Recently, I wanted to learn more about blogging so I went on my public library's on-line card catalogue and entered the subject: "blogging". I ordered 6 or 7 different titles to try to find the best one. One of the titles was "Blogging for DUMMIES" by Susannah Gardner and Shane Birley. Although it was a paperback and had a yellow and black comic book looking cover complete with a "Where's Waldo" look-a-like character on the front it really turned out to be the best of all the books on the subject. It was so good that I decided to take the Barnes & Noble gift card my daughter gave me for Christmas and actually purchase the book because it was really a step by step guide to blogging that even I could understand.

When I got to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore I figured it would be in the computer section and with the black and yellow cover with the Waldo cartoon face easy to find. As I looked in the bookshelf it appeared that every 4th book on the shelf had a "DUMMIE" cover and each was on a different subject.

I went over to tell my wife. She was in the wedding planning section getting reference books for my daughter and there was even a "Wedding Planning for DUMMIES " book there. As I walked around the bookstore I couldn't believe how many "DUMMIES" titles were in the store. Every single section and every subject had those yellow and black covers with the goofy Waldo character staring at me. I quit counting after several hundred titles.

I suddenly had a Peter Lynch moment and remembered how I read a story where he said some of his best retail ideas came from waiting for his wife at the mall and seeing a new store he knew nothing about. He observed shopper after shopper coming out with loaded bags and just had to research that company. I decided to do the same with these "DUMMIE" books.

The book cover said the "DUMMIES" books were published by Wiley Publishing so I Googled them and went to their web site. The first line of the web site said they had over 150 million books in print and more than 1400 titles! No wonder I lost count.

The investor relations section claimed to produce 58% Scientific, Technical Medical and Scholarly titles, 28% Professional and Trade and 14% Higher Education subject matter. Their customer base was 51% US, 24% Europe, 13% Asia, 5% Australia & New Zealand, 4 % Canada and 3% other. A worldwide power house!

The financial's were even more impressive:
Revenue 13% Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Earnings per Share 18% CAGR
Operating Income 17% CAGR
Stock Price 13% CAGR

This company has a great franchise, brand recognition and walks the walks with excellent financial results.

SYMBOL: JW.a & JW.b

Jim Van Meerten

Comments: View Comments |  Monday January 12, 2009