SF DRS has had enough
The truce between Schuhmacher, Räz and Gasche is currently causing nothing but mistrust at SF DRS
K-Tipp must help him save the collaboration with SF DRS
succeed. They are fed up with the back and forth with the partner magazines (see also page 5).
An era has come to an end: the three consumer advocates Schuhmacher, Räz and Gasche are splitting up their print media empire and disentangling their activities. This means that the three squabblers, whose conflicts were not conducive to the further development of the publications, will hardly have any reason to argue in future. Only marketing and subscription services will remain the same for all titles.
With K-Tipp and the equally successful Saldo, Schuhmacher now has a power duo with a combined circulation of over 520000 copies, but this poses plenty of problems. This is because the two magazines are positioned practically identically. The task will be to create sufficient living space for them side by side. How will be the task of the coming weeks and months.
But one thing is already clear to Schuhmacher: he wants to keep both magazines, and merging them is not an issue. He is optimistic that both titles have a place in the market. Schuhmacher: "Both magazines are only published fortnightly and are relatively small at 32 pages each. Compared to the Coop and Migros press, which have circulations of over two million copies, the consumer press still has little to offer."
SF DRS grumbles and dares to
Moment no more
By contrast, the new structure for Hans Räz and Urs P. Gasche, who are continuing two successful magazines, is far simpler. Gasche now owns 100 percent of Puls Media AG, publisher of Puls-Tipp. Räz will become the sole owner of Edition Plus GmbH, publisher of Bon à Savoir. As consumer and health topics are currently booming, there are still sufficient development opportunities for both magazines. However, Räz and Gasche will be seen less and less at the headquarters of KI Konsumenteninfo, but all the more frequently at their joint TV production company Xproductions, which is just a stone's throw away from KI Konsumenteninfo.
While Puls-Tipp and Bon à Savoir can look to the future with peace of mind, dark clouds have been gathering over Saldo. Nothing less than the cooperation with SF DRS, which is so important for its success, is under threat.
The truce now reached by the three consumer advocates has not calmed the situation, but on the contrary has increased mistrust.
You feel like a pawn, at the mercy of the whims of the three. SF-DRS editor-in-chief Filippo Leutenegger grumbles: "K-Tipp, still under Räz and Gasche, has just sued us because we allegedly helped Saldo and thus Schuhmacher. And now it's all back to Schuhmacher. It makes you feel strange when the cards are constantly being reshuffled."
For this reason, the collaboration with Saldo will now be fundamentally reconsidered. Leutenegger: "Although the three have now reallocated the field, they can also change this again, as all three are still shareholders in KI Konsumenteninfo AG. The problem therefore remains that two of them can overrule the third in the future and turn everything upside down again if they feel like it."
SF DRS could do quite well
live without a balance
For him, the fact that Schuhmacher now holds 100 percent of the voting rights in KI Konsumenteninfo is no guarantee at all of a trouble-free future. "What we urgently need are reliable partners," emphasizes Leutenegger.
But doesn't "Kassensturz" also benefit enormously from the partner magazine? Leutenegger waves it off: "So far, 'Kassensturz' hasn't had any more viewers because of Saldo or K-Tipp. If anything, the opposite is true: the magazines need us."
Leutenegger also appreciates the opportunity to offer viewers of "Kassensturz" additional services in print form. Nevertheless, he does not rule out the possibility of ending the collaboration. Leutenegger: "We could certainly live without a partner magazine."
Chronology of a quarrel with subsequent truce
1991: The Zurich lawyer René Schuhmacher founds the
K-Tipp as an accompanying booklet to the
television program "Kassensturz". It is published by KI Konsumenteninfo AG, which is wholly owned by Schuhmacher.
1994: Schuhmacher launches the Puls-Tipp as an accompanying booklet to the program "Puls" in the same publishing house.
1995: The K-Tipp appears with advertising for the first time.
1997: SF DRS terminates the cooperation agreement with K-Tipp and Puls-Tipp due to serious publishing and journalistic differences of opinion.
1997: KI Konsumenteninfo AG launches Bon à Savoir, a French-speaking Swiss version of the
K-Tip.
1998: Räz and Gasche replace Schuhmacher as journalistic director of K-Tipp. Gasche takes over the journalistic management of K-Tipp as well as Puls-Tipp.
1999: Schuhmacher reaches an agreement with SF DRS on a new publication to accompany the programs "Kassensturz" and "Puls". The new magazine is called Saldo and is published for the first time in January.
2001: In May, Schuhmacher, Räz and Gasche announce the separation of their activities. Hans Räz subsequently becomes the sole owner of Edition Plus GmbH, publisher of Bon à Savoir. Urs P. Gasche acquires 100 percent of Puls Media AG, which publishes Puls-Tipp. In addition to Saldo, Schuhmacher now also owns K-Tipp and the associated special editions. Although Räz and Gasche will each retain their one-third share in the publisher KI Konsumentinfo AG, according to the contractual agreement they will hand over their votes to Schuhmacher, who will now have sole control of KI Konsumenteninfo AG.
Publications by Räz, Gasche, SchuhmacherTitle Edition 2000
K-Tip 378982
Balance 141275
Pulse tip 148187
Bon à Savoir 100204
K-Special 79125
