Five Mile Press Case Study

Introduction (1 min)
The Five Mile Press is an Australian publisher and distributor specialising in children’s books, adult non-fiction and Australiana. Founded in 1991, the company quickly became known for its high quality, innovative product and has continued to build on that reputation Between 1987 and 2005, Five Mile had published 54 works. Since April 2007, Five Mile has been wholly owned by Bonnier Publishing, which is part of the Swedish media giant Bonnier AB. Five Mile is now one of the strongest children’s book and novelty publishers in Australia.
Based in Melbourne, The Five Mile Press publishes a diverse children’s list of board books, colour and activity books, picture books, novelty books, licensed titles – and more, young adult

At The Five Mile Press, big brands in 2016 include Max Steel, Angelina Ballerina, Hot Wheels, How to Train Your Dragon, and Australian brands such as Blinky Bill and the new Wiggles. Five Mile already has more than 25 brands on its licensed list, including popular brands Sesame Street, My Little Pony and Barbie.
The Five Mile Press began increasing its licensing activity initially in 2003 and again in 2008 when the Global Financial Crisis occurred, with Gerard reporting that Five Mile’s profit from licensing has ‘grown in double digits every year’. Discount Department Stores and supermarkets do the best business on selling licensed books.
The File Mile Press’ Barbie list is a particular success story. The publisher started out with three titles in 2009 and now sells over one million Barbie products a year in Australia and New Zealand. The company started with the Barbie brand in 2008. A mere two years later, the Five Mile Press was awarded Licensee of the Year by Mattel the most outstanding sales growth and performance over the past 12 months. They won again in 2012 and 2013. The Five Mile Press has been releasing a small range of colour and activity books with each new DVD release from Mattel twice a