Armand Colin
Armand Colin is a historic French university publishing house founded in 1870, specializing in academic books and 14-15 peer-reviewed journals in humanities and social sciences, serving researchers, students, professors, and academic libraries globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1870
- HeadquartersMalakoff, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Armand Colin does
Armand Colin is a historic French university publishing house founded in 1870, specializing in academic content for humanities and social sciences. It operates two core product lines: a book publishing program spanning collections U, Cursus, 128, Lettres Sup, and the newer Armand Colin/Recherches, including essays, illustrated books, and textbooks; and a portfolio of 14-15 peer-reviewed scientific journals covering history, geography, economics, political science, literature, languages, and education sciences. The catalog exceeds 2,000 book titles, and six journals hold INT 1 or INT 2 rankings from the European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH).
The business operates as a publishing brand under Dunod Editeur (a French Société Anonyme registered in Nanterre with stated capital of €1,039,605), itself part of the broader Hachette Livre publishing group. The technology stack centers on a digital publishing platform at revues.armand-colin.com that delivers journal subscriptions via IP recognition for institutions and provides access to thousands of open access articles, with a digital archive dating back to 2007. Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-consumer e-commerce via dunod.com and revues.armand-colin.com, supplemented by eight international subscription agencies (EBSCO, France Publications, Harrassowitz, Karger Libri, Kinokuniya, Prenax, Licosa, Ama Live) that reach academic libraries worldwide, plus physical bookstore distribution.
Revenue is generated through annual journal subscriptions in both individual and institutional tiers (paper+digital Formule Intégrale and digital-only Formule 100% Numérique, priced from €55 to €270), one-time book sales, and single-issue purchases at €18 per copy. Customers are fragmented across academic researchers, university and preparatory-class students, professors, academic libraries, and a broader readership of educated consumers interested in humanities, history, sociology, geopolitics, and economics. The company employs approximately 17 staff at the Dunod Editeur headquarters in Malakoff, France, and operates as a private entity with no public listing or external funding rounds disclosed.
Armand Colin firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Armand Colin
- Legal name
- DUNOD EDITEUR
- Website
- https://armand-colin.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1870
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Armand Colin is a historic French university publishing house founded in 1870, specializing in academic books and 14-15 peer-reviewed journals in humanities and social sciences, serving researchers, students, professors, and academic libraries globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Armand Colin industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Publishing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Higher Education Textbook Publishing (MPAJABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Research Monographs & University Press Publishing (MPAJABAJ)
Keywords
Where Armand Colin is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Malakoff
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Armand Colin business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Journal Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions to academic journals available in paper and/or digital formats. Individual and institutional pricing tiers. Subscriptions include digital access to archives from 2007 onwards.
- Book Sales: Sale of university textbooks, academic monographs, essays, and illustrated books through dunod.com and physical bookstores.
- Single Issue Sales: Individual journal issues available for purchase at €18 per copy for individual buyers
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual subscriptions - Paper + Digital (Formula integral) |
| Subscription | Annual | Individual subscriptions - 100% Digital |
| Subscription | Annual | Institutional subscriptions - Paper + Digital |
| Subscription | Annual | Institutional subscriptions - 100% Digital |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single Issue Purchase |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Armand Colin product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Armand Colin is a French university publishing house that produces academic books under collections such as U, Cursus, 128, Lettres Sup, and Armand Colin/Recherches, plus essays, documents, and illustrated publications for the humanities and social sciences. It also publishes a portfolio of 14-15 peer-reviewed scientific journals on history, geography, economics, political science, literature, languages, and education, sold via annual print and/or digital subscriptions to individuals and institutions.
Product overview
Armand Colin is a French university publishing house founded in 1870, now a brand of Dunod Editeur, specializing in academic publishing for humanities and social sciences. The company operates two core product lines: (1) Books under collections U, Cursus, 128, and Lettres Sup, plus essays, documents, and illustrated publications; and (2) A portfolio of 14-15 peer-reviewed scientific journals covering history, geography, economics, political science, literature, languages, and education. Journals are distributed through the revues.armand-colin.com platform offering subscription services in print/digital (Formule Intégrale) or digital-only (Formule 100% Numérique) formats, along with open access articles.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Armand Colin Revues: Dedicated platform for Armand Colin's 14 scientific journals covering history, geography, economics, political science, letters, languages, and education sciences.
- Collection U
- Collection Cursus
- Collection 128
- Lettres Sup
Products and services
- Armand Colin Books (Collections U, Cursus, 128, Lettres Sup) Academic textbooks, monographs, and university-level publications issued under the U, Cursus, 128, and Lettres Sup collections, targeting students, researchers, and educators in humanities and social sciences.
- Armand Colin Journals (Revues Armand Colin) Peer-reviewed scientific journal portfolio of 14-15 titles in history, geography, economics, political science, literature, languages, and education, available in print and digital editions to individuals and institutions.
- Collection Armand Colin / Recherches Research-oriented book collection in performing arts and visual studies, complementing Lettres Sup and reinforcing Armand Colin's reference position in academic publishing.
- Essais & Documents Essay and documentary book line addressing contemporary issues in history, sociology, geography, geopolitics, economics, and religion, intended for teachers, professionals, and general readers.
- Illustrated Books (Livres Illustrés) Thematically curated illustrated books that combine scholarly text with rich visual content to deliver intellectually rich historical narratives to general readers and enthusiasts.
- Journal Subscription Services (Formule Intégrale and Formule 100% Numérique) Annual journal subscription service offered as Formule Intégrale (print + digital with archives from 2007) and Formule 100% Numérique (digital-only) for individual and institutional subscribers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 6 journals ranked INT 1 or INT 2 by ERIH
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Armand Colin
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Armand Colin technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Armand Colin partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- EBSCOcoreSubscription agency partner distributing Armand Colin journals to academic libraries and institutions internationally. Contact: [email protected]
- France PublicationscoreFrench subscription agency partner for journal distribution to institutional subscribers. Contact: [email protected]
- HarrassowitzcoreGerman subscription agency partner distributing journals to European academic libraries. Contact: [email protected]
- Karger LibriminorSwiss subscription agency partner for journal distribution. Contact: [email protected]
- Kinokuniya CompanyminorJapanese subscription agency partner distributing journals. Contact: [email protected]
- PrenaxminorSubscription agency partner for journal distribution. Contact: [email protected]
- LicosaminorItalian subscription agency partner distributing journals to Italian academic institutions. Contact: [email protected]
- Ama LiveminorSubscription agency partner for French market. Contact: [email protected]
- Hachette LivrecoreArmand Colin and Dunod are part of the Hachette Livre publishing group. Customer data may be shared with other group publishers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Armand Colin competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Presses Universitaires de France (PUF): PUF is a major French university press publishing monographs, textbooks, and journals across humanities and social sciences. Direct competitor to Armand Colin in the same French academic publishing niche, with overlapping author pools and customer segments.
- Éditions La Découverte: Major French publisher in social sciences, humanities, and economics. Competes with Armand Colin for French academic authors, university textbook adoptions, and journal readership in social sciences.
- Presses de Sciences Po: French academic publisher focused on political science, sociology, economics, and history. Direct competitor in French social sciences journal and book publishing, with overlapping institutional subscription channels.
- Classiques Garnier: French academic publisher specializing in humanities, literature, and language sciences, with a portfolio of journals and monographs. Direct peer to Armand Colin in the French humanities academic publishing space.
- Brill Publishers: International academic publisher with strong focus on humanities and social sciences journals and books. Comparable to Armand Colin in journal portfolio structure and academic library distribution model.
- Éditions du CNRS: French academic publisher affiliated with the CNRS focusing on humanities and social sciences research. Direct peer in French-language academic publishing with overlapping institutional and library distribution channels.
- Éditions Belin: French academic publisher in humanities, social sciences, and history. Belin is owned by Humensis (similar to Armand Colin under Hachette) and competes directly for French university textbook and journal authors and readers.
Broad incumbents
- De Gruyter: Major international academic publisher with a broad humanities and social sciences program. Larger and broader than Armand Colin but competes directly for institutional subscriptions and monograph authors.
- Routledge (Taylor & Francis): World-leading academic publisher in humanities and social sciences with thousands of journals and books. Competes with Armand Colin for institutional library budgets and provides a broader alternative for humanities content procurement.
Regional players
- Presses Universitaires de Grenoble: French regional university press publishing humanities, social sciences, and letters. Operates in the same French academic market as Armand Colin with comparable textbook and journal offerings for university customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Armand Colin social profiles
Digital presenceArmand Colin financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Armand Colin leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Armand Colin funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Armand Colin M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Armand Colin
What does Armand Colin do?
Armand Colin is a French university publishing house that produces academic books under collections such as U, Cursus, 128, Lettres Sup, and Armand Colin/Recherches, plus essays, documents, and illustrated publications for the humanities and social sciences. It also publishes a portfolio of 14-15 peer-reviewed scientific journals on history, geography, economics, political science, literature, languages, and education, sold via annual print and/or digital subscriptions to individuals and institutions.
Is Armand Colin a public or private company?
Armand Colin is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Armand Colin founded?
Armand Colin was founded in 1870. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Armand Colin based?
Armand Colin is headquartered in Malakoff, France, in the Europe region.
How does Armand Colin make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Journal Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are book Sales and single Issue Sales.
Who are Armand Colin's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Presses Universitaires de France (PUF), Éditions La Découverte, Presses de Sciences Po, Classiques Garnier, Brill Publishers, Éditions du CNRS and Éditions Belin. Broad incumbents are De Gruyter and Routledge (Taylor & Francis). Presses Universitaires de Grenoble is listed as a regional player.
Does Armand Colin have an API?
No public API is recorded for Armand Colin.
What industry is Armand Colin in?
Armand Colin's product category is Academic Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJABAB, Higher Education Textbook Publishing, with a secondary code of MPAJABAC, Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed). Its NAICS code is 51313 and its SIC code is 2731.