Xing on course for growth - relaunch planned
Xing, the social network for professional contacts—which will launch its new design on June 6—continued the growth trend of fiscal year 2010 in the first quarter of 2011.
For example, the network in the German-speaking region generated Ebitda of 5.6 million euros in the first quarter of this year. This is an increase of 70 percent over the previous year's figure. Total sales rose by 24 percent to 15.7 million euros. At around 36 percent, the Ebitda margin was also significantly higher than the previous year's figure of 26 percent. Profit increased by 114 percent year-on-year to 2.7 million euros. This is the highest quarterly result in the company's history, according to a statement.
Dynamic member growth in the German-speaking core markets continued in the first quarter. The number of users in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland rose by 215,000 to around 4.7 million. Compared to the previous year, the number of members in the German-speaking region grew by 20 percent. Overall, Xing was able to increase the total number of users from 9.2 million to 10.8 million in the first quarter. The number of paying members rose by 14,000 to 759,000.
The number of members in Switzerland is just under 400,000, with Xing clearly stronger in German-speaking Switzerland than in French-speaking Switzerland. In the last twelve months, the network has grown by 25 percent in Switzerland, thus achieving greater growth than Germany and Austria. In proportion to the population, Xing is practically as widespread in Switzerland as it is in Germany.
Information architecture redesigned
On June 6, the site will undergo a relaunch. The redesign had become necessary because Xing had become too complex over the years, the company writes. Over the years, more and more features have been added. This is difficult to master, especially for newcomers.
The information architecture is being completely redesigned. With "in-depth interviews, concept tests, card sorting, eye tracking and usability tests," Xing has optimized the platform and made it more user-friendly. In addition, the service has been optimized for access via mobile devices.
