m&k You took on your new role in May—what particularly appealed to you about Keesing Schweiz AG and the Küng puzzle titles?

Andrew Rushton Two things: the products and the people. I really enjoy solving puzzles myself and know what sparks that passion in me. I find it very appealing to release products that resonate with people on an emotional level. And when you get to do that with a great team—well, what more could you ask for?

You bring with you experience from renowned publishing houses such as NordSüd, Klett, Balmer, and Orell Füssli. What can you bring to puzzle publications from the book industry?

Every publishing house needs to know how to reach the right people with the right products, and that’s certainly no different at Küng Rätsel. The challenge of attracting new customers to ensure a secure future is also entirely applicable here. In the book industry, people are also accustomed to thinking and planning for the long term. Let’s see what concrete benefits this can bring.

Puzzles and games are currently booming—from the NYT to LinkedIn and Netflix. How do you explain this trend, and how is Küng Rätsel benefiting from it?

Puzzles and games allow us to take a short break from everyday life and complete a task—hopefully with a sense of accomplishment. In addition to physical activity and a healthy diet, it’s also beneficial to spend five to ten minutes each day stimulating and exercising the brain. With our products, we’re well-positioned to play a part in this.

While many newsstand publications are suffering from declining circulation, Keesing Switzerland is reporting stable figures. What is the secret to its success?

I think there are still many people who enjoy solving puzzles on paper or who actively seek alternatives to screen time. In addition, we regularly offer our readers new types of puzzles or issues with higher difficulty levels—ones that aren’t so easy to find or solve online.

Two new titles, «Küng Junior» and «Rätsel-Pause,» were recently introduced. What specific target audiences are you aiming for with these?

With the Küng Junior Puzzles, we want to give our existing customers the opportunity to inspire the next generation to enjoy solving puzzles—deliberately without a screen. The booklets offer a wide variety of puzzle types to try out. For many commuters, the «20-Minute Puzzle» was a daily ritual. Since it was discontinued, this offering has been missing. With the «Puzzle Break,» we’ve created a product that revives this experience on newsprint and in a handy format for the commute. While it isn’t free, it’s offered at an extremely affordable price.

Three English-language editions will soon be available at newsstands. How great is the international potential, and where do you plan to go in the medium term?

We’ll find out soon! We were given the opportunity to test English-language products in German-speaking Switzerland, and we took advantage of it. The «The Puzzle» series is mainly distributed in metropolitan areas with large English-speaking communities. That amounts to around 85,000 to 120,000 people in Switzerland. Many more might be interested in improving their language skills in a fun way. So it’s not being launched because of my Anglo-Saxon roots, but of course I’m also personally very excited about these titles.

You share management responsibilities with Tamara Mattiussi, who serves as CEO of B2B. How does this division of responsibilities play out on a day-to-day basis, and where do synergies arise?

The responsibilities are clearly divided. Tamara is in charge of the agency and B2B, while I oversee the publishing house and the B2C division. Nevertheless, co-leadership requires a great deal of coordination, communication, and trust. In my opinion, however, it also makes a company more innovative and stable and strengthens team spirit. I was fortunate enough to work in a co-leadership role at NordSüd Verlag for eleven years, so I have firsthand experience with this model. Tamara also brings many years of experience in such structures, and I’m confident that we’ll manage this very well.

The Keesing Media Group is headquartered in Amsterdam. What role does the Swiss branch play within the group?

We benefit from a number of key services, but we are largely independent in terms of our strategic direction and day-to-day operations. Since we also sell our products in Germany and Austria, we are able to generate additional solid revenue.

Digital detox and mindfulness are cited as drivers of the puzzle boom. Do you see analog print puzzles as a long-term counterbalance to the digital world?

To me, these aren’t opposites, but two sides of the same coin. Both will continue to have their place in the future. We should leave it up to our customers to decide when and how they want to solve puzzles. I see our role as providing exciting, distinctive, and contemporary puzzles. With raetselportal.ch, we offer a platform for enjoying puzzles even when on the go or without access to a retail location. On the other hand, we don’t want to push anyone toward digital channels; instead, we deliberately offer attractive alternatives using pen and paper. I’m happy to champion this cause with conviction.

What are your personal goals for the next twelve months at Keesing Switzerland—where would you like to make an impact?

First things first! There’s a lot I’d still like to understand better. At the same time, I’m convinced that even small innovations can create momentum without turning everything upside down. And if, in the end, I can competently explain how to solve a professional-level Sudoku puzzle, I’ll be pretty happy.

The Küng Group has developed into the Swiss market leader in the puzzle sector over the past 20 years under Thomas Küng and is showing very healthy growth, according to a statement issued on Tuesday. The company includes Küng Verlags AG, with its range of puzzle magazines, books and digital publishing products, and Rätsel Agentur, which supplies the B2B sector with print and online puzzles in three national languages and offers its customers prize-game services.

Sole owner Thomas Küng sees the sale to Keesing as the logical continuation of his company: "Also for reasons of age, I have been patiently searching for years for a suitable successor that would offer my company and my employees prospects for the future. In the highly competitive market, a sale to a weighty competitor was always one of the realistic options. Keesing has long stood for a long-term strategy in the puzzle segment. This is another reason why my decision was ultimately made in favor of Keesing."

"I am very pleased that we were able to take this step into the Swiss market. Until now, we were only active in the French-speaking part of Switzerland with our Megastar brand," says Philip Alberdingk Thijm, CEO of Keesing. "Over the years, Thomas Küng and the Küng Group team have built his company very successfully. They have built a strong market position through their passion for manufacturing and selling great products. We are eager to support the team in their next phase of growth by continuing to expand in both the print and digital puzzle markets."

The purchase was concluded as of July 1, 2021. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.