Bilan starts with renewed vigor
The business magazine for French-speaking Switzerland is relaunching after a thorough overhaul
The French-speaking Swiss business magazine presents itself anew after a thorough renovationBy Christophe Büchi The French business magazine Bilan, published by Edipresse, will appear at the end of this month with a new look and a new concept. The new editor-in-chief, Alain Jeannet, wants to make his monthly magazine once again the reference object par excellence of French business journalism.
The days when Bilan's sister publication, the Welsh Bilanz, stood alone in a barren Welsh business press forest are over. A lot of young forest has been planted among the trees. The former stock exchange paper L'Agefi has become a real business daily, even the only daily business newspaper in Switzerland; and thanks to a very successful going public, publisher Alain Fabarez now has money like hay.
It is not for nothing that he is planning to launch a monthly magazine soon. But there's also PME Magazine from the Handelszeitung group (PME = SME = small and medium-sized enterprises), which is developing ambitions under its new editor-in-chief François Schaller. Then the Ringier weekly magazine L'Hebdo has also greatly expanded its business section. And the daily newspaper Le Temps, which is backed by potent French business representatives such as the Geneva private banker Bénédict Hentsch and the Sandoz family foundation, regards the economy as its hunting ground anyway.
So the time has come for Bilan to sound the tally once again. The new editor-in-chief, Alain Jeannet, who has taken over from Max Mabillard, explains the direction of travel to WerbeWoche: "We will continue to make a haut-de-gamme magazine. At the same time, however, we want to get closer to the readers and also appear more modern. In addition, I'm concerned that we think prospectively and offer more practical information."
The prince counters the attacks on his financial center
What this means in concrete terms can be seen in the Bilan issue, which will be published on May 31. In a first section under the title "Acteurs & Tendances".
is macroeconomic business journalism. The June issue includes a major report on the best French employers, based on a survey of 800 companies. It also contains an interview with the Prince of Liechtenstein on the subject of the Ländle financial center.
The magazine section "Entreprendre" moves from macroeconomics to microeconomics. Here, events at the corporate level are highlighted. For example, you can read how Baumgartner, which is active in the paper trade, wants to fend off an unfriendly takeover by raider Asher Edelman. Or how a company's telecom bill can be reduced.
The "Idées fortes" section is reserved for intellectual debate on economic issues. Ares-Serono's scientific advisor, for example, comments on the New Economy. And Logitech CEO Daniel Borel has his regular column here.
The new Bilan powers are making great efforts in the area of the Internet. The "E-Bilan" section comes with a massive "Who's who.ch": 100 people who play a key role in French e-business are portrayed. Finally, in a last part, titled "My Bilan" in an Anglophile way, a bit of lifestyle is spread out. It's all about money, career and pleasure.
There you read about the seven dream villas that are currently for sale in French-speaking Switzerland, and the like. Jeannet: "The French business press is a small segment. If you want to be successful, you have to offer a colorful cocktail of topics, which must also include lifestyle issues."
The circulation of Bilan is to take off steeply
The new Bilan has a hefty 208 pages, including 75 advertising pages. In its heyday, Bilan sold around 23,000 copies; today, the circulation is around 20,000. After a few years of stagnation - PME Magazine sends its regards - the circulation curve is now to be bent upwards again.
Jeannet therefore wants to activate the cooperation with Bilanz, even though the new look is more of a departure from the old Bilan-Bilanz concept. The latter has its good reason. "Unlike the Swiss-German media, which can specialize more, a French business magazine has to present itself as a 'généraliste,'" explains Jeannet. As a former Ringier pioneer in the Far East, he is also very familiar with Zurich conditions.
The days when Bilan's sister publication, the Welsh Bilanz, stood alone in a barren Welsh business press forest are over. A lot of young forest has been planted among the trees. The former stock exchange paper L'Agefi has become a real business daily, even the only daily business newspaper in Switzerland; and thanks to a very successful going public, publisher Alain Fabarez now has money like hay.
It is not for nothing that he is planning to launch a monthly magazine soon. But there's also PME Magazine from the Handelszeitung group (PME = SME = small and medium-sized enterprises), which is developing ambitions under its new editor-in-chief François Schaller. Then the Ringier weekly magazine L'Hebdo has also greatly expanded its business section. And the daily newspaper Le Temps, which is backed by potent French business representatives such as the Geneva private banker Bénédict Hentsch and the Sandoz family foundation, regards the economy as its hunting ground anyway.
So the time has come for Bilan to sound the tally once again. The new editor-in-chief, Alain Jeannet, who has taken over from Max Mabillard, explains the direction of travel to WerbeWoche: "We will continue to make a haut-de-gamme magazine. At the same time, however, we want to get closer to the readers and also appear more modern. In addition, I'm concerned that we think prospectively and offer more practical information."
The prince counters the attacks on his financial center
What this means in concrete terms can be seen in the Bilan issue, which will be published on May 31. In a first section under the title "Acteurs & Tendances".
is macroeconomic business journalism. The June issue includes a major report on the best French employers, based on a survey of 800 companies. It also contains an interview with the Prince of Liechtenstein on the subject of the Ländle financial center.
The magazine section "Entreprendre" moves from macroeconomics to microeconomics. Here, events at the corporate level are highlighted. For example, you can read how Baumgartner, which is active in the paper trade, wants to fend off an unfriendly takeover by raider Asher Edelman. Or how a company's telecom bill can be reduced.
The "Idées fortes" section is reserved for intellectual debate on economic issues. Ares-Serono's scientific advisor, for example, comments on the New Economy. And Logitech CEO Daniel Borel has his regular column here.
The new Bilan powers are making great efforts in the area of the Internet. The "E-Bilan" section comes with a massive "Who's who.ch": 100 people who play a key role in French e-business are portrayed. Finally, in a last part, titled "My Bilan" in an Anglophile way, a bit of lifestyle is spread out. It's all about money, career and pleasure.
There you read about the seven dream villas that are currently for sale in French-speaking Switzerland, and the like. Jeannet: "The French business press is a small segment. If you want to be successful, you have to offer a colorful cocktail of topics, which must also include lifestyle issues."
The circulation of Bilan is to take off steeply
The new Bilan has a hefty 208 pages, including 75 advertising pages. In its heyday, Bilan sold around 23,000 copies; today, the circulation is around 20,000. After a few years of stagnation - PME Magazine sends its regards - the circulation curve is now to be bent upwards again.
Jeannet therefore wants to activate the cooperation with Bilanz, even though the new look is more of a departure from the old Bilan-Bilanz concept. The latter has its good reason. "Unlike the Swiss-German media, which can specialize more, a French business magazine has to present itself as a 'généraliste,'" explains Jeannet. As a former Ringier pioneer in the Far East, he is also very familiar with Zurich conditions.
