Will All Bets on Hispanic Yellow Pages Market Pay Off?

New Spanish-language books continue to be launched in U.S. markets that have large Spanish-speaking populations – Los Angeles, New York and Chicago – creating a sub-layer of competition in the Yellow Pages market. Most intriguing, however, is the rapid growth of Spanish-language directory products in smaller, mid-tier markets such as Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Louisville, Kentucky.

Both existing publishers (incumbent and, increasingly, independent) and equity investors are drawn to the Hispanic market as a source of incremental growth or an investment opportunity less cluttered with competition – at least for now. The Kelsey Group believes the estimated US$147 million Hispanic Yellow Pages market will be a successful model, but perhaps only for a limited number of players, and most of these are already in the game.

The Kelsey Group has developed a base forecast that has the Spanish and bilingual Yellow Pages segment reaching US$195 million in 2009, based on modest revenue growth tied to forecast population growth. However, TKG has also developed a range of “opportunity scenarios” in which the market could approach US$700 million if benchmarks such as relevant media share and distribution density reach levels closer to those of the general Yellow Pages market.

For more information at http://www.kelseygroup.com/