Biting through is the watchword
Business Press: After a long slump, some publishing houses are finally seeing a glimmer of hope again.
Business press After a long downturn, some publishers are finally catching a whiff of morning air again The circulation trend in the business press shows the same picture across the board: The titles reached their circulation peaks in the years 1997 to 2002, and today they are all worse off than they were in 1996, with one exception: the French-speaking Swiss magazine Bilan was the only title to remain remarkably stable - at a good 19,000 copies in each case - and today it is pretty much in the middle of its maximum (1996) and minimum (1999). It is difficult or impossible to compare readership figures, but overall they confirm the circulation trend. "Since the Internet bubble burst, the business press has been on the decline, and there is currently a market shakeout and a cut-throat competition," says Filippo Leutenegger, CEO of Jean Frey AG. His monthly magazine has lost the most readers of all business titles with -12.2 percent and was also the biggest loser in terms of advertising volume from January to July 2004 with -19.3 percent.
Don't wait for an upswing
Nevertheless, the balance sheet remains the Swiss business title with the widest reach, and Leutenegger is doing everything he can to get his flagship back on track. However, he has no illusions: "The relaunch in spring 2003 didn't achieve much," he states. Nor does he want to rely on an economic upturn. "You have to ensure an improvement yourself," says the CEO, who is therefore examining "a few things" with regard to the balance sheet. He does not want to say anything more specific at the moment. However, nothing is sacrosanct, not even the monthly publication frequency, he adds.
The situation is different at the Handelszeitung publishing house: publisher Ralph Büchi is brimming with confidence, even though his HandelsZeitung (HZ) is also reporting a loss of readers. "However, it is not significant and is already historical," he says. Current data, on the other hand, shows that HZ, as well as Stocks and PME Magazine, have managed to reverse the trend. For example, HZ was able to increase single copy sales (EV) by 9 percent over the first half of 2004, while subscription sales remained stable. Stocks even managed to increase its newsstand sales by 45 percent and also gained in subscriptions. "According to this interim balance sheet, the title has again sold over 20,000 copies," says Büchi happily. At least the circulation and single copy sales of PME Magazine are stable. After the relaunch the week before last, the marketing machinery, which had been throttled back in recent months, has been ramped up again.
Even in terms of advertising revenue, Büchi sees more than just a silver lining on the horizon. Although the total advertising volume in the first seven months of this year was still down for his titles, they are doing comparatively well. In terms of commercial advertising, HZ is the only non-daily newspaper to report growth of 3 percent. "In the current cut-throat competition, we are the market share winner," says Büchi happily. The relaunch of the HZ last September was "perfectly timed" in view of the upswing.
Quality before quantity
Unlike his colleagues, Gerhart Isler, publisher of the
Finanz und Wirtschaft (FuW), does not expect a cut-throat competition. "We have to learn to think longer-term and in cycles," he said. Whether Cash, HZ, FuW or Bilanz - they all have their niches and are doing quite well, he believes. Isler has been working in the industry for 27 years and has experienced similar ups and downs more than once, the last time in 1987.
In any case, in terms of circulation or readership figures, FuW is back to where it was in 1996, before the Internet bubble, says Isler calmly. He regards the current 135,000 FuW readers as the basic potential of his paper, i.e. those people who cannot do without the "dry, boring and complicated specialist journal" even when the economy is bad. The new readership figures have not caused him any panic because FuW has always sold itself in the advertising market not through circulation or readership figures, but through the quality of the target group and its low wastage.
Plucked pages: Business publications have lost circulation and readership in recent years.
Trust remains highThe reputation of business leaders may have suffered as a result of events in recent years, but trust in business journalists has not. At least that is what the publishing managers of relevant titles believe. However, they all identify a psychological factor. "The economy is no longer the fashionable topic it was for a while," says Gerhart Isler, for example. "As long as Swiss athletes perform well, many people are interested in them. But if they can no longer keep up with the world's best, interest wanes. It's similar with interest in the economy," adds Ralph Büchi.
A survey of Stocks readers showed that trust remains high. They were asked whether they would trust the investment recommendations. The result: "77 percent have already implemented tips from Stocks several times for personal investment transactions," says Büchi. (mk)
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Don't wait for an upswing
Nevertheless, the balance sheet remains the Swiss business title with the widest reach, and Leutenegger is doing everything he can to get his flagship back on track. However, he has no illusions: "The relaunch in spring 2003 didn't achieve much," he states. Nor does he want to rely on an economic upturn. "You have to ensure an improvement yourself," says the CEO, who is therefore examining "a few things" with regard to the balance sheet. He does not want to say anything more specific at the moment. However, nothing is sacrosanct, not even the monthly publication frequency, he adds.
The situation is different at the Handelszeitung publishing house: publisher Ralph Büchi is brimming with confidence, even though his HandelsZeitung (HZ) is also reporting a loss of readers. "However, it is not significant and is already historical," he says. Current data, on the other hand, shows that HZ, as well as Stocks and PME Magazine, have managed to reverse the trend. For example, HZ was able to increase single copy sales (EV) by 9 percent over the first half of 2004, while subscription sales remained stable. Stocks even managed to increase its newsstand sales by 45 percent and also gained in subscriptions. "According to this interim balance sheet, the title has again sold over 20,000 copies," says Büchi happily. At least the circulation and single copy sales of PME Magazine are stable. After the relaunch the week before last, the marketing machinery, which had been throttled back in recent months, has been ramped up again.
Even in terms of advertising revenue, Büchi sees more than just a silver lining on the horizon. Although the total advertising volume in the first seven months of this year was still down for his titles, they are doing comparatively well. In terms of commercial advertising, HZ is the only non-daily newspaper to report growth of 3 percent. "In the current cut-throat competition, we are the market share winner," says Büchi happily. The relaunch of the HZ last September was "perfectly timed" in view of the upswing.
Quality before quantity
Unlike his colleagues, Gerhart Isler, publisher of the
Finanz und Wirtschaft (FuW), does not expect a cut-throat competition. "We have to learn to think longer-term and in cycles," he said. Whether Cash, HZ, FuW or Bilanz - they all have their niches and are doing quite well, he believes. Isler has been working in the industry for 27 years and has experienced similar ups and downs more than once, the last time in 1987.
In any case, in terms of circulation or readership figures, FuW is back to where it was in 1996, before the Internet bubble, says Isler calmly. He regards the current 135,000 FuW readers as the basic potential of his paper, i.e. those people who cannot do without the "dry, boring and complicated specialist journal" even when the economy is bad. The new readership figures have not caused him any panic because FuW has always sold itself in the advertising market not through circulation or readership figures, but through the quality of the target group and its low wastage.
Plucked pages: Business publications have lost circulation and readership in recent years.
Trust remains highThe reputation of business leaders may have suffered as a result of events in recent years, but trust in business journalists has not. At least that is what the publishing managers of relevant titles believe. However, they all identify a psychological factor. "The economy is no longer the fashionable topic it was for a while," says Gerhart Isler, for example. "As long as Swiss athletes perform well, many people are interested in them. But if they can no longer keep up with the world's best, interest wanes. It's similar with interest in the economy," adds Ralph Büchi.
A survey of Stocks readers showed that trust remains high. They were asked whether they would trust the investment recommendations. The result: "77 percent have already implemented tips from Stocks several times for personal investment transactions," says Büchi. (mk)
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