • Moa (English- and Māori-language children's picture books)
Other markets

  • Hachette Antoine (Lebanon; joint venture with Librairie Antoine)
  • Librairie Papeterie Nationale (Morocco)
  • Éditions Nei-Ceda (Francophone sub-saharan Africa; based in Ivory Coast) (70%)
  • Azbooka-Atticus (Russia) (49%)
  • Hachette-Phoenix (China; joint venture with Phoenix Publishing and Media)
  • Hachette India

Partworks

Hachette distributes partworks to France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Russia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Belarus, Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria.

  • Hachette Collections (France; also distributed in Francophone parts of Belgium, Switzerland and Canada)
  • Kolekcja Hachette (Poland)
  • Hachette Partworks Ltd. (United Kingdom)
  • Hachette Kollektsia (Russia)
  • Hachette Fascicoli (Italy; also distributed in Greece, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria)
  • Hachette Collections Japan
  • Editorial Salvat (Spain and Latin America)

Distribution

  • Hachette Livre Distribution (France)
  • Dilibel (Belgium)
  • Diffulivre (Switzerland)
  • Hachette Canada
  • Lightning Source France (joint venture with Lightning Source)
  • Bookpoint (United Kingdom)
  • Hachette UK Distribution
  • Alliance Distribution Services (Australia)
  • HBG Cilent Services (United States)
  • Comercial Grupo Anaya (Spain)

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Publishers: France's Giant". Time. 8 November 1963. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "Hachette Livre: Key Dates" Archived 13 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 12 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Hachette boucle la reprise d'Hatier". Les Echos (in French). 29 May 1996. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Traverso, Enzo (7 June 2024). "Éric Hazan, rebel publisher". New Statesman. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Hachette UK (2008). "Corporate History Highlights". Hachette UK. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "History of Hachette Australia". www.hachette.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "Lothian | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Edmund Lee (28 June 2013). "Hachette Will Acquire Disney's Hyperion Book Publishing Business". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Robinson, une nouvelle collection de bandes dessinées en partenariat avec Hiveworks". hachette.fr (in French). Hachette Livre. 25 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  10. 1 2 Denny, Neill (2 September 2020). "Hachette UK Buys Laurence King Publishing". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Milliot, Jim (5 December 2022). "Hachette UK Buys Welbeck Publishing Group". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Fabrice Piault (4 March 2015). "Arnaud Nourry inaugure et baptise le nouveau siège d'Hachette Livre". LivresHebdo (in French). Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Launet, Édouard. "Pas de quartier pour les éditeurs Archived 5 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine." Libération. 2 November 2009. Retrieved on 21 January 2012. "Chacun se souvient aussi du spectaculaire départ du groupe Hachette, abandonnant son énorme QG au coin des boulevards Saint-Michel et Saint-Germain pour le quai de Grenelle, dans le XVe."
  14. ↑ "Perseus Books Group being acquired by Hachette". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Hachette Calls Off Perseus Book Purchase". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2014.(subscription required)
  16. ↑ Natasha Onwuemezi, "Perseus sale to Hachette Book Group completed", The Bookseller, 1 April 2016 Archived 31 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Milliot, Jim (14 November 2023). "Hachette Book Group, Hachette UK to Move Under United Management Team". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Hachette Livre Group| publishing France". Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  19. ↑ "Pika Roman commence avec L'Attaque des Titans et Another !". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ↑ "nobi nobi ! | Éditions nobi nobi !". Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "La maison nobi nobi ! donne un coup de jeune à Pika Éditions". Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Pika Édition X H2T | Pika Édition". 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  23. ↑ "Hachette Livre Group| publishing Spain". Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  24. ↑ "Nuestras editoriales | Grupo Anaya". www.grupoanaya.es. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  25. 1 2 3 "Hachette Livre Group| publishing UK". Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  26. ↑ "LBBG – Imprints". 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  27. ↑ "Orion Trapeze". 26 February 2019. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  28. ↑ "Octopus Publishing Group acquires Short Books". Press releases. Hachette. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  29. ↑ "Short Books :: Publisher of first-class, popular non-fiction". shortbooks.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 July 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  30. ↑ "Hachette Livre Group| publishing USA". Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  31. ↑ Deahl, Rachel (11 November 2015). "GCP to Launch Paltrow's Goop Press". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  32. ↑ Alexandra Alter (28 May 2015). "James Patterson Is Starting Imprint for Children's Books". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  33. ↑ "Perseus". 29 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  34. ↑ Fitzgerald, Laura (11 April 2016). "Exciting news about the future of Yen Press!". Yen Press. Retrieved 4 May 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  35. ↑ "Yen Press to Launch JY, a Kids' Graphic Novel Imprint in Fall 2017". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  36. ↑ "Hachette Livre Group| publishing new markets". Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  37. ↑ "Hachette Livre increases stake in Azbooka-Atticus | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  38. ↑ "Hachette Livre Group| Partworks". Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Distribution | Hachette.com". www.hachette.com.
  40. 1 2 "Hachette Livre Group| distribution UK".

Further reading