Glenat Editions SA is a French publisher with its head office in Grenoble . Their products include comic albums and manga in France, Benelux , and in the past Spain ; it was founded by Jacques Glenat. The Benelux subsidiary, Glenat Benelux N.V., is located in Brussels , Belgium . ^[1] The Switzerland subsidiary, Glenat Editions (Suisse) SA, has its headquarters in Nyon . ^[2] The Spanish subsidiary had its head office in Barcelona . ^[3]

History [ edit ]

This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . ( December 2011 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message )

Jacques Glenat started his comics fanzine Schtroumpf (the French, original, title of The Smurfs ) in 1969, when he was still a student. In 1972, only twenty years old, he established his own publishing house, Glenat. The first two books were by Claude Serre and by Claire Bretecher . Two years later, he already received the award for best publisher at the Angouleme International Comics Festival . To support the rapid growth, the company opened warehouses in Orly near Paris, and a flagship store in Paris .

A new comics magazine, Circus , first appeared in 1975 and existed until 1989. But the next few years saw Glenat move more away from the traditional juvenile Franco-Belgian comics and more towards the graphic novel , with an emphasis on their successful historical series by Francois Bourgeon and Andre Juillard . A second magazine, Vecu , dedicated to historical comics, was created in 1985 and survived until 2004.

From 1980 on, Glenat also published non-fiction books related to mountain climbing and to the sea. They also bought the publisher Vents d'Ouest and from 1991 on started publishing manga . But the biggest success of all came with Titeuf by Zep , which soon was one of the bestselling French comic series, with its own magazine Tcho and animated series.

On 5 October 2011, yielded 100% of the capital of Glenat Espana to Joan Navarro and Felix Sabate, the two heads of the former subsidiary. ^{[4] [ clarification needed ]}

Company [ edit ]

As of 2009, the company gets 50% of its turnover from comics, 20% from manga, and 15% from books, with the last 15% divided over smaller products.

The book division has a catalogue of over 4,000 titles, publishing some 400 new books and 12 million volumes a year. Bestselling series include Titeuf , with 16 million copies, and Dragon Ball , with 17 million copies. It is the second largest comics publishing group in France, behind Media-Participations , with some 20% of the market.

The company has two international subsidiaries, Glenat Benelux and Glenat Suisse (Switzerland). The company is also very active in Canada and collaborates with other publishers in other countries. Apart from translating and distributing the original Glenat productions, these regional companies also produce their own content and specializations. Glenat Benelux has 13% of the market of Belgian comic shops.

Head office [ edit ]

The company head office is in central Grenoble , ^{[5] [6]} in the former Convent of St. Cecilia, a 17th-century building which previously hosted a theater. Jacques Glenat had the building restored so it could become the headquarters of the company. ^[7] The building's restoration took five years to complete. 100 employees work in the building. ^[6] The building's archives, library, and private collection are open to the public. ^[7]

Awards [ edit ]

• 1974: Best French Publisher at the Angouleme International Comics Festival , France

Gallery [ edit ]

• 
  Head office of the Spanish subsidiary

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Glenat website ( French )
• Glenat website ( Dutch )
• Foreign rights page in English
• Interview page in English