Grolier

Grolier is an American educational and reference publishing brand whose history spans fine editions of classic literature, encyclopedias, children’s books, direct-to-home educational sales, electronic reference products, and publishing imprints. The business grew out of the Grolier Society, established by Walter M. Jackson around 1909 after his involvement in the publication of Encyclopaedia Britannica. The society took its name from the Grolier Club, a New York organization associated with the arts and history of bookmaking, itself named after the French bibliophile Jean Grolier de Servières. A major early turning point came in 1910, when Jackson acquired rights to publish the British Children’s Encyclopædia in the United States under the title The Book of Knowledge. That title became a foundation of Grolier’s educational publishing business and helped establish its relationship with families, schools, libraries, and children. During the twentieth century, Grolier expanded its reference list through products such as the Grolier Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Americana, American Peoples Encyclopedia, The New Book of Knowledge, and Academic American Encyclopedia. Its sales model combined institutional distribution with a large direct-mail and in-home sales operation, particularly aimed at parents of young children. Fred P. Murphy, who had joined the company in 1912, acquired the business in 1936 and led its expansion. Grolier operated through several specialized sales subsidiaries, including Americana Corporation, The Grolier Society, R.H. Hinckley Company, Spencer International Press, and The Richards Company. Murphy encouraged these units to compete with one another and gave their executives substantial operating autonomy. By the late 1960s, the company was a leading United States encyclopedia publisher, reporting annual sales above $181 million in 1968 and a claimed 30 percent share of the American encyclopedia market. The company encountered serious difficulties in the 1970s. Changes in leadership, the consolidation of sales subsidiaries, and investments outside publishing weakened profitability. In 1976, Grolier reported a loss of $77 million on sales of $247 million and warned that it might need bankruptcy protection unless creditors accepted a debt restructuring. Expansion of the mail-order business helped restore profitability during the 1980s, while the company also explored audiovisual and electronic formats. Grolier was acquired by the French media company Hachette in 1988 for a reported $450 million. Hachette was subsequently absorbed into the Lagardère group. During this period Grolier continued to develop reference products and broaden its children’s publishing activities. It acquired Children’s Press in 1995 and operated Grolier Electronic Publishing, later renamed Grolier Interactive, which produced CD-ROM encyclopedias and some educational software and video games. In June 2000, Scholastic Corporation acquired Grolier for approximately $400 million. Scholastic integrated the business into its school and children’s education strategy, retaining important titles and imprints while repositioning Encyclopedia Americana as a school reference resource. Grolier’s online reference service later became Scholastic GO. The Grolier name continues as a Scholastic-associated brand, while the UK Orchard Books business was retained by Hachette and continues separately within Hachette’s children’s publishing operations. The brand is therefore best understood today as a legacy educational publishing and reference label rather than an independently listed publishing company.

Grolier’s roots lie in the American bibliographic and encyclopedia trade of the early twentieth century. Walter M. Jackson, who had worked with Horace Everett Hooper on the tenth and eleventh editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica, established the Grolier Society after a contentious split with Hooper in 1908–1909. The society initially specialized in finely produced editions of classics and rare literature. Its name referenced the Grolier Club and, indirectly, Jean Grolier de Servières, the noted French book collector. In 1910, Jackson obtained United States publishing rights for the British Children’s Encyclopædia and issued it as The Book of Knowledge. This product gave Grolier a durable position in children’s reference publishing and helped create a direct relationship with families. The company later developed a broad encyclopedia list, including the Grolier Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Americana, American Peoples Encyclopedia, The New Book of Knowledge, The New Book of Popular Science, and Academic American Encyclopedia. Fred P. Murphy acquired the company in 1936 after joining it in 1912. Under his leadership, Grolier became one of the largest American general encyclopedia publishers. Its sales structure relied on several subsidiaries, each responsible for distributing particular publications. Murphy encouraged competition among these units and used autonomy and profit-sharing incentives to motivate their managers. John G. Ryan, formerly associated with P. F. Collier & Son, joined the organization in 1959 and later led The Richards Company, whose sales of American Peoples Encyclopedia became especially significant. Grolier’s growth was substantial by the 1960s. The company combined school and library distribution with a large mail-order operation aimed especially at households with young children. However, the business weakened in the 1970s after Murphy’s retirement, the consolidation of its sales organizations, and unsuccessful diversification into non-publishing activities. The company recorded a large loss in 1976 and faced the possibility of bankruptcy unless creditors agreed to restructure its obligations. Its expanding mail-order business helped it return to profitability during the 1980s. The company also pursued new media. In 1982 it established Grolier Electronic Publishing, later renamed Grolier Interactive in 1996. This unit produced electronic encyclopedias and software for personal computers and consoles. In 1986 Grolier announced a proposed home-video joint venture with Hal Roach Studios and Robert Halmi, Inc. The publisher’s electronic reference work later included CD-ROM editions such as The New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia and Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Hachette acquired Grolier in 1988. Grolier continued expanding its children’s publishing presence, including the acquisition of Children’s Press in 1995. Its publishing portfolio also included Franklin Watts and Orchard Books. Orchard had been founded by Grolier in 1986 as a children’s publishing house. After the 2000 sale, Scholastic retained the United States Orchard operation, while Hachette retained the UK branch. Scholastic acquired Grolier in June 2000. The transaction shifted Grolier from an independent publishing company into a component of a larger education group focused heavily on the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade market. Scholastic retained the Grolier identity and repositioned Encyclopedia Americana for schools. The online reference service evolved into Scholastic GO. Grolier’s historical significance now rests on its contribution to American encyclopedia publishing, family-oriented educational sales, children’s reference, and the transition from print reference collections to electronic and online products.

• 2007

  Orchard Books UK publishes major children’s series

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  The UK Orchard Books imprint published the Rainbow Magic and Beast Quest series.

• 2000

  Scholastic acquisition

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  Scholastic acquired Grolier for approximately $400 million.

• 1995

  Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

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  Grolier released a multimedia CD-ROM encyclopedia as part of its move into electronic reference.

• 1988

  Hachette acquisition

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  Hachette acquired Grolier for a reported $450 million.

• 1982

  Electronic publishing subsidiary is formed

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  Grolier established Grolier Electronic Publishing to develop electronic reference products and related software.

• 1965

  Grolier is listed on the New York Stock Exchange

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  The company obtained a New York Stock Exchange listing.

• 1954

  Common stock begins public trading

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  Grolier’s common stock began trading publicly.

• 1936

  Fred P. Murphy acquires the company

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  The company was acquired by Fred P. Murphy, a longtime Grolier executive who subsequently led its major expansion.

• 1910

  The Book of Knowledge is introduced

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  Grolier acquired rights to publish the British Children’s Encyclopædia in the United States under the title The Book of Knowledge.

• 1909

  Grolier Society is established

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  Walter M. Jackson established the publishing organization that developed into Grolier after his separation from the Encyclopaedia Britannica partnership.

Educational, family-oriented, and school-focused reference publishing, historically combining authoritative encyclopedic content with direct sales and increasingly digital delivery.

• Children’s encyclopedia · 1910

  The Book of Knowledge

  Introduced in 1910 under Grolier’s American publishing rights to the British Children’s Encyclopædia, The Book of Knowledge became one of the company’s foundational family-reference products. It helped Grolier build a direct-to-home sales model aimed at parents and young readers and established the brand’s long-term association with children’s learning.

• General encyclopedia · 1945

  Encyclopedia Americana

  Encyclopedia Americana was one of Grolier’s principal general reference works and a central asset in its school, library, and household encyclopedia business. After Scholastic acquired Grolier, the title was positioned more directly as a reference resource for schools.

• Children’s encyclopedia · 1966

  The New Book of Knowledge

  Launched in 1966, The New Book of Knowledge extended Grolier’s children’s reference franchise. The work was designed for younger readers and families and formed part of the company’s broader educational publishing and direct-sales portfolio.

• Science encyclopedia · 1972

  The New Book of Popular Science

  The New Book of Popular Science was Grolier’s science-oriented reference encyclopedia, added to the company’s major general and educational reference offerings during its period of twentieth-century expansion.

• Academic encyclopedia · 1980

  Academic American Encyclopedia

  Introduced in 1980, Academic American Encyclopedia was intended for more advanced reference use than Grolier’s children’s products. It later provided the content base for an electronic edition and remained part of the company’s transition toward digital reference.

• CD-ROM encyclopedia · 1995

  Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

  Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia was a multimedia reference product distributed on CD-ROM during the 1990s. It combined encyclopedia content with the richer search, audio, visual, and interactive capabilities that publishers were adding to personal-computer reference products.

• Online reference service

  Scholastic GO

  Scholastic GO is the successor branding for Grolier Online, preserving Grolier’s reference-content heritage in an online service aimed primarily at educational users and schools.

• 2000

  Sale to ScholasticM&A

  Background

  Grolier had substantial reference, children’s publishing, direct-sales, and international operations, while Scholastic was focused on educational content for school-age children.

  Action taken

  Scholastic acquired Grolier for approximately $400 million and integrated the business into its education publishing strategy.

  Aftermath

  Scholastic retained the Grolier name in its reference activities, repositioned Encyclopedia Americana for schools, and developed Grolier Online into Scholastic GO.

  Reported acquisition price. $400 million (June 2000)

  Source

• 1988

  Sale to HachetteM&A

  Background

  Grolier was an established American reference publisher with international operations and a growing electronic and children’s publishing portfolio.

  Action taken

  Hachette purchased Grolier for a reported $450 million.

  Aftermath

  Grolier became part of a French media group later absorbed into Lagardère.

  Reported acquisition price. $450 million (1988)

  Source

• 1982

  Expansion into electronic publishingStrategy

  Background

  Personal computers created a new distribution format for encyclopedias and educational reference works.

  Action taken

  Grolier established Grolier Electronic Publishing to develop electronic encyclopedias, software, and related interactive products.

  Aftermath

  The subsidiary later became Grolier Interactive and released products for computers and game platforms before the Scholastic acquisition.

  Source

• 1976

  Debt restructuring after major lossesStrategy

  Background

  Grolier’s profitability deteriorated after the consolidation of its sales subsidiaries and unsuccessful investments outside publishing. The company reported a $77 million loss on $247 million in sales and warned of possible bankruptcy without creditor support.

  Action taken

  Management sought creditor agreement to restructure the company’s debts and subsequently emphasized the expanding mail-order business.

  Aftermath

  The mail-order operation contributed to a return to profitability during the 1980s.

  Reported loss and sales. (1976)

  Source

1. 1Grolieren.wikipedia.org