As good abroad as at home
Edipresse is counting on its advertising sales staff in particular to work wonders and is holding back on cost-cutting measures
Edipresse expects miracles above all from advertising sales and is holding back on cost-cutting measuresby Anita Vaucher Edipresse's recently published half-year figures show that investing in foreign markets pays off in times of crisis. Nevertheless, Switzerland remains the most important area of activity for the big player in the media market in French-speaking Switzerland. The Lausanne-based company does not believe in linear cutbacks: savings are made on a project-by-project basis, if at all.
The economic crisis has little to do with the fact that the French-speaking Swiss publisher Edipresse has plans to move closer together in the future. The group, which is spread across three buildings, has a seemingly global print operation with magazines in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, Greece and Romania. And it is bursting at the seams, even though the Edipresse office tower on Avenue de la Gare was completely renovated not so long ago.
The editorial offices of the daily newspapers and magazines in western Switzerland are particularly affected by the lack of space. For this reason, the interior of the generously designed administration building, which also houses the management, is to be completely redistributed.
The first visit is to the Group's carpet floor. Tibère Adler, Deputy General Manager, is happy to do without a suit and tie and prefers to receive his visitors in an uncomplicated shirt and sweater. He is not bothered by the fact that his office is not excluded from spatial planning changes - even though he will be CEO from January 2003.
This attitude is typical of the new generation at the helm of Switzerland's third-largest publishing house. Adler has already held various offices at Edipresse: he was initially Edipresse's legal advisor, became HR Director, headed up the Group's administration and also got a taste of the online world as Managing Director of Edipresse Online.
Adler cultivates an open style, which is greatly appreciated in the company. Employees let it be known that this was not always the case. Just over a year ago, le Patron, Pierre Lamunière, had to put up with public scolding from journalists. He was accused of allowing himself to be influenced too much by the seventy-year-old Marcel Pasche, the former Directeur des publications and the eminence grise of Edipresse.
Foreign commitments flush money into the Edipresse coffers
However, Pierre Lamunière had a keen sense of delegating the operational business at the right time and transferring the necessary level of responsibility to competent employees. Lesson learned: before he boarded the bridge of the French-speaking Swiss media steamer, he had gained an insight into the dossiers of other companies at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
This transparent management style is particularly appreciated by employees at the moment, as cost-cutting measures are being announced everywhere to counter the crisis. "We are very realistic about the current situation within the publishing house, and nothing is being glossed over, but nothing is being dramatized either," says Adler. Unlike Tamedia or Ringier, however, Edipresse does not have a global savings plan for the company, Adler continues.
Edipresse is making project-related savings. The main areas affected are administrative processes, while print products are to be spared as far as possible. Although the editorial teams are also being asked to make savings and their budgets for the coming year will not be increased, there will be no redundancies for the time being. "However, if the advertising volume continues to fall, we will have to go back over the books," explains Adler.
In terms of advertising revenue, Edipresse is currently at the same level as in 1998 - in contrast to costs, which have risen over the same period. However, Edipresse recognized early on that the Swiss market only offers limited potential and that it is easier to continue growing abroad. The figures show that this strategy is paying off in the current crisis.
Thanks to the strong growth of Edipresse in Poland (14.7% more sales than in the first half of 2001), Greece and the Ukraine, the overall result for the first half of 2002 was also quite respectable: Although sales fell by 4% to 350.698 million francs, the bottom line was a net result of 19.650 million francs - only a mini-slump of 2.4% compared to the first half of 2001.
In contrast to Tamedia, which has so far concentrated on Switzerland and wasted millions with its national TV experiment, Edipresse has decided in favor of the foreign strategy option, explains Tibère Adler. At the moment, however, the company is rather reluctant to make new investments in foreign markets.
However, the company is also flirting with acquisitions in German-speaking Switzerland if the opportunity arises. "But Ringier is not up for discussion," jokes Adler. Which is not surprising, as Edipresse currently has another acquisition to digest: The Competition Commission will decide these days whether the purchase of the Corbaz Group in Montreux in spring is approved by the authorities.
What should shine in the print world must begin at home
Different floor, different people to talk to, this time in the editorial offices of Edipresse. What stands out on the tour of the offices in the tower is the politeness of the staff and the pleasant tone. "That's why I like it here so much," says Peter Rothenbühler, editor-in-chief of Le Matin. He also has every other reason to be in a good mood. According to the latest Mach Basic study, the number of readers of Le Matin has risen by 33,000 and that of Matin Dimanche by 31,000.
Rothenbühler really gets going when he talks about "his" newspapers: "There's a spirit of optimism in the editorial team because Le Matin has been very well received with its new formula and small format. With its 300,000 readers, the newspaper has become the basic medium in French-speaking Switzerland." Rothenbühler knows that people want to find out about the current situation quickly in the morning, which is why 20 Minuten, which offers well-packaged short news, is so successful. He is therefore convinced that in ten years' time there will be small, handy morning newspapers such as Le Matin for an initial overview and the more comprehensive newspaper for the evening.
Alain Jeannet, editor-in-chief of Bilan, is similarly optimistic. His business magazine is in the comfortable position of being published in French-speaking Switzerland with virtually no competition. Readership has risen from 137,000 to 143,000. In contrast to the business and finance paper L'Agéfi and the daily newspapers with a strong business section, Bilan has hardly been affected by the decline in financial and job advertisements. Nevertheless, Jeannet and his team want to make even greater efforts in future to surprise readers with quality journalism - after all, a new player, Market Magazine, is entering the market in December.
For Théo Bouchat, responsible for various publications at Edipresse, the current crisis will ultimately hardly change reading habits. "However, readers are becoming more demanding," he notes. As with other consumer goods, newspaper buyers want real value for money. When Edipresse considers the future financing policy for print products, it also has to think about how it wants to communicate the price of the product. "It must be explained what services are behind it so that the erroneous prevailing opinion that information is generally free can be corrected," he emphasizes. He is also considering pointing out the added value of the product in the annual subscription invoices so that consumers don't even have to think about whether they should renew their newspaper subscription or go on vacation.
Yet another floor, other offices, other tasks: The mood in the commercial department is depressed. The department is expecting miracles and, above all, the budget figures for next year. Pierre Buntschu, the director responsible, would need "a crystal ball to make a reasonable market assessment", he says sadly. He sees the much-vaunted silver lining on the horizon only appearing in the distant future, "around the end of 2003".
The same sentiments can be heard at Publicitas Léman, which manages the combination for 24 Heures, Tribune de Genève and Le Matin Semaine. Urs Donatsch, Regional Director of Publicitas, was still quite optimistic before the summer vacations, but the brief recovery phase was "unfortunately only a small bump at the bottom of the trough", he complains.
Nevertheless, the company does not want to make any major concessions to advertisers in order to increase the volume of advertisements. "This is not in line with the company's policy," says Donatsch. He is convinced that if Le Matin definitely becomes the basic medium in French-speaking Switzerland, the local combined landscape will have to be reconsidered in order to follow a certain logic in the market. At the moment, however, the Top3 offer is still working well.
In the job ad market, Buntschu and Donatsch see a shift from print to online. However, these two platforms do not have to compete with each other. Donatsch dreams of a full-page job advertisement that refers to the online platform for details. Ultimately, Buntschu doesn't just want to paint a black picture. And reveals en passant that one of the most important advertising clients has just announced an increase in its print advertising budget for the coming year.
The economic crisis has little to do with the fact that the French-speaking Swiss publisher Edipresse has plans to move closer together in the future. The group, which is spread across three buildings, has a seemingly global print operation with magazines in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, Greece and Romania. And it is bursting at the seams, even though the Edipresse office tower on Avenue de la Gare was completely renovated not so long ago.
The editorial offices of the daily newspapers and magazines in western Switzerland are particularly affected by the lack of space. For this reason, the interior of the generously designed administration building, which also houses the management, is to be completely redistributed.
The first visit is to the Group's carpet floor. Tibère Adler, Deputy General Manager, is happy to do without a suit and tie and prefers to receive his visitors in an uncomplicated shirt and sweater. He is not bothered by the fact that his office is not excluded from spatial planning changes - even though he will be CEO from January 2003.
This attitude is typical of the new generation at the helm of Switzerland's third-largest publishing house. Adler has already held various offices at Edipresse: he was initially Edipresse's legal advisor, became HR Director, headed up the Group's administration and also got a taste of the online world as Managing Director of Edipresse Online.
Adler cultivates an open style, which is greatly appreciated in the company. Employees let it be known that this was not always the case. Just over a year ago, le Patron, Pierre Lamunière, had to put up with public scolding from journalists. He was accused of allowing himself to be influenced too much by the seventy-year-old Marcel Pasche, the former Directeur des publications and the eminence grise of Edipresse.
Foreign commitments flush money into the Edipresse coffers
However, Pierre Lamunière had a keen sense of delegating the operational business at the right time and transferring the necessary level of responsibility to competent employees. Lesson learned: before he boarded the bridge of the French-speaking Swiss media steamer, he had gained an insight into the dossiers of other companies at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
This transparent management style is particularly appreciated by employees at the moment, as cost-cutting measures are being announced everywhere to counter the crisis. "We are very realistic about the current situation within the publishing house, and nothing is being glossed over, but nothing is being dramatized either," says Adler. Unlike Tamedia or Ringier, however, Edipresse does not have a global savings plan for the company, Adler continues.
Edipresse is making project-related savings. The main areas affected are administrative processes, while print products are to be spared as far as possible. Although the editorial teams are also being asked to make savings and their budgets for the coming year will not be increased, there will be no redundancies for the time being. "However, if the advertising volume continues to fall, we will have to go back over the books," explains Adler.
In terms of advertising revenue, Edipresse is currently at the same level as in 1998 - in contrast to costs, which have risen over the same period. However, Edipresse recognized early on that the Swiss market only offers limited potential and that it is easier to continue growing abroad. The figures show that this strategy is paying off in the current crisis.
Thanks to the strong growth of Edipresse in Poland (14.7% more sales than in the first half of 2001), Greece and the Ukraine, the overall result for the first half of 2002 was also quite respectable: Although sales fell by 4% to 350.698 million francs, the bottom line was a net result of 19.650 million francs - only a mini-slump of 2.4% compared to the first half of 2001.
In contrast to Tamedia, which has so far concentrated on Switzerland and wasted millions with its national TV experiment, Edipresse has decided in favor of the foreign strategy option, explains Tibère Adler. At the moment, however, the company is rather reluctant to make new investments in foreign markets.
However, the company is also flirting with acquisitions in German-speaking Switzerland if the opportunity arises. "But Ringier is not up for discussion," jokes Adler. Which is not surprising, as Edipresse currently has another acquisition to digest: The Competition Commission will decide these days whether the purchase of the Corbaz Group in Montreux in spring is approved by the authorities.
What should shine in the print world must begin at home
Different floor, different people to talk to, this time in the editorial offices of Edipresse. What stands out on the tour of the offices in the tower is the politeness of the staff and the pleasant tone. "That's why I like it here so much," says Peter Rothenbühler, editor-in-chief of Le Matin. He also has every other reason to be in a good mood. According to the latest Mach Basic study, the number of readers of Le Matin has risen by 33,000 and that of Matin Dimanche by 31,000.
Rothenbühler really gets going when he talks about "his" newspapers: "There's a spirit of optimism in the editorial team because Le Matin has been very well received with its new formula and small format. With its 300,000 readers, the newspaper has become the basic medium in French-speaking Switzerland." Rothenbühler knows that people want to find out about the current situation quickly in the morning, which is why 20 Minuten, which offers well-packaged short news, is so successful. He is therefore convinced that in ten years' time there will be small, handy morning newspapers such as Le Matin for an initial overview and the more comprehensive newspaper for the evening.
Alain Jeannet, editor-in-chief of Bilan, is similarly optimistic. His business magazine is in the comfortable position of being published in French-speaking Switzerland with virtually no competition. Readership has risen from 137,000 to 143,000. In contrast to the business and finance paper L'Agéfi and the daily newspapers with a strong business section, Bilan has hardly been affected by the decline in financial and job advertisements. Nevertheless, Jeannet and his team want to make even greater efforts in future to surprise readers with quality journalism - after all, a new player, Market Magazine, is entering the market in December.
For Théo Bouchat, responsible for various publications at Edipresse, the current crisis will ultimately hardly change reading habits. "However, readers are becoming more demanding," he notes. As with other consumer goods, newspaper buyers want real value for money. When Edipresse considers the future financing policy for print products, it also has to think about how it wants to communicate the price of the product. "It must be explained what services are behind it so that the erroneous prevailing opinion that information is generally free can be corrected," he emphasizes. He is also considering pointing out the added value of the product in the annual subscription invoices so that consumers don't even have to think about whether they should renew their newspaper subscription or go on vacation.
Yet another floor, other offices, other tasks: The mood in the commercial department is depressed. The department is expecting miracles and, above all, the budget figures for next year. Pierre Buntschu, the director responsible, would need "a crystal ball to make a reasonable market assessment", he says sadly. He sees the much-vaunted silver lining on the horizon only appearing in the distant future, "around the end of 2003".
The same sentiments can be heard at Publicitas Léman, which manages the combination for 24 Heures, Tribune de Genève and Le Matin Semaine. Urs Donatsch, Regional Director of Publicitas, was still quite optimistic before the summer vacations, but the brief recovery phase was "unfortunately only a small bump at the bottom of the trough", he complains.
Nevertheless, the company does not want to make any major concessions to advertisers in order to increase the volume of advertisements. "This is not in line with the company's policy," says Donatsch. He is convinced that if Le Matin definitely becomes the basic medium in French-speaking Switzerland, the local combined landscape will have to be reconsidered in order to follow a certain logic in the market. At the moment, however, the Top3 offer is still working well.
In the job ad market, Buntschu and Donatsch see a shift from print to online. However, these two platforms do not have to compete with each other. Donatsch dreams of a full-page job advertisement that refers to the online platform for details. Ultimately, Buntschu doesn't just want to paint a black picture. And reveals en passant that one of the most important advertising clients has just announced an increase in its print advertising budget for the coming year.
