Jonathan Symington, the New York-based vice-president (Global Book Licensing) of Disney Publishing, is in India to participate in the World Book Fair in Delhi. "It's our first time at the book fair though we've been in India for the last 10 years," said Symington who drives Disney's books licensing business worldwide. He spoke to Business Standard about the company's India plans.

What are Disney's immediate plans for the Indian market?

There are some local developments. Just last month, for the first time, we added a line of books in local Indian languages -- Hindi and Marathi.

This is the first time we are introducing products in local languages, and in spring we will launch books in another language -- Malayalam.

There is Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and the Jungle Book for the Indian market. Have you acquired any local characters?

Not yet. But Disney has an association with Yash Raj Films, and it will release an animation film (Roadside Romeo) this year. We will be releasing a series of books around that time. But we will definitely look at acquiring Indian characters to grow our business.

How many licensees do you have?

Worldwide, we have 200 licensees who publish our books. In India, there are 10 licensees.

Which are Disney books' fastest growing markets?

The biggest growth is coming from the Asia-Pacific region, eastern Europe and Latin America. They are also growth regions for Walt Disney company.

Outside the US, as a single country, the UK is our largest market.

How are India and China placed?

India is small but in terms of business it is equivalent to China. The market for children's books is growing faster in India at about 25 per cent a year.

On the other hand, the market in China is very different. Publishing is a bit more regulated in the sense that if you want to publish a book you need to have a book number. You have to apply for that number, so publishers have to decide their plans in advance.

What is Disney books' biggest challenge in India?

Publishers' biggest challenge is distribution. We are very well-penetrated on the whole in the metro cities and increasingly in tier-1 towns. But to get full distribution coverage is currently a huge challenge.

It is more because of the lack of organised retail. This should change as the retail trade is now developing with investments coming from some of the major Indian groups and soon-to-come bigger foreign retailers.