IPG Acquires Art Stock Books

June 8, 2010

Independent Publishers Group (IPG), through its parent company Chicago Review Press, Inc., has added a new arm to its distribution services with the acquisition of Art Stock Books. Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Art Stock Books (ASB) is the North American distributor of fine art, architecture and photography titles published by European publishers. IPG will take official ownership of the company on June 16, 2010. All marketing and operations will be integrated into IPG’s headquarters in Chicago.

“Art Stock Books is a first-rate, niche art distributor with titles that will wonderfully complement our other distribution arms,” notes IPG president Mark Suchomel. “Publishers already distributed by ASB will immediately benefit from IPG’s operational economies and our strong sales efforts in and outside the book trade.”

Art Stock Books (ASB) will remain a distinct brand with its own website (www.artstockbooks.com) and its titles will be sold in a catalog separate from those of IPG, Trafalgar Square Publishing and Small Press United (SPU) (www.smallpressunited.com), IPG’s small publisher distributor started in 2009. All titles from all lists combine for discount, invoicing, and shipping and can be ordered through IPG and its sales reps.

Suchomel adds, “Due to our success in specialty markets, we can present books in Art Stock Books’ catalog to a wider range of accounts, such as garden shops and outdoor retailers, while maintaining a thriving and important presence in the art world. We also anticipate some good growth as we add a few select publishers, which could now easily come from North America and Australia, as well as Europe.”

Cajo Liesenberg founded Art Stock Books in 2001, and for several months during the transition, will be working with IPG as an independent consultant. “I am more than happy that I have found the best possible successor for my company. It is a great feeling to see a long and well-based future for my distributed publishers,” says Liesenberg.

During the past decade, Liesenberg built ASB into a well-known, respected source of hard to find, high quality European art and art-related titles. Art Stock Books distributes for approximately 30 publishers including Hirmer Verlag, L'Aventurine, Seemann Henschel, Wienand Verlag, Rakennustieto, Alinari 24 Ore, Slovart, Reimer Verlag and Janssen Publishers.

Established in 1971, IPG was the first organization specifically created for the purpose of marketing titles from independent presses to the book trade. With consistent growth each year, IPG’s success has come from supporting and encouraging the growth of its client publishers in the United States and worldwide. IPG has a wide reach in the market with its distribution of publishers with academic, Spanish-language, computer and general trade nonfiction and fiction titles. IPG was acquired by Chicago Review Press in 1987. Clients include publishers from the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Spain and other countries. In the fall of 2006, the senior management of Chicago Review Press, Inc., the parent company of IPG, bought Trafalgar Square Publishing, Inc., the leading U.S. distributor of UK publishers. Trafalgar Square Publishing was founded in 1973 and distributes for clients such as Aurum Press, Canongate UK, HarperCollins UK, Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, Orion Publishing, Random House UK and Simon & Schuster UK.

For more information or to speak with IPG President Mark Suchomel, please contact Jen Wisnowski, publicity manager, at 312-337-0747.

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