Business magazine PUNKT disappears from the market

The business magazine PUNKT, which has been published bimonthly until now, and its associated Website are the latest victims of the advertising slump in the print market. Both products are being discontinued.

As publisher Rino Borini told Advertisingweek.ch He explained that the company had struggled greatly with this decision. «The advertising market has now reached a scale that no longer guarantees sustainable profitability,» said the CEO of Financialmedia. With advertising revenue remaining low, the publishing house would have needed between 3,000 and 5,000 new paying subscribers in the medium term to continue operations.

«The entire print advertising market has declined dramatically over the past few years. The PUNKT Magazine »It has hit us even harder than other regularly published publications, since our publication schedule often meant we missed out on campaigns,« explains Rino Borini. "Advertisers still prioritize reach, which is why the POINT »which ultimately cost him his head."

The PUNKT Magazine It was first published 12 years ago. A total of 80 issues of the business publication were released during that time. The issue published this July was the very last one. According to Patrick Widmer, co-founder of financialmedia, subscribers will be personally notified of the discontinuation. Customers will either receive a refund for the remaining portion of their subscription or be offered an alternative option. On average, the circulation of the PUNKTmagazin about 10,000 units.

A total of 260 full-time equivalents are affected by the permanent closure of PUNKTmagazin. Borini and Widmer were forced to lay off a total of three employees. «However, we have offered the affected colleagues the opportunity to continue working with us as freelancers or on a part-time basis,» said Widmer. financialmedia will continue to need journalists and graphic designers in the future.

In the future, the company plans to focus consistently on the «Next Generation»—that is, on people interested in topics such as sustainable investing, impact investing, fintech, or cryptocurrencies, for example. «We want to highlight all these topics more specifically across all our channels in the future,» Borini reveals to Advertisingweek.ch. 

With the help of the «Finance 2.0» series of digital finance and fintech conferences, the investment platform 10×10.ch, and the newspaper supplement Investing with a Long-Term Perspective Financialmedia’s offerings in the «Next Generation» segment will be further expanded in the coming months. As an example, Rino Borini mentions the «Krypto Lunch» event, which is being expanded due to its great popularity. Starting this fall, Financialmedia plans to launch additional services and products. The company intends to continue the «PUNKT» brand in a new form whenever possible. 

The decision to discontinue the publication was very painful for financialmedia co-founder Rino Borini. «We were a very unique magazine.» Under the motto «You Are the Economy,» the publication not only profiled CEOs of large publicly traded companies but also interviewed SME leaders and other business-minded individuals. «A few years ago, for example, I interviewed Switzerland’s youngest bishop, Felix Gmür. Our readers learned what it’s like to manage a diocese from a business perspective,» said the Zurich-based publisher. Furthermore, in a POINT-In this issue, for example, we spoke with Klaus Michael Kühne about his passing and what will become of his company once the founder and board member of Kühne and Nagel is no longer with us. «We were always on the lookout for gems and stood out above all for our large images, unusual infographics, and creative copy.»

«The time has now come for me to finally put my baby to rest,» as Borini explains. «But this is the only way we can ensure that the company as a whole gets back on a growth track.» He has laid off people many times before, but never for economic reasons. However, it’s also a breath of fresh air for Financialmedia, says Rino Borini with mixed feelings. «We’re planning some more great things, but I won’t be able to say more about that until the fall.»