The Beano Annual 2015 celebrates chart topping success

The Beano Annual 2015 celebrates chart topping success

DC Thomson Consumer Products today announces that The Beano Annual 2015is the number one annual* in the UK and one of the best-selling children’s Christmas books of 2014.
Following a spectacular thirteen week takeover event at London’s St Pancras International and an extensive marketing campaign in the lead up to Christmas, DC Thomson Consumer Products today confirmed that the iconic Beano Annual has secured the highly coveted No.1 spot, yet again.
Since launching over 75 years ago, The Beano Annual continues to be a household favourite and has secured the number one spot for 13 out of the last 21 years. This year’s Annual cover features star characters Dennis the Menace and Gnasher catching the Beanotown Express train from London’s St Pancras International station.
The Beano Annual 2015 sold over £1 million in retail sales value in the run up to Christmas, selling over 50% more than the No.2 spot by sales value and beating its rivals such as LEGO, Peppa Pig, Doctor Who and One Direction to the number one position. Additionally, DC Thomson’s classic The Dandy annual also enjoyed further success and reached the No.9 spot at Christmas, an 18% increase from last year in sales volume.
Packed full of all new content, stories and activities across 112 pages, both The Beano Annual and The Dandy are great value for money and firm favourites. Trusted and widely recognised by families, the annuals are hugely popular purchases not only amongst younger fans but also with parents who are looking for Christmas stocking fillers or gift ideas.
Tim Collins, Head of Brands, DC Thomson comments: “Each year, we strive to make each one of our annuals rich in content and with more pages than any other on the market. The purchase of a Beano Annual is a classic British tradition that has been shared amongst families for many generations, so it’s vital that we continue to meet the expectations of our loyal fans and a real privilege to have that effort recognized this way. We fought off some tough competition this year and with the support of our experiential marketing campaign at St Pancras International, we’re thrilled that The Beano Annual 2015 was a massive success.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
*figures sourced from Nielsen BookData
The BeanoThe Beano is the quintessential British children’s comic, first published by DC Thomson in July 1938 and still printed weekly. It reaches hundreds of thousands* of children every week. The Beano is best known for its famed characters such as Dennis the Menace, Gnasher, The Bash Street Kids and Minnie the Minx. The spin-off animation series, Dennis and Gnasher is exported around the world and is one of the highest rated shows on CBBC.
*TGI Youth Spring 2014, The Beano readership, 528,000.
DC ThomsonDC Thomson & Co Ltd is a private company and one of the leading publishing houses in the UK. The company’s headquarters is in Dundee, Scotland, with a London base in Fleet Street. DC Thomson publishes newspapers, magazines, comics and books. The company also has interests in radio, printing, retailing and online services.