Annual Report 2005

Transcription

Annual Report 2005

WWW.GUJ.DE | GRUNER + JAHR AG & Co KG
ANNUAL REPORT 2005 | GRUNER + JAHR AG & Co KG
ANNUAL REPORT 2005
M E D I A
PEOPLE
BRANDS
Production Credits
Publisher:
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co. KG
Corporate Communications + Public Affairs
Am Baumwall 11
D-20459 Hamburg
Germany
[email protected]
Responsible:
Dr. Andreas Knaut
Editors:
Alexander Adler, Kurt Otto
Photography:
Sebastian Vollmert, Hamburg
Design:
Claim GmbH, Hamburg
Realization:
G+J Corporate Media GmbH
Friesenweg 2 a-c, 22763 Hamburg
Prepress:
4MAT Media, Hamburg
Print:
MOHN Media, Mohndruck GmbH,
33311 Gütersloh
Translation:
Larissa Stillman Wagner, Cremlingen
Other photo credits:
Reto Klar (pp. 6, 8), PR/BRIGITTE (pp. 4, 13, 14),
Dirk Stewen (p. 31, pp. 62-63), Michael Sazel (p. 32, 35 b.),
Corbis (p. 39 l. b.), laif (p. 39 r. b.), Focus/Everke (p. 40 l. b.)
PR/PRINOVIS (pp. 49-50), Jan Northoff (p. 51), STERN/Walter
Scheels (p. 58 r.), Bertram Solcher (pp. 59, 73 r.)
Jürgen Joost/STERN (p. 61), Karin Rocholl/STERN (p. 61 m.),
Klaus Knuffmann (p. 5, pp. 63 r.-65, p. 70 r. t., b.), Stiftung
Jugend forscht e. V. (pp. 68, 69 b.), Cornelia Fuchs/Stiftung
STERN (p. 69 t.), PR/Du bist Deutschland (p. 70 l. t.)
Markus Krüger (pp. 72-73), Hardy Müller (p. 74)
Cover: Behind the scenes at a BRIGITTE fashion show
ANNUAL REPORT 2005
CONTENT
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06 BRAND DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION
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62
INTERNATIONALIZATION
INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
26 WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN
52 THE INNOVATION COUNCIL
An interview with G+J Executive Board Member Dr. Torsten-Jörn Klein
An Interview with G+J Executive Board Member
Foreword by Dr. Bernd Kundrun, CEO
BRAND MANAGEMENT
10 STRONG BRANDS, STRONG VOICES,
STRONG WOMEN
32 SEVEN AT ONE STROKE
women’s brand
A Portrait of G+J Executive Board Member Axel Ganz
16 VIEW DIARY
72 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
Angelika Jahr
QUALITY JOURNALISM
36 ONCE MORE, FROM THE TOP
66 EMBRACING RESPONSIBILITY – ENDORSING TALENT
Corporate Citizenship is part of G+J’s identity
GEO International: Set for Expansion
BRIGITTE on its way to becoming Germany’s leading
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58 AN ORDER OF MERIT FOR GERMAN PRINT
JOURNALISM
76 YOUNG COSMOPOLITANS FROM MOSCOW
TO MADRID
International HR Development
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Henri Nannen Awards
80 MANAGEMENT REPORT
A Magazine is Born
42 UNDER A NEW UMBRELLA
Chief Financial Officer Achim Twardy comments
G+J Bundles Its German distribution activities
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
22 LONG LIVE SPORTS
48 WELL ON ITS WAY
62 PREMIERES AT G+J
Motor Presse Stuttgart looks back on new launches
PRINOVIS Performance
Promoting Photography
on the business results
86 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Fiscal 2005 in Figures
94 CHRONICLE
Gruner + Jahr | Annual Report 2005
FOREWORD BY DR. BERND KUNDRUN, CEO
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
AND INNOVATION
Europe’s biggest magazine publisher is well on track for growth as it
continues on its innovation path and builds long-term brand potential
Gruner + Jahr achieved a turning of the tide in 2005:
During the past business year, our publishing house
saw a significant rise in revenue and result, though
the advertising market continued difficult and sales
markets remained stagnant. Even against this backdrop, G+J remained on track: We remanded our
expansionist course in 2005 with acquisitions in
Germany and beyond, and brought many new magazines to market as part of our launch offensive.
its revenue by 7.6 percent to €2.6 billion in 2005.
Return on Sales rose to 9.5 percent.
As ever, our powerful media brands provide the
basis for our performance. Titles like STERN,
BRIGITTE, GEO, and the FINANCIAL TIMES
DEUTSCHLAND have already become established
as trusted companions and advisors among their
readership. We see great opportunities ahead here
for G+J, and therefore plan to continue exploiting
We plan to continue exploiting our brand potential in 2006
On the costs front, we resolutely continued on the
consolidation course pursued in recent years.
In other words, Europe’s biggest magazine publisher is well equipped for the future. G+J increased
our brand potential in 2006 as we prepare for a future that is digital and characterized by multimedia
offerings.
The G+J quality creed remains the foundation
of everything we do. All over the world, we stand
for outstanding journalistic and professional quality, for high editorial standards and independent coverage. During the past business year, we again lived
up to this claim by making considerable investments
in titles and editorial teams in Germany and beyond,
enlarging and evolving them.
O G+J Chairman & CEO Dr. Bernd Kundrun
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This attitude is also evident in the Henri Nannen
Awards, Germany’s most important distinction for
journalists, which we introduced in 2005.
Sixteen new G+J titles were launched in 2005,
bringing the total to 47 new launches since 2003,
or roughly one-sixth of the 285 titles currently published worldwide under the G+J umbrella. In Germany, we launched the very successful, one-ofa-kind illustrated magazine VIEW, the new monthly HEALTHY LIVING, G+J’s contribution to the burgeoning health segment, and PARK AVENUE, a
new publication with insider, and feature articles
in the society segment. Especially worth mentioning in 2005 are the very positive performance
of ESSEN&TRINKEN FÜR JEDEN TAG, G+J’s bestseller on newsstands, and of NEON, the new
young magazine in the STERN family, which was
enthusiastically received by the market.
G+J made great headway at the international
level as well: In fall, GEO was launched simultaneously in five Eastern European countries and
Turkey, as well as in Italy, with locally adapted issues for each country. GLAMOUR was very successfully introduced in the Netherlands. In France,
our subsidiary Prisma Presse significantly improved its market position. Its very successful TV
listings magazines TÉLÉ 2 SEMAINES and TV
GRANDES CHAÎNES grew both their circulation
and their profits.
At the same time, G+J further enhanced its leading market position in Europe and tapped promising new markets. Motor Presse Stuttgart (MPS)
has been fully consolidated since July 1, 2005. The
roughly 140 titles in MPS’ powerful portfolio are an
ideal match for G+J and allow us to exploit important synergies in Germany and beyond. Our collaboration has been excellent from the start and is
being extended systematically. We opened up another growth market by entering Greece, where
G+J acquired a 50 percent stake in Daphne Communications, one of the country’s leading magazine publishers. Once we receive the go-ahead from
the antitrust authorities, we will also be expanding
to the Adriatic countries of Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, and acquire existing magazine operations there.
One fundamental idea guides every strategic
step we take: G+J will only enter a new market if
it can command a leading market position in relevant segments, or can at least achieve a leading
position in the foreseeable future with an appropriate degree of effort. At times, this can result in
a decision to divest. Because these two conditions
were not met, we withdrew from the U.S. market
in 2005 by selling our publishing activities there. It
was not an easy decision, but unleashed considerable forces in the end. We are glad to note that
our new investments and the gratifying development of our core business have already more than
compensated for the disposal of our U.S. magazine portfolio in terms of revenue and results.
G+J will continue on its innovation path in 2006.
We intend to keep developing the potential of our
magazines. I firmly believe that the increasing diversity of media and an unmanageable wealth of
media offerings will soon have readers and users
asking for more orientation, for a quality guarantee for content and form. We are ready to meet their
demands.
In closing, a word of gratitude. In 2005, Axel
Ganz resigned from our Executive Board for age
reasons. He is joining the G+J Supervisory Board
Gruner + Jahr made great headway at the international level
We are also very happy with the performance
of our newspaper unit. In its fifth year, the FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHLAND pushed its total
circulation past 100,000, and continues to grow.
The SÄCHSISCHE ZEITUNG and the MORGENPOST SACHSEN also continued to deliver a gratifyingly profitable performance.
In the printing sector, G+J reinforced its leading market position. After the merger was approved,
PRINOVIS, the new joint venture between G+J,
arvato and the Axel Springer publishing company,
resolutely enhanced its position as a leading gravure
printer in a fiercely competitive market environment. A new gravure plant will take up operations
in Liverpool this year. Brown Printing, our printing
subsidiary in the U.S., also had an exceedingly successful year.
instead. In the three decades of his work for our
house, Mr. Ganz embodied innovative publishing
spirit and business success like few others. I would
like to take this opportunity to thank him once again
for his incomparable achievements for our publishing house. We welcome Fabrice Boé, who takes
his place on the Executive Board and at the head
of our French subsidiary, Prisma Presse.
The following pages present to you the highlights
of the year 2005 at G+J. I wish you an informative
and entertaining read!
Dr. Bernd Kundrun
Chairman of the Executive Board, Gruner + Jahr
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BRAND MANAGEMENT | BRIGITTE
STRONG BRANDS,
STRONG WOMEN,
STRONG VOICES
A magazine on its way to becoming Germany’s leading women’s brand
BRIGITTE has always set high standards for itself. From
the beginning, its goals have been ambitious. The magazine is dynamic; its leitmotif is “Strength through Substance“. And the BRIGITTE editorial and publishing team
is fueled by a vision: to make BRIGITTE one of the absolute leading women’s brands, even outside the biweekly women’s magazines segment, where it has led
the market for many decades.
Hannelore Hoger, one of the “Strong Voices,”
in the recording studio with Claudia Münster,
BRIGITTE Deputy Editor-in-Chief
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BRIGITTE “strongwoman” – and Colum-
To bring this vision to life, it is not enough for
BRIGITTE to present itself as a powerful and innovative force in the biweekly women’s magazines
segment, one that is willing to take risks. Instead,
it must strike new paths that may appear unusual
for a magazine brand with an over 50-year history.
BRIGITTE builds on the solid foundation of its
straightforward positioning, combined with a successful brand family that is unparalleled throughout the magazine market.
Launching the line extension BRIGITTE WOMAN
five years ago was one such courageous project:
It marked the first time that a magazine in Germany
catered specifically to women over the age of 40.
In the process, BRIGITTE created the first “bestager” magazine long before the phrase became established. With newfound self-confidence, this magazine’s target group stands up for its wishes and
needs – which differ considerably from those of
young women – while at the same time refusing
to be defined by their age. Instead BRIGITTE
WOMAN readers are curious, adventurous and treat
themselves to a singular luxury: living their dreams.
Voice recognition
Readers for the 2005 Audiobook Edition included
famous German actresses Iris Berben, Corinna
Harfouch, Anna Thalbach
and Heike Makatsch
Initially published just four times a year, the magazine defied all doomsayers and proved exceedingly popular. BRIGITTE’s editorial team demonstrated the right touch not just in picking topics, but also for striking the right language and look for this
exacting target group. BRIGITTE WOMAN is now
published six times a year, and sells roughly 280,000
copies of each issue.
BYM, the second spin-off magazine, was launched
in early 2006, taking the place of BRIGITTE YOUNG
MISS. Designed as a fresh, sophisticated magazine
for young women between ages 19 to 26, BYM has
an unmistakable look and
an unusual editorial concept that playfully links a
wide range of topics.
BYM is BRIGITTE’s voice
among young women.
For its readers, the name
BRIGITTE serves as a
guarantee for quality, a
proven seal of trust, so
to speak.
Another success story in the BRIGITTE brand family is the BRIGITTE website, which has established
itself as Germany’s leading women’s website. It is
not only the biggest but also one of the most active communities of its kind, and gives users a forum that brings BRIGITTE’s set of values to the Internet realm as well.
The BRIGITTE brand has become so supple and
successful that, in combination with all its line extensions, it sells over one million copies per publishing cycle. All activities related to the BRIGITTE
brand systematically follow its leitmotif “Strength
through Substance.“
In 2005, this motto guided the editorial team and
publishers in developing a project that became a
triumph of brand management – and outside the
conventional field of magazine line extensions, no
less: BRIGITTE continued its success story by tapping new brand realms, this time in the audiobook
market. In the past, audiobook titles in Germany
that sold about 5,000 units were already celebrated as “bestsellers.” The industry rule of thumb
nist Elke Heidenreich
reads from the
BRIGITTE Edition to
sold-out auditoriums
was that an audiobook was a success if it sold
roughly ten percent of the hardcover print run of
the book it was based on.
Enter BRIGITTE: In February 2005, it launched
its “Starke Stimmen” (“Strong Voices”) edition.
Twelve distinctive voices were recruited for the
project: leading German actresses and the popular author and literary critic Elke Heidenreich.
BRIGITTE took the manageable little segment
to an entirely new dimension by selling 1.5 million
audiobooks in 2005. Audiobook market insiders
called it “the biggest success in the history of German audiobooks.” Not one of the BRIGITTE audiobooks sold fewer than 100,000 copies. Their buyers were mainly women who wanted to hear the
“Strong Voices” of the narrators – women, two
thirds of whom had never before bought an audiobook.
New “Strong Voices” are already scheduled for
2006. One of them is Nina Hoss, Grimme Award
winner and a star of new German cinema. The upcoming edition will be downloadable to i-Pods –
“Strong Voices”: 1.5 million units sold – a mega-success
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BRAND MANAGEMENT | BRIGITTE
and the women behind the voices will be giving live
performances in some 35 German cities in 2006
as well. BRIGITTE offers its readers a cultural package that is unique in the magazine landscape. The
new edition once again demonstrates what the
combination of quality, creativity and innovation
translates to in managing a powerful media brand:
new triumphs in the BRIGITTE brand realm.
Another tale of success in 2005 involved a similar step in the book market: On August 27,
BRIGITTE launched its own branded edition of
books, a library of 26 volumes selected by Elke
Heidenreich. The combination of Elke Heidenreich’s credibility and expertise, and BRIGITTE’s
clout and popularity made for a strong and unique
project. In all, 1.5 million books under the BRIGITTE
label were sold through the end of 2005.
To live up to the ambitious goals on Gruner +
Jahr’s growth path, all new projects not only have
to be an excellent match for the BRIGITTE brand,
BRIGITTE | BRAND MANAGEMENT
but “should ideally enhance and revitalize the
BRIGITTE brand,“ as BRIGITTE’s Executive Publisher Julia Jäkel puts it.
The “Strong Voices” audiobook edition is a perfect example: not only was the project a great commercial success, it also points up strategically innovative paths for BRIGITTE in the world of major
brand names.
To further strengthen the brand, new ways and
forms of collaboration with other brand names are
sought out by means of line extensions, books and
audiobooks. One example for this is the cooperation with Frosta, a leading manufacturer of frozen
foods. Here, BRIGITTE successfully built on its
core competence in nutrition and specifically the
BRIGITTE Fashion Show diet segment, to offer working women in particuFor years, women have
lar a service that minimizes the kitchen time spent
trusted BRIGITTE for the on preparing the BRIGITTE DIÄT. Frosta is a partperfect blend of wearable ner whose frozen products correspond to the qualcontemporary fashions,
ity standards and rules of the BRIGITTE DIÄT.
choice chic and matching
accessories
And so, selected Frosta products now bear the
BRIGITTE DIÄT label.
However, that doesn’t mean that you’ll be seeing BRIGITTE-branded bags or BRIGITTE ketchup
in the future. In creating innovative BRIGITTE products, the top priority is that every cooperation, every
line extension and every special project must meet
four requirements:
MEDIA BRAND FAMILIES AND
ACTIVITIES IN THE MAGAZINE
DIVISION GERMANY
In Germany, Gruner + Jahr owns strong
core titles whose respective media brand
families have been successfully augmented
with line extensions. 2005 saw the launch
p
p
p
p
Each idea and each project must have an air
of exclusivity.
The quality of the new product must be enhanced thanks to BRIGITTE’s branding and
involvement.
Each new product must strengthen the appeal of the BRIGITTE brand and thereby pay
in to the core BRIGITTE brand.
All ideas, concepts and projects in the new
BRIGITTE brand realm must be a source of
inspiration and enthusiasm for the editorial and publishing team, for buyers and
readers, and should fire their imagination.
of the visual magazine VIEW within the
STERN group, the development of the
young women’s magazine BYM, and the
audiobook edition “Strong Voices” in the
BRIGITTE family as outstanding examples
for a publishing strategy that sets G+J
apart from its competition.
BERND BUCHHOLZ: “Well-developed, established magazine brands
are G+J’s capital. Their ongoing cultivation and evolution secures our
competitive positions and market shares. Apart from this, we spark
new growth by investing in new and innovative publications like line
extensions, new launches and concept transfers, all as part of our innovation campaign.
The "Strong Voices" are a perfect example for the
great creative potential inherent in all of G+J's distinguished, quality-oriented brands. "If, that is, we
systematically set out to conquer new lines of business outside the conventional print realm - boldly,
innovatively and with a wirde range of ideas, in order to achieve Gruner + Jahr's ambitious mediumterm growth targets in Germany," says G+J Executive Board Member Dr. Bernd Buchholz.
p
The prerequisite to any successful line extension such as
BRIGITTE WOMAN or GESUND LEBEN by STERN is a strong umbrella brand that is capable of supporting new developments. This
provides the necessary foundation for building a number of new
publishing ideas that engender reader interest.”
“Spin-offs” in G+J’s families of media brands must anchor the basic
conceptual elements of their parent publication while also strengthening the competency of the umbrella brand as they open up new lines
of business. In general, line extensions must live up to the G+J
quality claim. Titles like GEOLINO or BRIGITTE WOMAN are vivid
examples of how to successfully cater to changing reader needs with
innovative magazine concepts and contribute to the economic success of their respective media brand families. The GEO, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC and P.M. families are excellent proof of how G+J uses
line extensions to build strong brand clusters.
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BRAND MANAGEMENT | VIEW
A team with a VIEW: Tom Jacobi, Stephanie Kickel,
Hans-Peter Junker and Brigitte Baumann
VIEW DIARY
A MAGAZINE IS BORN
In October 2005, VIEW was launched by STERN
as part of the innovation campaign in G+J’s
Magazine Division Germany. A diary of the
development team documents the major steps
VIEW | BRAND MANAGEMENT
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Tom Jacobi, Chief Editor
of VIEW, looking through
possible pictures
U
Each day, 5,000 pictures
are view’ed for the
final selection
+++++SEPTEMBER 2004 Strategy meeting between STERN’s editors-in-chief and directors on
Sylt. Top item on the agenda: Innovations for the
publishing group. Tom Jacobi, Art Director and Olaf
Brigitte Baumann. Meanwhile, finding a name is
proving not so easy. “Blick” is taken; STERN-Fotografie is old hat. So the team convenes for another brainstorming. Every German name pro-
VIEW is meant to fascinate as well as provide orientation
Conrad, Deputy Publishing Director, have an idea.
Visuals are one of STERN’s core competencies.
“Why not do more with them?” The idea came up
once before, 20 years ago, but now the time seems
right. Each day, the picture editors receive about
5,000 photos. Everyone in the group feels it’s a
good idea. Let’s build a dummy when we’re back
in Hamburg.
+++++OCTOBER 2004 A development team has
been appointed: STERN News Desk Director
Hans-Peter Junker and STERN Art Director Tom
Jacobi are to develop the dummy alongside their
regular workload, assisted by Graphic Designer
posed is rejected. Either they’re already taken or
they don’t get the point across. VIEW is tossed
onto the table along with “Look.” Unanimous approval for VIEW. The very first dummy bears this
name.
+++++NOVEMBER 2004 The development team
discusses how best to divide the space between
texts and images. The text lengths in particular are
hotly debated. At first, none of the texts were to
be longer than a page. It was agreed – backed up
through insights from market research – that longer
texts would be inserted between the sections as a
separating element.
Launched
Oct 2005
Sold Circulation
200,000 (premier issue)
Published
monthly
+++++DECEMBER 2004 Gradually, the self-imposed
pressure that always accompanies the first comprehensive presentation of a new title grows. There
is agreement that the content of the new magazine
should be broken down into sections. The structure
takes shape swiftly. VIEW is broken down into “The
World,” “Germany,” “Sports,” “Feature,” “Entertainment” and “Science + Miracles.” This gives the
magazine the feel of a journal that chronicles the
highlights of the previous month.
+++++25 JANUARY 2005 Time to present VIEW
to Bernd Buchholz, Executive Board Member: a
164-page dummy, all in PDF. A complete issue
from first to last page. Buchholz is enthusiastic.
And yet there are some concerns in the group: In
this age of Internet and of overabundant TV programming, will potential readers even feel that this
kind of magazine is an innovation? Still – everyone
believes in print, especially at a time when we are
flooded with information and images. VIEW will set
out to fascinate its readers, as well as give them
orientation by offering effective information and
selected images that might have otherwise been
drowned out by the daily deluge of pictures. The
danger of cannibalizing STERN is perceived as low.
The VIEW project’s path to the G+J Innovation
Council (see p. 57) is clear.
+++++FEBRUARY 2005 Our dummy sparks some
lively discussions in the Innovation Council. The
cover is the most intensely debated item: Should
the layout be monothematic, or multiple pictures?
The text-to-image ratio is reconsidered in light of
new arguments. How to give stronger emphasis
to the “chronicle” feel, e.g.? The nicest approach
would be to sum up the relevant events of the past
month with the best photos. The matter of the perfect text-to-image ratio is a recurring issue throughout VIEW’s development.
+++++MARCH 2005 How annoying: Someone
privy to the VIEW discussions seems to have
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BRAND MANAGEMENT | VIEW
leaked information. Speculations about VIEW have
appeared in the trade press. The Magazine Division
Germany responds immediately: Bernd Buchholz
decides to take the offensive and announce the title’s development and testing. The development
team is worried: Hopefully no one will copy the
magazine idea and bring it out before VIEW!
+++++APRIL 2005 Our first concept presentation
to select advertising customers and their ad agencies: Their enthusiasm exceeds our wildest expectations. Advertisers see the magazine as a compelling innovation in the magazine market. Originally, we limited the ad volume in our revenue planning: VIEW was seen more as a sales-oriented title.
But so much the better if response in the advertis-
+++++AUGUST 2005 A big sigh of relief! The Executive Board approves the proposal for the launch
of VIEW. The development team is overflowing with
relief, joy and champagne. Now we can really start
planning the launch in detail. The first thing is to do
some detailed calculation. What would be the right
print run? What should the Internet homepage look
like? What would be an appropriate and realistic
cover price? How can we set attractive advertising
prices without selling genuine media effectiveness
at dumping prices or under value?
+++++SEPTEMBER 2005 The first day of sale has
been fixed. VIEW will be published on the first Saturday of each month! The response from our press
wholesalers is astonishingly positive. They quickly
VIEW: on its way to becoming a fixture in the STERN brand realm
ing market is so encouraging. Several customers
even intend to create special ad motifs for VIEW.
+++++MAY 2005 The internal tension begins to relax again. None of our competitors can surge ahead
of us in the market with a similar concept. A title
like this is too complex and requires too much journalistic quality to allow a copy. Quality is the best
copy protection, as G+J’s motto goes.
+++++JUNE 2005 We’re still fine-tuning the ideal
mix for the title. Thanks to the accompanying market research done by G+J, we now get a detailed
idea of what readers’ expectations look like. A decision is made to clearly allude to STERN on the
cover. On the one hand, this constitutes an obligation for the VIEW team, and on the other, potential
buyers have the security that they can expect
STERN-level quality.
follow our line of argument: VIEW is the only magazine to be published on a Saturday, and takes advantage of consumers’ relaxed shopping and
leisure mood. VIEW delivers leisure and entertainment - ideal for the weekend!
+++++6 OCTOBER 2005 Press conference on
the launch of VIEW at the G+J Pressehaus on
Baumwall. The response is considerable: Agencies,
daily papers, trade press, TV, radio, i.e. the entire
media trade sits up and listens to hear what STERN
has planned for the G+J innovation campaign.
+++++10 OCTOBER 2005 The response by media
journalists is predominantly positive in their reports and editorials: “When images have an edifying effect,” writes “Süddeutsche Zeitung,” or
as dpa puts it, “VIEW captures moments.” The
review in the FAZ is particularly encouraging:
The finished layout
pages of an issue
I
“A picture is worth not more and more than a
thousand words, and sometimes it speaks but
doesn’t say a thing or creates perfect confusion.
‘View’ very cleverly plays with this dilemma – and
to top it off, runs stories that ‘Stern’ itself wouldn’t
do much differently.”
+++++NOVEMBER 2005 VIEW stands for fascinating images on the Internet as well: On the first
day of sales for the second issue on November 5,
2005, the VIEW photo community opens on the Internet. www.view-magazin.de gives ambitious amateur and professional photographers a possibility
to publish a selection of their best photos. In other words, VIEW offers photographers and other
fans of photography a convenient and up-to-date
forum. It serves as a platform for sharing helpful
hints, information and comments within a growing
community of digital photography fans.The success of the premier issue (No. 10/2005) comes as
a surprise: approx. 200,000 copies sold. That sends
hopes soaring, but sales of the November issue
get off to a slow start. The concept is gently finetuned. The multi-thematic cover doesn’t appear to
get the message across well enough: Buyers
aren’t quick enough to realize that a new issue of
VIEW is out. Together with the distribution department, the editorial team develops a fold-out
cover, to be used at irregular intervals in varying
colors. At the same time, the multi-picture title is
modified, by making one of the pictures larger to
draw extra attention. The message is abundantly
clear: Look over here, this is really new!
Ove Saffe, Publishing Director STERN, takes
stock of VIEW’s performance to date: “Its gratifying launch paves the way for the title’s future success in the STERN brand realm. We are confident
of achieving a sustained target circulation of approx. 150,000 sold copies.”
p
Wigbert Löer, Editor, Torsten Terraschke,
Documentation, and Tanja Koch, Layout
U
MOTOR PRESSE STUTTGART | SPORTS
LONG LIVE SPORTS
The Motor Presse Stuttgart
portfolio goes well beyond car and
motorcycle magazines. It also
includes over a dozen sports and
leisure titles, making this sector
a promising growth market
Successful abroad The Russian licensed edition of AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT,
AUTO TURBO in France and Hungarian MAXI TUNING
Motor Presse Stuttgart is a fixture in the German publishing landscape. For decades, its popular car and
motorcycle magazines have shaped these markets
like no other publisher. However, most readers probably don’t know that the Stuttgart-based publishing
company also plays a leading role in sports and recreation magazines. As long ago as the late 1980s, Motor Presse realized the enormous potential inherent
in this thematic segment.
PROMOBIL – Europe’s largest mobile-home magazine – provided MPS with an easy entry into the
field. After all, mobile homes are really just outsize
cars with added functions. From there, it was just a
small step from mobile recreation to active outdoor
recreation. “In Germany, we still have a few ideas
and concepts up our sleeve in the sports and recreation segment. Here, we are pursuing a dual strategy of homegrown innovations and acquisitions,” as
MPS CEO Friedrich Wehrle described the growth
market in an interview. No wonder – the outdoor industry alone posts total revenues of €5 billion, and
growing.
Reason enough for MPS to invest in this attractive market. Today, its portfolio includes more than a
dozen periodicals and special issues. Other flagships
beyond PROMOBIL, which sells roughly 90,000 copies
an issue, are MOUNTAIN BIKE, RUNNER’S WORLD
and OUTDOOR. In January 2005, the DSV AKTIV SKIUND SPORTMAGAZIN was added, the high-circulation member magazine of the German Ski Association, which goes out to ski enthusiasts in a print run
of 200,000 copies. It is supported by a number of
other ski-related printed and online products, such as
the DSV SKI ATLAS, a bible for all ski aficionados.
Also in 2005, MPS acquired the successful
Stuttgart-based publisher Scholten-Verlag, which
added the equestrian magazines CAVALLO and
PFERDEBÖRSE to its portfolio. CAVALLO is by far
the country’s most popular horse and rider magazine,
with sold circulation of nearly 90,000 copies.
Beyond having several projects under development in its core “automobile” segment, MPS also acquired a new car title: In July, the VF Verlagsgesellschaft, Mainz took over the off-road magazine
4WHEELFUN. Since then, the title has been published by the same Berlin-based editorial team that
produces AUTOSTRASSENVERKEHR. The historic
23
24
SPORTS | MOTOR PRESSE STUTTGART
PROMOBIL, MOUNTAINBIKE and DSV AKTIV SKI- AND SPORTMAGAZIN
MOTOR PRESSE STUTTGART
The flagships in sports and leisure
Total revenues at Motor Presse Stuttgart
amounted to €362 million in 2005,
Go OUTDOORs for the best pictures
of which €201 million were generated
in Germany, and €161 million outside
title MOT was given an overhaul. Starting with the
September issue, the title was renamed MOTORS,
and its publication rhythm changed from biweekly to
monthly. Back in spring, a team set to work developing a magazine innovation in the core “automobile” segment. The result: AUTOMONAT, which made
its newsstand debut in January 2006.
2005 was a year of continued expansion for MPS’
international business. In Croatia, its newly established subsidiary launched another edition of AUTO
MOTOR UND SPORT and LASTAUTO OMNIBUS, a
bimonthly issue of MAXI TUNING, and a motorcycle
magazine. In addition, the international AUTO MOTOR
UND SPORT brand family grew to 22 country editions with the addition of two new editions published under license in Russia and the Netherlands,
two key strategic markets. In fact, the Stuttgartbased publisher introduced the first major international car magazine brand to the Russian magazine
market. The international family of tuning magazines was also expanded to include three new local editions of MAXI TUNING in Hungary, the Czech
Republic and Greece, bringing the international
total to 12.
In France, MPS launched its first cross-media innovation in collaboration with the French commercial TV channel "M6," a company associated with RTL
Group. In November, the successful TV show
TURBO was adapted for a magazine format entitled
Germany: international business accounts
for 45 percent of total revenue.
In Germany, MPS integrated seven new
titles in its portfolio in 2005, bringing
its total number of publications to 44
magazines. Eighteen new magazines were
launched outside Germany, including ten
in Eastern Europe alone.
AUTO TURBO, which was positioned as a generalinterest car magazine. Including the new title, Motor
Presse publishes a total of five car magazines in
France.
In a partnership with Gruner + Jahr, MPS launched
GEO magazine through four of its Eastern European
subsidiaries in October. The titles were simultaneously brought to newsstands in the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Just a few months
later, in December 2005, the publisher set up a joint
venture with the "manager magazin Verlagsgesellschaft" in Hungary, and added the magazines MANAGER MAGAZIN and HARVARD BUSINESS MAGAZINE to its Hungarian portfolio. These, along with
AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT and MEN’S HEALTH,
make MPS the leader among Hungary’s high-end
male target audiences.
p
MOTORRAD editors on the proving ground
A MOUNTAINBIKE editor checks a suspension fork for stiffness
and jounce travel on the hydraulic test bench
T.-J. KLEIN | INTERNATIONALIZATION
p Two years ago, you took on the responsibility for the International Magazine Division on
the G+J Executive Board. Axel Ganz built G+J’s
international business and has had an accordingly formative effect on it. Was that a difficult
starting situation for you?
TORSTEN-JÖRN KLEIN: Yes and No. Yes, because it is absolutely impossible to really follow in
the footsteps of someone like Axel Ganz. He is one
of the most successful magazine makers anywhere in the world. No one will ever be able to replace him in the conventional sense of the word.
Personally I see myself more as a sparring partner
for our editors-in-chief than as a magazine maker.
And no, because he prepared me for my new task
with a great deal of dedication and commitment,
and then introduced me to “his” international executives and editors-in-chief. That made things a
lot easier for me.
p What strategic approaches have you come
up with in the past two years?
KLEIN: Essentially, the strategy can be broken
down into two basic thrusts: organic growth
through new titles in our existing markets, and
growth through acquisitions and joint ventures. In
our existing markets, we launched a total of 29
new magazines, eleven of them in 2005. They included a number of smaller titles, as well as major
projects like GEO International, GALA in Spain, and
GLAMOUR in the Netherlands.
WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN
p So you’re resorting to “old reliables.”
An interview with G+J Executive Board Member Dr. Torsten-Jörn Klein
KLEIN: Naturally we exploit the international potential of our established and successful magazine
brands. But we do try out new things, too – as line
On the road for GEO: Torsten-Jörn Klein
on Zagreb’s King Tomislav Square
27
28
INTERNATIONALIZATION | T.-J. KLEIN
tablished a new segment with FENIKS, but also
enhanced our leading position in the overall
women’s magazines segment.
p All in all it was an entry at breakneck speed
for you and your team.
KLEIN: Right, but it was well worth it. As a result
of our efforts, the overwhelming majority of titles
are outperforming their budget and some are actually earning money already. That is a source of
great joy for us.
p What’s the second part of the strategy?
KLEIN: Acquisitions and joint ventures in 2005
gave us access to four new countries. In Greece,
one of Europe’s biggest growth markets, we
bought up 50 percent of the magazine publisher
Daphne Communications. Antitrust proceedings
are currently ongoing in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, concerning our acquisition of Hubert Burda
Media’s business, which we plan to integrate in a
joint venture with Sanoma Magazines International.
This would turn us into key players in these countries in a single step. Apart from this, we will continue to be on the lookout for possible takeover
candidates and partnerships. Many markets are
currently in a consolidation stage – this breeds opportunities.
“LOCAL
KNOW-HOW
IS ESSENTIAL
to producing
successful magazines”
p Starting up your own international subsidiaries is not an option?
KLEIN: As a matter of principle, we always seek
out local partners with an existing publishing structure when entering new markets. Gruner + Jahr
has done business abroad since 1978. In our experience, local know-how is essential to producing
successful magazines.
p As in the case of GEO International?
KLEIN: Yes. GEO International is a perfect example of a project where we work with local partners,
first and foremost our subsidiary Motor Presse
Stuttgart. We benefit from their expertise in magazine marketing and distribution. The partners in
their turn profit from the economic success and
journalistic charisma of the GEO brand. Apart from
this, we leverage GEO’s brand power for secondary businesses in merchandising and the electronic media. From now on, we will think more in
terms of brands and not solely in terms of magazines.
p Could you imagine applying this model to
other G+J magazines as well?
KLEIN: Certainly. Many of our magazines have developed into proper magazine brands over the
years. The GEO model may well set a precedent.
p What brands are you thinking of in particular?
extensions and as innovative proprietary developments.
p Could you please give us some examples?
KLEIN: FOCUS JUNIOR is Italy’s first popularscience magazine for children, and has developed
into a great success thanks in part to its unique selling position.
In Russia, we launched GALA BIOGRAFIA, a
people magazine featuring portraits of contempo-
KLEIN: There’s a whole slew of possible candidates: GALA is already successful in five countries,
so why not in ten or even more countries? The
same applies for LIVING AT HOME, CAPITAL, ELTERN, and the P.M./FOCUS concept. I believe
rary and historical public figures. This simply didn’t
exist on the market before. GALA BIOGRAFIA has
since become our bestselling title in Russia.
p Were there any proprietary developments?
KLEIN: Apart from the aforementioned GALA BIOGRAFIA, our niche publication FENIKS in Poland
is a good example. A women’s magazine that deals
with spirituality and psychology. We not only es-
Launched
Nov 2004
Launched
Jun 2005
Circulation 147,000
Circulation 40,000
Published monthly
Published monthly
29
30
INTERNATIONALIZATION | T.-J. KLEIN
“We are
Launched
some G+J brands are only just starting out on their
international careers.
p All the magazine brands you mentioned –
except GALA – originated in Germany. How important is the Magazine Division Germany in
your internationalization strategy?
KLEIN: Many projects could never happen without
the creative assistance of our employees in Hamburg and the personal support of my colleague on
the Executive Board in charge of the German market. Here, too, GEO International is a good example. The magazine was developed by Editor-inChief Christiane Breustedt and her team in Hamburg. Her colleagues in the German GEO family
provided active support. The editors-in-chief and
executive publishers of the international titles
regularly share their experiences at best-practice
meetings, so that ultimately everyone involved
benefits from the internationality of their brand.
And perhaps one day we will even introduce to
Germany a successful magazine that was developed in the International Magazine Division.
p Are there markets in your country portfolio
that you focus on especially?
KLEIN: Russia and China are the first that come to
mind. Both have great growth potential, and we
Dec 2005
Launched
KEEPING A VERY
CLOSE EYE
ON ALL EMERGING
MARKETS
Sep 2005
Circulation 120,000
Circulation 160,000
Published monthly
Published monthly
around the world”
plan to step up our activities there in 2006. The
same goes for Eastern Europe in general and for
Greece. In established markets, we will boost profitability and ready our business for the future by
launching additional titles and pursuing new
sources of income.
market there. That may change in the medium
term. We are keeping a very close eye on all emerging markets around the world.
p You’ve had a presence in China for several
years now, with three titles. Is that the best you
can do or just a foot in the door?
KLEIN: No, it’s a first step into an enormous emerging market. China is much further along in the development of its media economy than India. But,
there, too, the boom phase in the magazine business has not really set in yet. We have come to
know the market very well. And as soon as the
magazine economy gets going there, we will be on
board this accelerating train. Quite possibly in one
of the front cars.
p You just referred to Motor Presse Stuttgart.
What part does Motor Presse play in your
strategic plans?
KLEIN: A large one. Motor Presse has given us access to countries where Gruner + Jahr did not yet
have a business presence, e.g. Eastern Europe and
South America. Together, we will grow significantly
in the years ahead, especially in Eastern Europe.
We plan to dovetail our activities with those of
MPS more in Spain, France and Poland from now
on. In the medium term, this will have very positive implications for our business prospects.
p Do you give the Managing Directors of your
local subsidiaries free rein in their business decisions?
KLEIN: Gruner + Jahr lives by the principle of decentralism. I strongly believe that our business
would hardly be possible without strong, decisive
executives. As I see it, my task lies in providing
fundamental overall guidance for the operations,
as well as the occasional stimulus.
I am in the very fortunate position of having only
outstanding, entrepreneurially minded publishers
p You’ll have to invest heavily to do so.
on my team. Our managing directors, executive
publishers and editors-in-chief in the different countries know best what’s right for their company and
magazines. Nevertheless, I regularly visit and discuss things with our people in Warsaw, Madrid,
Athens or Amsterdam.
KLEIN: As in every other country where we perceive a publishing opportunity. In the past two
years, we have invested roughly €50 million in new
titles and acquisitions. And we have the necessary
budgets for any other investment that makes
sense. After all, we’ve only just begun our internationalization process.
p
p When will you be visiting colleagues in New
Delhi or Mumbai?
KLEIN: India is a very interesting magazine market
from a European point of view. However, it is only
in the early stages of its development. At the present time, we have no specific plans to enter the
31
GEO | INTERNATIONALIZATION
The success story is one-of-a-kind and fascinating.
It began nearly 30 years ago. In September 1976,
a spin-off of the biggest German weekly magazine
STERN first saw the light of day at Gruner + Jahr.
The concept was as simple as it was convincing.
Under the auspices of STERN’s senior picture editor Rolf Gillhausen, the new magazine would convey to readers some of what they would otherwise be unlikely to ever see with their own eyes.
Opulent photo spreads from far-away paradises
and inaccessible, deserted wildernesses, compellingly written texts by the best feature journalists in Germany and beyond, and all of it combined
with practical advice for anyone adventurous
enough to set out for the destinations themselves.
The magazine’s name was simple and encapsulated its content, and the ad for the premiere issue summed it up neatly: “Den GEO Lesern gehört
die Welt - The world belongs to GEO readers.” Today, the GEO family in Germany alone includes
nine magazines. And over the decades, GEO has
demonstrated a great deal of potential for capturing reader sensibilities outside the German cultural
region as well. The brand has continually and very
successfully expanded to France, Spain and Russia. In fall 2005, the magazine made ready for its
great leap to “GEO-ize” the European magazine
market. On October 27, G+J launched an international issue of the popular-science and feature magazine in five Eastern European countries and Turkey.
Since that day, GEO has been on newsstands in
the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and
Romania. The simultaneous launch of a title in six
countries, “is absolutely without precedent in the
history of magazines,” says Torsten-Jörn Klein,
G+J Executive Board member in charge of International Magazines. To top things off, on December 9, Italian newspaper kiosks from Milan to Palermo began lighting up from an unmistakable GEO
green of their own.
SEVEN AT ONE STROKE
In October 2005, G+J wrote a new chapter in the history of magazines
by simultaneously launching an international issue of GEO in six countries –
followed up a couple of months later by GEO Italy in December
Croatia
Print run
40,000
Slovakia
Print run
22,000
Czech Republic
Print run
52,000
Heading for Eastern Europe:
GEO powers up its expansion engine
33
34
INTERNATIONALIZATION | GEO
Turkey
Print run
50,000
Romania
Print run
26,000
The advanced GEO International concept allows
the publishing company to penetrate a successful
magazine brand even into smaller international markets where building large editorial teams would
not be cost efficient – all while still upholding top
journalistic quality standards.
The different GEO International issues are made
up mostly of shared identical content that is translated into the respective national languages, then
enriched with national content by local editorial
teams. The various threads link together at the
Hamburg Chief Editorial Offices run by Christiane
Breustedt and her small team. Editor-in-Chief
Breustedt draws on the German titles in GEO’s
family of magazines for compiling the international
issue. She sifts through existing feature articles
and resolves any copyright issues – a crucial aspect. “This is a form of recycling, in the positive
sense of the word,” says Breustedt. “What could
be better for us than to use GEO stories which
we’ve already created at great expense in other
countries?”
Christiane Breustedt has been part of the GEO
world since 1979. She was editor-in-chief of GEO
SAISON for 10 years, up until the preparations for
the international issue began in 2004. For GEO International, Breustedt relies first and foremost on
science topics. In her opinion as an experienced
magazine professional, they create the broadest
common denominator in the various countries. For
instance, the cover story for the first issue was
“Miracle of the Human Body.” All cultural differences aside, GEO’s new countries and the readers who live there do share one trait: everywhere,
there is “a pronounced urge to obtain information,
to further educate oneself and to be entertained
in a professional way,” as the editor-in-chief puts
it. In other words, excellent conditions for an ambitious magazine like GEO.
Exciting texts and unusual visuals are GEO’s
trademarks, and they shape GEO International as
well. Though the stories center primarily on people, animals, technology and exotic places are also fixtures in the magazine’s thematic repertoire.
Italian GEO benefits from the international “shell”
produced in Hamburg as well, but the editorial team
in Milan creates more own content than the teams
of its sister publications in Bratislava, Budapest
and Istanbul.
The successful launch of GEO International
would have been unthinkable without experienced
and proven publishing partners. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, Motor
Presse Stuttgart (majority owned by G+J since
2005) makes available its publishing infrastructure,
and organizes the magazine’s editorial editing, marketing and distribution. The partner in Turkey is the
Merkez media company; in Croatia, G+J formed a
joint venture with Austria’s Styria group. However, editorial control and brand management remain
with G+J. In all countries, the printed magazine is
only the first link in a long value creation chain. In
the GEO International countries, GEO TV shows and
exhibitions, GEO books and calendars hit the market at the same time as the magazine. GEO merchandising websites even offer ringtones for mobile phones.
Now Torsten-Jörn Klein is planning internationalization à la GEO for other G+J brands as well,
so stay tuned for more success stories!
p
“Absolutely without precedent in the history of magazines”
Hungary
Print run
62,000
Art Director Katja Wegener and Picture Editor Maike Köhler
I
GEO’s pacesetters: Christiane Breustedt and Torsten-Jörn Klein
U
A. GANZ | INTERNATIONALIZATION
It’s not like he needed to – after nearly 50 years in media, during which he launched over 60 magazines in
ten countries. After nearly 28 years at Gruner + Jahr,
15 of which he spent on the Executive Board. After a
fast-paced professional life that finally leads him to a
seat on the Supervisory Board of the publishing house
on Hamburg’s Baumwall. But Axel Ganz is serious
about starting over: “I’m going to slave away,” he
says. “I’m going right to the front line of duty.” Others in the industry know that he is still a force to be
reckoned with: the German trade magazine ‘Kontakter’ named Ganz its “Great White Hope 2006.”
If there is one constant in the magazine executive’s career, it’s an insatiable appetite for starting over again. That’s how it was back in 1955.
Ganz had plans to go to the movies as a producer or director. But first, the 18-year-old would
squander his inheritance with friends – among
them the actor Jean-Louis Trintignant – at the
‘Elephant Blanc,’ a nightclub in Paris. The young
German deliberately set out to start from scratch.
His father was killed at Stalingrad, his mother –
a woman from the Alsace – died when he was
nine years old.
ONCE MORE,
FROM THE TOP
Last year, G+J Executive Board Member Axel Ganz reinvented himself
in a small office on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. He founded the AG + J
publishing company, where he and his seven employees are designing
a women’s magazine
O Axel Ganz
37
38
INTERNATIONALIZATION | A. GANZ
After painting the town red, Ganz returned to his
home in Baden to work as a photographer. The
idea was to get him one step closer to his goal, the
movies. Instead, he ended up a trainee at the ‘Offenburger Tageblatt.‘ The young journalist caught
the attention of the legendary senator Franz Burda, who brought him on board first at ‘Bild + Funk‘
and then at ‘Bunte.‘ “He taught me to tell stories
in pictures,” says Ganz about his mentor.
In 1965, the publisher made 28-year-old Ganz
Editor-in-Chief of the women’s magazine ‘Freundin‘.
The title was uneconomical, which annoyed Ganz
and prompted him to do something completely different: In the late 1960s, the journalist went back
to school to become a publishing executive. The
Bauer publishing group was the first to hire him in
this capacity. In 1970, he was named executive
publisher of ‘Neue Mode‘ magazine. Later, he would
develop the women’s title ‘Bella‘ for the publisher;
it hit newsstands in 1978.
By that time, the people at G+J had long since
German was not always welcomed with open arms.
Ganz failed to take over the historic women’s publication ‘Modes et Travaux,‘ whose aged publisher
told him in no uncertain terms: “Young man, I fought
the Germans twice in two wars, and shall do so a
third time if the need arises!” Whereupon G+J’s
man in Paris decided to publish a women’s magazine of his own.
Many seriously doubted that the project would
be a success, including at G+J’s headquarters in
Hamburg. The market was considered difficult: 40
percent of all French women never looked at a
women’s magazine. How did a German of all people intend to change this?
Against the common trend in France at the time,
Ganz relied not on gourmet cuisine and haute couture, but on wearable fashions and diets. His
women’s magazine PRIMA was a hit, and soon sold
more copies than ‘Modes et Travaux.‘
And the rest is magazine history: PRIMA was
followed by FEMME ACTUELLE, TÉLÉ LOISIRS,
His recipe for success sounds very German: “Do everything thoroughly, as perfectly as possible.”
taken note of the gifted magazine maker, who also happened to have spent the years between
1962 and 1965 in Paris as a correspondent for
‘Bunte.‘ The publishing company was looking to
expand to France and was seeking the right man
for the job. Ganz, intrigued by the project, was Mr.
Right. And yet another new beginning loomed
ahead: portable typewriter and red Samsonite suitcase in tow, he set off for the Seine in 1978, moved
into the archives chamber of STERN’s Paris offices
and set to work on a French edition of GEO.
After initial difficulties, the feature magazine
was well received in France as well. But the young
VOICI, CAPITAL, GALA... Most recently, Ganz shook
up the market in 2004 with the biweekly TV listings guides TÉLÉ 2 SEMAINES and TV GRANDES
CHAÎNES. Prisma Presse, G+J’s subsidiary in Paris,
is now France’s second-largest magazine publisher. The French press respectfully calls the man at
its helm “Citizen Ganz” and “Emperor Ganz.”
T
The French press refers to him respectfully as “Citizen Ganz” and “Emperor Ganz”
39
40
INTERNATIONALIZATION | A. GANZ
I
“You have to really push yourself for the other ten percent.” Axel Ganz fine-tuning the layout
T
The peripatetic publisher. Axel Ganz between New York and the Prisma Presse headquarter in Paris
His recipe for success sounds very German: “Do
everything thoroughly, as perfectly as possible,”
the magazine executive recommends. “If it’s 90
percent right, you have to really push yourself for
the other ten percent.” And yet, 68-year-old Ganz,
who speaks French perfectly, is a wine buff and a
connoisseur, and sees himself as a “European in
France.”
Thinking as a European comes naturally to Ganz.
He exports his magazines ideas to countries including Italy, Poland and Russia – new beginnings
all of them. In 1998, he even conquered far-off China for G+J. That was in his seventh year as President of the International Magazine Division. Ganz
had long resisted taking on the position, for fear of
not having enough time left over to make magazines: “When push comes to shove, I’m a journalist.” When he finally took a seat on the Executive
Board, Paris remained his base. As long ago as
1982, Ganz had told a French newspaper he never wished to leave France.
By the time he left the G+J Executive Board at
the end of 2005, he had long since become a legend. Today, thanks to Ganz, who has chosen France
as his permanent home, the publishing company
generates the lion’s share of its revenues outside
Germany. And he’s connected with G+J by more
than a Supervisory Board seat. G+J also owns 75
percent of the shares in his AG + J publishing company.
It doesn’t look like this motorcycle enthusiast will
have a lot of time to devote to hobbies – even
though he had announced, upon leaving Prisma
Presse in summer 2005, that he would learn to play
the piano now. That would be yet another new beginning.
p
A BRAND PROFESSIONAL
AND READING AFICIONADO
SUCCEEDS AXEL GANZ:
FABRICE BOÉ
Fabrice Boé, born in Grenoble in 1962, has been
at the helm of Prisma Presse since July 2005,
having already served as the company’s Publishing Director Women’s Magazines since March
2004. In January 2006, Boé became the first
French member ever appointed to the G+J Executive Board. After earning his business degree
from the HEC in Paris in 1984, Fabrice Boé spent
16 years working for L'Oréal, most recently as
Managing Director Worldwide for Helena Rubinstein, then for Lancôme, before leaving to join
Hermès International in the same capacity. In the
process, he gained comprehensive, international
Fabrice Boé
expertise in developing and coordinating high-end
brands and managing creative partners and employees. As CEO of Prisma Presse, Boé is now in
a position to combine a defining personal passion
with his professional ideas: reading.
“My house is full of paper,” he says. Fabrice Boé
is married and has two children.
41
DPV | DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
POWER UNDER A
NEW UMBRELLA
Deutscher Presse Vertrieb bundles G+J’s distribution
of operations as a uniform quality brand
In 2005, Gruner + Jahr’s distribution units were restructured and reorganized under a new umbrella:
“Deutscher Presse Vertrieb DPV”(“German Press
Distribution”) provides a stronger and more effective bundling of the various distribution services to
reflect changing market demands.
Magazines and newspapers need to reach their
readers reliably and inexpensively, and on a wide
range of different distribution paths. In today’s world,
that not only calls for logistics expertise and reliable EDP systems, but also and especially for firstrate marketing. G+J’s new stand-alone subsidiary
DPV Deutscher Presse Vertrieb seeks to meet these
requirements for titles published by G+J as well as
by other publishers.
Hartmut Bühne
“Modern press distribution is vibrant, active
marketing, to keep buyers coming back to the
magazines we service”
O The new domicile of all G+J’s distribution in
Hamburg’s Neustadt district
43
DPV | DISTRIBUTION
Moving moments
DPV employees on their way from Pressehaus
on Baumwall to their new offices at Stadthausbrücke.
DPV Head Hartmut Bühne receives the symbolic key
to the new DPV building (on right)
In April 2005, the decision was taken to combine
G+J’s distribution tasks, which had hitherto been
distributed to several locations and among various divisions and various subsidiaries, right in Hamburg. This will serve to give additional growth and
innovation impetus to the distribution department,
of custom distribution strategies to internal and external customers in all sub-segments of the distribution market.
Nearly 400 employees will work at G+J’s newly established subsidiary DPV. They will generate
half a billion euros in revenue and handle the dis-
Deutscher Presse Vertrieb stands for quality and innovations on the path to buyers
which has grown steadily over the years, and which
provides services to many friendly competitors
such as ZEIT, Spiegel and Egmont EHAPA as well.
The quality orientation of its domestic and international press distribution will also be built up
further.
New business concepts and strategies were
drawn up and all activities were bundled under
the new name DPV. DPV sees itself and its autonomous units as a professional service provider
tribution of nearly 2,000 press objects in Germany
and all over the world. DPV is striving for expansion
in the medium term, to further reinforce its market
position as Germany’s largest provider of distribution services.
What are the reasons for this comprehensive
restructuring of the distribution business at G+J?
Hartmut Bühne, Head of DPV, sees fundamental
changes ahead for the distribution market in
Germany:
“It may be assumed that total circulation sold will
not rise considerably in the overall market for popular magazines in Germany. However, it will be
spread out over more and more titles. This will necessitate even more sophisticated distribution work
in the future. The smaller a title, the more versatile its distribution must be.
Newsstand sales of popular magazines will continue to decline and be spread to more titles as
well. This trend toward fragmentation will inevitably
affect Gruner + Jahr too, because developments
in the low-end markets indicate that even fasterturnover titles with high initial print runs and low
cover prices will be thrown onto the market.”
So G+J will hardly be able to grow the total
newsstand sales of its portfolio. However, G+J’s
future growth in the subscription business is likely to be above the market average. What it boils
down to is that there is no significant market growth
ahead in the next few years.
WHAT NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES DO THESE FUTURE MARKET CONDITIONS OPEN UP FOR GRUNER + JAHR?
If, given the long-term market trends outlined above,
distribution activities become more and more sophisticated and fragmented, then the distributionrelated cost per unit will tend to rise. This principle applies both for newsstand sales and for the
subscription business. In other words, distribution
becomes more expensive for each copy sold. This
applies without exception for every publishing company, large or small. And G+J wants to be prepared
for this development.
45
46
DISTRIBUTION | DPV
Despite the strain
of days and weeks
of moving
work for DPV’s distribution customers begins
immediately after the
move-in to the new
building
Domestic distribution
(formerly IPV)
Sales marketing
for G+J and Motor
Presse Stuttgart
Press distribution
worldwide
Hartmut Bühne: “To do press distribution these
days you don’t need 27 loading bays. What you
need is vibrant, active marketing and a good team
spirit, to ensure efficient distribution for titles of all
genres and sizes. Distribution at the push of a button, as seen in the days of open growth markets,
has long since become obsolete. To be well prepared
for the future – both for in-house and third-party
magazines – we are now proactively changing the
structures of all distribution activities before the
market forces us to do so at short notice.”
All five G+J distribution units will feature “DPV”
as part of their name from now on, thus indicating
to the industry that they are all part of a cohesive
new distribution brand. DPV itself will do business
as a stand-alone company with its own corporate
identity.
p
p
p
DPV Gruner + Jahr oversees and coordinates
all distribution activities for its clients at the
G+J, Motor Presse Stuttgart and FTD publishing companies, and thus caters to the imprints and publishing groups in which the
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG publishing company owns a majority stake or over which it
has management control.
DPV Direct provides professional direct-tocustomer marketing for titles published by
G+J and by third-party publishing clients. This
includes subscription marketing, database
marketing and customer service, all based on
a progressive, forward-looking Customer Relationship Management system (CRM).
DPV Network oversees all of its publishing
clients’ distribution activities. DPV Network
Subscription management,
Marketing
p
p
Sales team,
Retail marketing,
Logistics,
IT services
was born of the IPV Inland Presse Vertrieb.
DPV Worldwide manages and develops the
international side of its publishing customers’
business, independently and tailored to their
wishes.
DPV Services bundles central services for
all DPV units. It comprises the sales team
and newsstand marketing, as well as central logistics, IT management and systems
development.
Commenting on the new company’s prospects,
Hartmut Bühne says: “Our new DPV stands for
both quality and innovation. In a word, for a fresh
new approach in distribution. We see ourselves
as a uniform quality brand in the distribution business, both for Gruner + Jahr titles and for our service customers. We expect that the strict separation into newsstand market and subscription
market will become increasingly blurred. The two
markets will converge, and so will their logistics.
Likewise, marketing approaches that differed in
the past will converge. In short: the traditional
borders of today’s distribution branches will become increasingly obscured. We want to grow,
become better, generate more quality. Maybe in
time, this will make us the best press distributor
in Germany.”
p
48
GRAVURE | PRINOVIS
PRINOVIS
WELL ON ITS WAY
The PRINOVIS joint venture was established
not even a year ago. Integration was the formative
feature in its first few months
In May 2005, the three media companies Gruner
+ Jahr, arvato and Axel Springer merged their German gravure operations into PRINOVIS. The new
company is the leader in the European market for
illustration printing and offers its gravure customers
innovative solutions as well as flexible, high-quality service throughout Europe. PRINOVIS is a decentralized network of medium-size companies. It
operates five plants in the German cities of Ahrensburg, Darmstadt, Dresden, Itzehoe and Nuremberg.
Another printing plant is currently under construction in Liverpool, England and will start up production in mid-2006.
Merging a company like PRINOVIS is a great
challenge for the management team led by CEO
Stephan Krauss and Vice President Volker Petersen.
The task at hand: to bring together five, soon to be
six, locations with over 4,300 employees under a
single shared business umbrella. Fortunately, Krauss
was able to rely on a highly motivated staff. “From
the beginning, that was a good foundation – and by
no means a matter of course,” emphasizes the
PRINOVIS CEO. A key factor in the integration’s
success is that the management respected and cultivated the autonomy of the individual plants in organizing the new company: all gravure plants that
became part of the merger are run as independent
profit centers. This allows for preserving the plants’
expertise, which in some cases reflects decades
of experience. The holding itself consists of a management team whose job is to assert an integrated market presence and establish the necessary
preconditions for a shared corporate culture. Early
on, sixteen “integration teams” were set up to foster specific collaboration. They work efficiently as
well as across plant and project borders to cover
all the relevant areas – which range from core functions in the print industry like pre-press, rotation
and finishing, to central functions such as communications, IT, finances and HR. By the end of
2005, the integration teams had met more than
130 times to share and compile the knowledge and
expertise of all five plants. This allowed the teams
to identify the best possible solutions and implement
them throughout the company. They also compiled
Impressive
State-of-the-art machines with web widths
exceeding four meters
achieve average speeds
of over 50 km/h
PRINOVIS | GRAVURE
O
Top-quality printed products are the result not only
of state-of-the-art technology, but also of craftsmanship – as seen here in cylinder correction,
copy review and print finishing
benchmarks and best practices to point up specific improvements. As Vice President Volker Petersen
said, commenting on the integration efforts: “Our
motto is to learn from each other and put the best
solution in each case into practice throughout all
operations. That’s how we maximize our competitive edge.”
Building an overarching corporate culture is a
top priority for PRINOVIS CEO Krauss. “A company as big as PRINOVIS can only develop in a positive way if there is mutual trust,” says the CEO. In
addition to individual structures and modes of operation, each printing plant also has a history of its
own and, of course, its own corporate culture. The
idea is to draw on these in building a shared culture. Krauss sees this as a longer-term process in-
The goal is to involve everyone, directly or indirectly
volving all staff levels. The process is initiated and
supported with a number of practical measures.
For instance, the new company name was visible
everywhere very quickly: outside on the building
façade, and inside on the employees’ work clothes.
Of course all business stationery was immediately switched to the name PRINOVIS as well. These
measures, though initially only an outward manifestation, also serve to support identification with
the name and - especially importantly - with the
whole company. Petersen stresses: “We launched
a number of measures to facilitate the process. In
doing so, we immediately involve a vast number of
employees. The goal is to involve everyone, directly
or indirectly.” To this end, the company cultivates
intense debate and open communications with its
employees. A lot has already been achieved given
the short time, and the convergence of the three
organizations is already tangible.
Apart from its integration efforts, the management also relies on expansion. PRINOVIS Liverpool
will open its gates before the year 2006 is out. The
company is on plan both with its construction and
recruitment of employees. The new printing plant
is being built on a 200,000m2 plot of land near Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport, right on the banks of
the River Mersey. Its rotation presses and finishing machines will be housed on 65,000m2 (16 acres)
of floor space, and will process an estimated 160,000
tons of paper a year. Energy, heat and cooling will
be provided by the company’s own power plant,
with two gas turbines. It goes without saying that
– like the entire printing plant – this power plant is
being designed and built to the highest environmental standards.
The Liverpool plant has three state-of-the-art
4.32m rotogravure presses and another press with
a web width of 2.75m. Add to that high-performance bundle feeders, gang-stitchers and singlefilm-wrapping machines. As the plant is a green-
Volker Petersen and Stephan Krauss focus on integration at PRINOVIS
field construction, the training complexity is relatively high. To minimize possible start-up problems
at the new printing plant, each employee is being
prepared for his future job by undergoing extensive training in Germany. By now, many of the employees from England who were trained on the
large 4.32m machines in Nuremberg are back in
Liverpool to help install the machines locally. Once
all the machines are up and running, roughly 400
new jobs will be created at this plant.
p
PRINOVIS 2005 AT A GLANCE:
h Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG and arvato AG each own a 37.45-percent stake
in the company; Axel Springer AG owns 25.1 percent. Based in Hamburg,
the company does business as a Ltd. & Co. KG
h Five, soon to be six gravure plants | Revenue:
€1 billion | 4,300 employees | > 1 million tons of printed paper
h 38 rotogravure presses | Web widths to 4.32 meters | Up to 216 pages per
single cylinder rotation | 42 gang-stitchers | Six adhesive binding and lettershop
lines | 37 engraving facilities
51
A. JAHR | INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
SECURING THE FUTURE
THROUGH CREATIVE
INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
THE
INNOVATION
COUNCIL
Angelika Jahr, Journalistic Member of the
Executive Board, talks about pathways and
instruments of innovation management at G+J
p The magazine market has seen a burgeoning tide of titles, and is increasingly splintering
into topics and target groups. Where do you
expect growth for new Gruner + Jahr magazines to come from in view of these conditions?
ANGELIKA JAHR: From the place where Gruner +
Jahr has its roots: our quality. Since its establishment, Gruner + Jahr has been synonymous with
quality journalism. In light of markets that are full
to the brim – and that includes the German magazine market – the quality of our magazines is a special priority for us: Therefore, we will concentrate
even more on coming up with and pursuing new,
editorially sophisticated titles, and to assert them
against the competition according to the needs of
potential readers. That is our growth path for developing innovations in our Magazine Division Germany (MDG).
Angelika Jahr
53
54
INNOVATION MANAGEMENT | A. JAHR
“Forward-looking innovation management is all about linking
relevant mega-trends with new magazine concepts.
Publishing intuition, combined with the perspectives gained in trend research,
can lead to very interesting magazine ideas“
p What will you be focusing on?
p What has changed about the process of
JAHR: In 2004, the MDG concentrated its new projects more on premium titles again, i.e. on magazine concepts with outstanding content and an unmistakable look. The five publishing groups managed by Dr. Bernd Buchholz successfully launched
four such new titles in 2005 (also see box on the
Innovation Campaign in Germany 2005, p. 57).
Interchangeable magazines for the masses are
not the path Gruner + Jahr chooses to take for innovation. Such titles are easy to copy and have little to set them apart in the long term. Television
and the Internet can cover any topic in a much
shorter time than magazines can.
creating new titles?
JAHR: Something that has remained the same in
principle is that a good and original idea is the prerequisite for a new magazine concept. However,
the process of technical presentation has changed
considerably, especially in the past ten years.
p What counts more these days when plan-
p At the German Lead Awards 2004 ceremony,
Markus Peichl, Chairman of the Lead Academy,
criticized magazine publishers for not being innovative enough. Does this critique apply to
Gruner + Jahr as well?
JAHR: I would say it no longer applies to Gruner +
Jahr at this point. In 2003 – “against the tide” of
the economic downturn, so to speak – the Gruner
+ Jahr Executive Board switched back to a forceful innovation path, back when the conditions in the
various markets still showed no signs of a macroeconomic revival. It was the right course to take,
and has proven successful. We will continue on it.
Launched Nov 2005
Circ. approx. 250,000
Published
ning to launch a new magazine: publishers’
intuition or the systematic process of developing a concept according to the readers’ needs?
What is given more weight at Gruner + Jahr?
JAHR: The two aspects are given equal weight.
Intuition is still the number one requirement.
Building on this foundation, insights from market
research now feed into the process to a greater
extent than in the past. At Gruner + Jahr, the market research done as part of our innovation management is always a useful decision-making tool,
but can never replace concepts and ideas. We see
market research as a sounding board for readers’
interests, expectations and requirements when it
comes to new titles. It helps in making adjustments and corrections. But it can never replace
one’s own journalistic evaluation and assessment
of the project.
monthly
p In researching their products, many brandname manufacturers use new “trend research”
methods in addition to conventional market research to scout out progressive product ideas.
How does Gruner + Jahr go about finding out
what tomorrow’s readers want to read?
JAHR: We use both approaches, traditional and intuitive. Traditional means you have a concept and
ask the market researchers to determine the size
of its target group and potential.
The new, more intuitive way is to systematically analyze current trends in society and their implications for the interests and needs which are then
reflected in magazine content and concepts. Such
areas of research yield many interesting ideas and
insights into social contexts. In providing forwardlooking innovation management, our job is to link
relevant mega-trends with new magazine concepts, such as the launch of HEALTHY LIVING and
the line extensions STERN GESUND LEBEN and
BRIGITTE BALANCE to reflect the population’s
growing consciousness of wellness and health.
Publishing intuition, combined with the perspectives gained in trend research, can lead to very interesting magazine ideas.
p Does Gruner + Jahr have a chief development
editor who supervises all prospective new developments?
JAHR: No. In mid-2004, instead of giving the division a central editor-in-chief, Bernd Buchholz set up
an Innovation Council for the MDG. The Innovation
Council meets regularly, and consists of five Gruner
+ Jahr editors-in-chief, as well as an executive each
from the sales and advertising sectors. So the council unites different temperaments, talents, experiences and skills. It provides comprehensive innovation management consulting to the board member in charge of the division – from reviewing all relevant ideas and concepts for new magazines to
55
56
INNOVATION MANAGEMENT | A. JAHR
initial assessments of their potential, from developing a pilot issue down to submitting an investment proposal to the Gruner + Jahr Executive
Board.
p How is the Innovation Council doing, after
one year?
JAHR: It works wonderfully well, as evidenced by
our magazine launches in 2005, among other things
(see box on p. 57).
p How is the Innovation Council organized?
JAHR: It lives by the diversity of its members’ experiences and skills, be they journalists or publishing experts. By extension, it lives by intense and
open discussions late into the night when it convenes about ten times a year. Its structure as a consulting team is flexible, but at the same time ensures that no interesting journalistic idea “falls
through the grate” without an initial plausibility review. In addition, there is constant ongoing analysis in a number of thematic fields, as to how readers expect tomorrow’s magazines to provide practical benefits. Its members also accompany the various teams that develop specific projects to market
p And if you were to venture a look into the
future?
JAHR: Quality journalism will always be an important mainstay at Gruner + Jahr. But innovation is also very relevant, in light of the obvious and growing influence of the new media – and especially for
the younger generation. Accordingly, Gruner + Jahr
will increasingly turn its attention to new markets,
including in the online, mobile und digital TV realms.
Our strong brands help us by offering an excellent
foundation for growth prospects, so that we can
continue to develop our company in a forwardlooking spirit.
p
“Quality journalism will always be a mainstay of Gruner + Jahr’s business“
readiness, as mentors, comparable to “Elder
Statesmen.” This ensures the constructive involvement of the Innovation Council in all sorts of
ways.
p What criteria does the Innovation Council apply when it evaluates and promotes new magazine ideas?
JAHR: The journalistic quality is important, as is the
likelihood that a given concept will spark reader interest. This yardstick is then selectively applied for
all other aspects, depending on the specifics of the
respective project approach. Across-the-board criteria are not very helpful; innovations can hardly be
judged by universal standards.
Launched
Oct 2005
Launched
Sep 2005
Launched Oct 2005
Published
Published
Published
monthly
monthly
THE 2005 INNOVATION CAMPAIGN
IN THE MAGAZINE DIVISION GERMANY
The Magazine Division Germany, working hand in hand with the new Innovation Council, developed and successfully
launched four new magazines in 2005.
They include the popular success VIEW,
the health magazine HEALTHY LIVING,
which enhances Gruner + Jahr’s position
in the burgeoning health segment, PARK
AVENUE as the latest addition to the luxury segment, and VIVA! in the food and
cooking segment.
PARK AVENUE made its debut on June
7, 2005 as a preview issue. Following a
journalistic revision, it began appearing
monthly in October, at a cover price of
€6. Designed as a premium magazine for
a readership that unites top socio-economic status with equally top-notch
claims to quality and aesthetics, the magazine concept combines investigative
quality journalism by distinguished writers
with artistic layouts and high-quality photo spreads by noted photographers. The
new title sees itself as formative to opinion and style, as well as investigative and
cosmopolitan. At year-end 2005, it had
circulation of approx. 50,000 copies.
monthly
HEALTHY LIVING premiered on September 28, 2005 as Germany’s first
monthly full-service health companion
for women. It offers the latest information on health, with high practical use
benefits. Published in a convenient
pocket format at a cover price of €2.20,
the new magazine is a response to the
mega-trend, health. At year-end 2005, its
circulation had reached 160,000 copies.
HEALTHY LIVING caters to educated,
high-income women between the ages
of 30 and 49, who embrace a healthy,
active lifestyle and have a strong sense
of responsibility to their community.
VIEW first appeared on newsstands on
October 8, 2005. Subtitled “The Month
in Pictures,” VIEW is an innovative general-interest monthly in the STERN family. At a cover price of €3, it now has a
circulation of 150,000 copies. The magazine offers an entertaining and informative summary of the past month, largesize, spectacular photos accompanied
by compact texts, along with one longer
feature article, portraits, reports, interviews and essays (also see the VIEW Innovation Diary, p.16).
VIVA! was launched on November 28,
2005 as a new food monthly in a handy
pocket size at a cover price of €2.50. Its
concept combines fresh and healthy
cuisine with quick recipe ideas: “Light
Cooking, Healthy Enjoyment” is its subtitle.
The former food magazine SCHÖNER
ESSEN was completely integrated into
the new concept.
Bernd Buchholz
BERND BUCHHOLZ ON THE
MANDATE OF THE INNOVATION
COUNCIL HE INITIATED:
“The successful work done by the new
Innovation Council in 2005 shows that
there is no shortage of good ideas in
our company. We relied on our journalists’ creativity and powers of innovation in 2005. In the process, we managed to identify compelling new concepts for changing information and entertainment needs, and develop them
to market readiness.“
p
57
THE HENRI NANNEN AWARDS | QUALITY JOURNALISM
AN ORDER OF MERIT
FOR GERMAN
PRINT JOURNALISM
Tribute and incentive all in one:
The Henri Nannen Awards, which
made their debut in 2005, honor outstanding achievements in the print
medium and represent the publishing company’s own claim to quality
On its 40th anniversary, Gruner + Jahr joined
STERN in introducing the Henri Nannen Awards,
which each year pay tribute to the top achievements in print journalism of the previous year. By
ringing out the award, G+J supports quality journalism in the German-speaking countries while
upholding the memory of STERN’s late founder
and longtime Editor-in-Chief Henri Nannen, who
died in 1996.
The Henri Nannen Awards stand for G+J’s fundamental claim to high quality in journalism. This
claim transcends short-lived trends and fashions, it
defies superficiality and arbitrariness in these times
of information overload and myriad media.
The Henri Nannen Awards include the Egon Erwin Kisch Award, which has been posted by STERN
since 1977 for the year’s best feature article. Beyond this “ultimate” award, highlights in four other categories reflecting the diversity of modern print
journalism are “knighted” with a Henri Nannen
Award and €5,000 in prize money each:
p
p
p
p
best investigative report
best photo report
an especially clear and descriptive
documentary about a complex topic, and
an outstanding example of entertaining,
humorous coverage
A festive setting: The Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg
I
59
60
QUALITY JOURNALISM | THE HENRI NANNEN AWARDS
Hermann Unterstöger is delighted
UU
to receive a Henri Nannen bust
An award is also presented for lifetime journalistic
achievement: the Franco-German journalist and author Peter Scholl-Latour was its first recipient.
In addition, the sponsors give out an award for
courageous and outspoken commitment to freedom of the press in Germany and beyond. One of
the basic prerequisites to good journalism is free-
visualize ostensibly complex matters. It calls for
curiosity, persistence, powers of observation, clarity of thinking, and a good deal more.
The title “Knight of the Plume” is not given,
but earned. “The best is the enemy of the good”
would be a good motto for anyone seeking to measure their work by outstanding achievements. But
Quality journalism makes an important contribution to a vital democracy
dom of reporting, which unfortunately is far from
a matter of course everywhere. This year, the award
went to Irina Chalip, a journalist from Belarus.
Of course, the awards in the various categories
honor outstanding achievements and pay tribute
to the winning journalists. However, they are also
designed as an incentive for all those who practice
good journalism on a daily basis or strive to do so.
The winners serve as examples for others to model themselves on. G+J believes that the cultural
importance of critical print journalism cannot be
overestimated.
In sponsoring the Henri Nannen Awards, the
publishing company demonstrates that it upholds
the great tradition of journalistic independence and
applies the highest standards to its products. This
publishing company will always be home to quality journalism, because the latter makes an important contribution to a vital democracy – one might
even argue that it is the epitome of democracy and
social responsibility. Quality journalism can offer
guidance, educate, make events and developments
real and tangible, provide food for thought, and
spark important debates. It can also provide excellent entertainment, illuminate contexts or help to
there’s more to good print journalism than excellent writing. Tenacious, accurate research, a sensitive approach to sensitive topics, and the intrepid exposure of scheming and intrigues – all that,
too, goes into quality journalism.
THIS AWARD IS A PREMIUM BRAND IN THE
BEST SENSE OF THE WORD
And so the Henri Nannen Awards serve as a benchmark in the best sense of the word. A premium
brand for quality and high standards which the articles submitted must live up to. The award itself
is a powerful brand, head and shoulders above the
bulk of journalist awards. G+J vouches for this, as
does the top-notch panel of 12 judges: distinguished
journalists, authors, editors-in-chief and publishers, nearly all of them from Germany’s major publishing companies. They ensure the independence
of this new award. And consequently, the winning
articles may be seen as absolute highlights of the
past year in print journalism.
p
Judges (from left): Peter Sandmeyer, Andreas
I
Petzold, Elke Heidenreich, Cordt Schnibben,
Giovanni di Lorenzo, Werner Kilz, Roger Köppel,
Ute Mahler, Frank Schirrmacher, Michel Comte,
Peter-Matthias Gaede, Helmut Markwort
Laureates Yang Yankang, Stefan Willeke
with STERN Editor-in-Chief Thomas Osterkorn
U
CULTURE AND EXHIBITIONS | RESPONSIBILITY
On view each year at the Germany premiere in the
G+J Foyer: the World Press Photo Awards pictures
PREMIERES AT G+J
In 2005, the publisher hosted numerous photo exhibitions, offering an attractive
platform especially for feature photography and young photographic talent.
Many of the works were shown for the first time in Germany
Gruner + Jahr has a long history of commitment to
cultural affairs, centering on exhibitions of its own,
the promotion of cultural projects, and participation
in cultural initiatives. The public at large, the professional public, and G+J employees all participate
in the cultural offerings.
In view of the great importance of photography
to G+J magazines, the publisher’s exhibition activities focus first and foremost on feature photography and up-and-coming photographers. Each year,
over 60,000 visitors come to the Pressehaus on
Baumwall to view a number of exhibitions, including the annual Germany premiere of the World Press
Photo Awards. The G+J publishing company joined
STERN and GEO in presenting the world’s most
distinguished press photography award for the
eleventh time. The “World Press Photo of the year
2004” was taken by the Indian photographer Arko
Datta: a photograph of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. GEO magazine also sponsors the international photo competition “UNICEF Photo of the
Year.” The award honors photos of high photojournalistic merit that illustrate living conditions of
children all over the world. This year’s winning picture was taken by the British photographer David
Gillander and showed a street urchin in Odessa.
A collaboration project between G+J, STERN,
NEON and the BFF, the German Association of Freelance Photographers, is fully devoted to promoting
young photographic talent. The first “ausgezeichnet” (“award winning”) exhibition at the G+J Pressehaus was also the finale to the “3rd Photography
Triennial in Hamburg.” Each year, “ausgezeichnet”
shows the student works that won that year’s BFF
Young Talent Award, Kodak Young Talent Award and
Reinhart Wolf Award.
In 1998, the publishing company added a separate gallery, Galerie 11, to its exhibition space in
the G+J foyer. As a platform for young photographers, Galerie 11 quickly became one of Hamburg’s
Peter-Matthias Gaede,
GEO Editor-in-Chief
(on right) in conversation
with “World Press
Photo of the Year 2004”
winner Arko Datta (top).
Visitors discuss the
photos (bottom)
63
64
RESPONSIBILITY | CULTURE AND EXHIBITIONS
popular exhibition venues. Its exhibitions have been
accompanied by a series of publications since 2005.
The highlight of the year was the group exhibition
“Eleven – the Best” organized for the “3rd Photography Triennial in Hamburg.” Many of the photographers who found a stage for their freelance projects in the Galerie 11 – such as Peter Granser, Ulrike Schamoni and Marcus Höhn – also work for
G+J magazines like STERN, BRIGITTE and GEO or
have become established in the art scene as multiple-award-winning photographers, such as Jan
Wenzel and Katrin Günther.
Commitment to young talent also involves a
portfolio viewing hosted twice a year by G+J in conjunction with the “Friends of Photography.” Experts from picture editing offices, agencies, academy and the exhibition scene convene here to advise budding photographers.
G+J PROMOTES CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
G+J is especially committed to promoting art and
culture in its home town of Hamburg and seeks
to have a formative influence on the appeal of the
media city’s cultural diversity and vibrancy. The publishing company is especially concerned about promoting young talent – in art and classical music as
well as in photography. For the second time in a row,
G+J participated in Hamburg’s Long Night of Museums, inspiring more than 3,000 visitors with an
eventful program of exhibitions, guided tours and
symposia in a single night. Its highlight was a panel discussion on the “Shelf Life of Information and
Journalistic Use of the Archives” featuring experts
from the media, art and academic communities.
Also in its second year: the cooperation with
the House of Photography in Hamburg. In 2005,
G+J was the sole sponsor of the retrospective
“Martin Munkácsi: Think while you shoot!” which
was on view at the Deichtorhallen parallel to the
opening of the House of Photography and the “3rd
Photography Triennial in Hamburg.” Martin Munkácsi,
a native of Hungary, was one of the most important figures in 1930s photography and one of the
founders of contemporary photojournalism.
Beyond inviting G+J employees to the Galerie
11 art opening, the publishing company also hosts
annual employee events with a special cultural
theme. One of the year’s highlights was a guided
tour of the Munkácsi Retrospective led by Prof. F.C.
Gundlach, Founding Director of the House of Photography.
Private view at
Galerie 11
Photographer Helge Emaneel, ART Copy Chief Ralf
CULTURE EDUCATES OUR YOUTH
Cultural sponsoring is one important instrument in
G+J’s efforts to promote culture. For instance, G+J
has sponsored the Hamburg State Opera since
1995, and the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben (German Foundation for Musical Life) since 1993. The
children’s opera series “Opera piccola” at the State
Opera reflects a new partnership between G+J and
the Hamburg Opera House: G+J and the Nordmetall
Foundation jointly secured the endangered future
of the children’s opera series and the new production “The Three Riddles” for the year ahead. The
series familiarizes children with the opera by getting them actively involved as actors and musicians.
These activities all underscore the publishing company’s mission of introducing children and teens to
cultural content early on and promoting their creativity.
p
Schlüter and G+J press
officer Ulrike Klug deep in
conversation
“Ostfriesenabitur” by Ilona Habben, Galerie 11
U
“Beauty” by Malin Schulz & Sina Preikschat
(“award winning” exhibition)
UU
“Monodie” by Alexander Dey (“award winning” exhibition)
Eye-catchers: Works by up-and-coming photographers earned positive reviews from visitors
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP | RESPONSIBILITY
SHOULDERING
RESPONSIBILITY –
PROMOTING
YOUNG TALENT
Corporate Social Responsibility is part of Gruner + Jahr’s identity
Gruner + Jahr stands for quality journalism, independent information and freedom of opinion. Journalists in over twenty countries research, write and
take pictures for their readers. This type of independent, high-quality journalism gives rise to an exceptional responsibility to society that G+J embraces as a company as well. G+J’s involvement
is active and sustained, initiatory and innovative.
G+J dynamically promotes and supports young journalistic talent and projects that promote media literacy and reading itself. G+J initiates numerous
long-running, social and environmental projects in
such a way that employees, citizens and other companies are inspired to themselves actively shoulder social responsibility.
JOURNALISM, LITERACY, YOUNG TALENT
G+J has a longstanding tradition of promoting young
journalistic talent. In April 2004, the renowned Henri Nannen School of Journalism in Hamburg celebrated its 25th anniversary. It is funded by G+J and
ZEIT publishing house. G+J also supports the Ham-
O
burg Media School, the Journalism Academy and
the Jugendmedientage (Youth Media Days).
Since 1990, the “G+J Auditorium” series of
events has provided a platform for discussing current social events with interesting personages in journalism, politics, business and the cultural community. In 2005, the G+J Pressehaus hosted two international journalists: the legendary American reporter Seymour Hersh shared stories from 30 years
of investigative journalism, from his revelation of the
My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War to the
exposure of the Abu Ghraib torture scandals. And
the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaja talked
about her experiences providing coverage of the
Chechen War and human rights violations by the
Russian army.
Since early 2005, G+J has partnered with the
BürgerStiftung (CivicFoundation) Hamburg to sponsor projects for children and teens in the city’s so-
G+J helps to convey the fascination of reading
to children in Hamburg-St. Pauli
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RESPONSIBILITY | CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
cially challenged districts. The emphasis here is on
promoting reading and language skills, which are
essential to having a future in our knowledge society and actively participating in our democracy. For
this reason, G+J and the BürgerStiftung Hamburg
sponsor the literacy project “Kölibri” in the St. Pauli
district and the language project “Family Literacy,”
which caters to immigrant families. G+J was also
a sponsoring partner of the “Seiteneinsteiger”
(translates roughly to “Page Newbies”) reading festival for children and teens, which made its debut
on November 2, 2005 with 135 events throughout
the Hamburg city area.
Beyond journalism, BRIGITTE has dedicated itself to promoting the art and culture of writing. The
magazine awards a publishing contract and guaranteed honorarium of €10,000 to the best first novel submitted for its BRIGITTE Fiction Award. Roughly 2,000 aspiring writers among BRIGITTE’s readership submitted manuscripts in 2005. The judges
chose Markus Lüngen’s debut novel, “18,” as the
year’s winner.
Enabling the blind to read is the objective behind
the magazine for the blind developed by Henri Nan-
partnered with the Körber Foundation and the University of Hamburg in organizing the “Kinderuni”
(“Children’s University“) locally. GEOLINO sponsors this annual invitation for 8- to 12-year-olds to
get to know universities and attend lectures by select professors in other German cities as well.
For 40 years, the “Jugend forscht” (“Youth Researches”) natural sciences and technology contest initiated by STERN has rewarded the most
original works by young inventors and researchers.
In its first call for entrants in 1965, STERN magazine proclaimed its search for "tomorrow’s researchers and scientists among today’s boys and
girls.” Since then, nearly 130,000 teens have participated in “Jugend forscht.” The fact that participant numbers are up yet again in the contest’s
anniversary year shows that “Jugend forscht’s“
popularity continues to grow, even forty years on.
Today as 40 years ago, the competition can still
claim to be an exemplary project when it comes
to engaging teens in the natural sciences, mathematics and technology.
The “StartUp Initiative,” organized by STERN,
McKinsey, the Sparkassen banks and German TV
Germany’s Federal
President Horst Köhler
scrutinizes the research
done by “Jugend forscht”
winners
o "Schools Helping Schools," a STERN Foundation project
In 2005, “Stiftung STERN” raised €2,365,200 in donations
nen and Gerd Bucerius in 1968. Every two weeks,
the non-profit project publishes select articles from
STERN magazine and “Die Zeit” weekly newspaper in Braille. BRIGITTE and GEO magazines also
have a special reading service for the blind.
G+J doesn’t just promote young journalistic
talent. Student competitions mounted by the magazines STERN, GEO, GEOLINO and NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC promote and challenge children and
teens in many ways. Since 2003, GEOLINO has
broadcaster ZDF since 1997, promotes young business talent. Its three modules – StartUp Workshop,
StartUp Contest and German StartUp Awards – cultivate entrepreneurship at its different stages: from
students to emergent start-ups to proven entrepreneurs.
HELP FOR PEOPLE IN NEED
Each year around Christmas time, SÄCHSISCHE
ZEITUNG newspaper solicits donations for its "Lichtblick – (‘Ray of Hope’) people helping people in
need” campaign. For over ten years, "Lichtblick"
has used these funds to provide quick, unbureau-
“Jugend forscht”
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RESPONSIBILITY | CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
cratic help where it is needed most, in collaboration with some 330 charity institutions in the Dresden region.
G+J employees in Hamburg also feel a responsibility to the socially disadvantaged people in
their city. Since 1978, they have organized an annual Christmas bazaar, the proceeds of which go
to charitable institutions in Hamburg. In January
2006, Bernd Kundrun presented €11,000 each to
four institutions and €2,000 to the Hamburg
Spendenparlament (Donations Parliament).
STERN has been committed to a wide range of
aid projects since 1973. The magazine’s social in-
“Du bist Deutschland“ media campaign
Euro for Euro by the publishing company. In all,
€660,000 were received in donations for the earthquake victims, and €1.485 million for the people
in Southeast Asia.
PROMOTING INNOVATIONS AND INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE
In February 2005, the G+J magazine P.M. launched
its sweeping P.M. Innovation Campaign. Numerous
promotions and events were organized to communicate a zest for knowledge and a passion for
innovations. The events reached their climax in the
“P.M. Gala of Innovations“ in Berlin in November
G+ J employees feel a responsibility to their fellow human beings
St. Pauli’s children are happy to receive compelling reading material
Bernd Kundrun presents the proceeds from the Christmas bazaar to charitable institutions
volvement began with the fight against famines in
Ethiopia and was followed by a several-year project for children with cancer. Then, in 1990, STERN
raised millions for a freezing Russia in the period
of political transition. “Stiftung stern – Hilfe für
Menschen e.V.” raises donations for specific aid
measures, allowing it to provide swift, operative help
for people in need. The foundation partners with
various UNICEF-funded relief organizations, including Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (German Agro
Action), CARE and Doctors Without Borders.
In 2005, “Stiftung stern” raised a total of
€2,365,200 in donations. While the lion’s share
went to the “Schools Helping Schools” project in
Southeast Asia, assistance for the earthquake victims in Pakistan was the second focus of relief
spending. The G+J publishing company supported each of the two relief campaigns with a €100,000
start-up donation, to which donations from STERN
readers and G+J employees were added. After a
STERN report in November 2005 once again pointed up the disastrous situation in Pakistan, G+J’s Executive Board called on all employees to make a
personal contribution, which would be matched
2005, at which the W.I.N. Award and the Innovation Sponsors Special Award were presented for
the first time. W.I.N. stands for Wissen (Knowledge),
Ideas and New developments. The award is designed to promote the inventive spirit in Germany
and draw greater public attention to innovative
products.
The “Partners for Innovation” initiative, a union
of high-ranking representatives from business,
academe and politics, is another program that promotes innovations and personal involvement. All
over Germany, the “Du bist Deutschland” (“You are
Germany“) media campaign that G+J and 24 other media companies developed as part of this initiative sparked public discourse about self-responsibility and taking the initiative. “Du bist
Deutschland” was the biggest social marketing
campaign in the history of German media: the campaign was seen and heard in 40 magazine titles,
eight nationwide and 13 local newspapers, on 2,326
billboards, on eleven TV channels and in 1,866
movie theaters.
p
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72
RESPONSIBILITY | ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
PAN-EUROPEAN
ENTHUSIASM
FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT
At Gruner + Jahr, professional environmental
communications doesn’t end in our own back yard
A TRADITION OF SUSTAINABLE COMMITMENT
At Gruner + Jahr, social responsibility is a longstanding tradition – including, especially, responsibility to the environment. Environmentally conscious management
has been a key feature in G+ J’s corporate policy for 15 years. The environmental concept adopted by the G+J Executive Board in 1991 is continually updated
and improved, and environmental guidelines provide parameters for our environmental commitment. At the heart of G+J’s environmental policy lies the use
of papers produced in environmentally compatible ways. Other aspects being
optimized in all divisions are resource conservation, energy efficiency, waste
reduction and recycling. We also promote ecological consciousness through intensive communications with customers, suppliers and employees.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT CONTINUES AT PRINOVIS
G+J’s printing plants in Itzehoe and Dresden became part of arvato, Axel Springer and G+J’s gravure joint venture in July 2005. The new company, PRINOVIS,
systematically continues their tradition of environmental management at the various plants. The Input/Output chart on page 75 shows the materials and energy
consumption at the former G+J printing plants in Itzehoe and Dresden from 2000
through mid-2005, when they became part of PRINOVIS. The chart demonstrates the ongoing optimization of energy, paper and ink consumption and further
reduction of waste. In 2000, Gruner Druck in Itzehoe (now PRINOVIS Itzehoe)
became Germany's first printing plant to introduce integrated quality and envi-
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT | RESPONSIBILITY
Great Leap Forward
Football legend Uwe
Seeler gives the starting
signal for the First
European “Big Jump”
river swim along the
River Elbe in Hamburg
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74
RESPONSIBILITY | ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT | RESPONSIBILITY
INPUT/OUTPUT CHART
ronmental management. In
2005, Prinovis Dresden followed suit. Quality and environmental reviews based on
the DIN EN ISO 9.001 and
14.001 international standards
are continually performed,
and a process-oriented management system evolved.
PRINOVIS has adopted a shared environmental and
quality policy for all its plants. The energy consumption figures for the second half of 2005 illustrate PRINOVIS’ ecological evolution: PRINOVIS is
well below the industry average in its energy consumption per ton of printed products.
PRINOVIS’ environmental guidelines and other
information are posted on the Internet at www.prinovis.com.
PAPER – A RENEWABLE RESOURCE
Papers used in production at G+J must comply with
the highest environmental standards. Important
aspects include wood from sustainable forestry, environmentally friendly pulp and paper production,
the use of environmentally compatible inks, and paper recycling. Protecting the world’s remaining ancient forests is an important global task for the future. Since 1993, G+J has spoken out against the
uncontrolled exploitation of rainforests, and together with the other publishers in the Association of
German Magazine Publishers (VDZ), promotes the
communication and coordination process between
business, ecological and social lobbies in determining the need to protect forests.
All of G+J’s German magazines are printed on
100 percent chlorine-free bleached papers. Recycled papers are also used. Our newspapers are
printed on up to 100 percent recycled paper. G+J
also uses recycled paper for office and correspondence purposes. The recycled paper share in
our upscale magazines ranges from 15 percent (e.g.
STERN) to 33 percent (e.g. GEO).
Over 80 experts studied
the flora and fauna at
the Berlin Tiergarten on
GEO’s 7th Biodiversity
Day
“LIVING ELBE” GETS ENTHUSIASTIC INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
On July 17, 2005, the second big Elbe swim – initiated by G+J and the German Environmental Aid Foundation e.V. (DUH) – was celebrated along the entire
River Elbe. The Elbic enthusiasm proved so infectious that on the very same day, over 100,000 people
along more than 30 rivers in twelve European countries joined in the first European river swim, or “Big
Jump.” Since its establishment in 1997, the “Living
Elbe” eco-partnership between the DUH and G+J
has managed to transform the image of what was
once Europe’s dirtiest river. Today, it serves as an
innovative, positive role model for other rivers. p
PRELIMINARY PRODUCTS (IN T)
Paper
Printing ink
Additives
22.7
21.8
21.9
21.3
2004
22.6
21.7
2005
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
382,453
392,141
381,161
395,616
181, 241
12,082
12,179
12,481
12, 239
5, 434
31
27
31
26
17
159
138
131
135
55
AUXILIARY SUBSTANCES (IN T)
Adhesives
Binding wire
257
213
209
217
106
Packaging material
718
660
585
634
369
50
50
45
48
25
0
1
1
1
1
13
13
13
11
5
0
0
0
0
0
Lubricants and anti-blocking agents
Other auxiliary substances
OPERATING MATERIALS (IN T)
Photochemicals
Films
Printing plates and rubber blankets
77
74
79
81
38
Detergents
51
40
42
33
15
Acids
206
268
192
227
90
Lye/Leaches
231
216
155
146
63
Salts
59
71
94
102
31
Other chemicals
36
40
74
133
66
ENERGY (IN MWH)
Power
90, 784
96,101
95, 274
94,620
44, 902
118,109
114,164
122, 883
121,473
60, 486
5,725
7,130
7, 641
2,154
1, 463
247, 041
287, 633
254,991
260, 404
129,507
28, 851
29,711
27, 518
25, 435
12, 206
101,476
112,607
105,434
107,905
60,103
Toluene
54, 371
48, 620
43, 807
41,024
21,780
Nitrogen oxides
21,800
21,541
21,414
15, 044
7, 547
2, 140
2, 687
2, 760
1, 275
640
347
365
319
442
223
3,050
3,151
3,125
3,118
1, 561
46, 447
48, 548
46, 754
47, 421
22,153
Natural gas
Fuel/heating oil
WATER (IN M 3 )
Own/in-house extraction
Foreign supply
Wastewater
EMISSIONS (IN KG)
Sulfur dioxide
2003
INNOVATIVE PROJECTS
G+J’s publications not only provide broad and diversified coverage of environmental topics – they also
initiate innovative ecological campaigns to get readers to support ecological projects. One example is
the “GEO Protects the Rainforest” Society, which
has initiated or sponsored over 50 preservation and
development projects in the tropics since 1989.
“GEO Biodiversity Day,” a project for exploring
nature in one’s own back yard, made its debut in
1999 and has since become an institution. Each
year, on the first weekend in June, tens of thousands
of experts and amateurs worldwide take to brooks,
meadows and forests to study indigenous flora and
fauna in what has become Europe’s biggest field
research event.
The Input/Output Chart shows materials and energy consumption at the former G+J printing plants
in Itzehoe and Dresden since 2001. Because the German gravure operations of G+J, Axel Springer
and arvato Bertelsmann were merged into PRINOVIS in May 2005, the materials flow for G+J
printers is shown only for the first half of the year.
Carbon monoxide
Greener than their peers
Dust
PRINOVIS printing facilities (green) continue to
WASTES (IN T)
use less energy per imprinted space than the
Waste paper
industry average (gray)
Waste requiring special supervision
349
286
507
315
160
Shown in Wh per hours, based on surveys by the German
Printing and Media Industries Federation (bvdm)
Other waste
942
1, 083
1, 250
1, 034
287
75
HR DEVELOPMENT | RESPONSIBILITY
YOUNG
COSMOPOLITANS
FROM MOSCOW
TO MADRID
G+J has special training programs to
promote international management talents
When 24-year-old Julia Stepanova from Russia first
laid eyes on the Gruner + Jahr building on Hamburg Harbor, she realized what it means to have
signed on at Europe’s biggest publishing company. “This makes you really proud of what you do,”
says the young woman, who is passing through
several departments at the mother house in Hamburg in her capacity as an “International Country
Trainee“. To be followed by three more stints in
Austria, France and Italy. Julia, who also speaks fluent German and English, already has every reason
to be proud of herself: she completed her degree
in “Linguistics and Intercultural Communications”
at the tender age of 22, and went on to become
the assistant to the managing director of G+J in
Moscow. It soon became clear that the dedicated
young woman was capable of more. And so G+J Russia´s managing director sent her to train in Hamburg.
O Young Muscovite Julia Stepanova
feels at home in Hamburg
77
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RESPONSIBILITY | HR DEVELOPMENT
HR DEVELOPMENT | RESPONSIBILITY
O
Julia Stepanova at work in the distribution department
She describes her expectations of the trainee program thus: “I would like to learn as much as possible. At the moment I only have a hunch of how
things work here. In Moscow, approximately 100
people work at G+J. Here in Hamburg, the number is over 2,000. This is an entirely new dimension.” Her dream job in Moscow would be as publishing director of a magazine or group of magazines. But at this point of course she has no idea
where she will ultimately end up.
Swantje Brümmer, the woman in charge of
trainees at G+J, stresses that international trainees
are chosen by the international offices themselves:
“These are young people who have proven themselves on the job and are to go a step further now.”
In Germany, young executives for the highly popular ”International Corporate Trainee” program are
selected in a slightly different process. During the
18-month program, participants are systematically prepared for an international career at G+J. This
INTERNATIONAL
HR DEVELOPMENT
AT GRUNER + JAHR
h Two months abroad as part of regular 14-month
trainee program for all trainees
h International Country Trainee Program:
Participants: Trainees from G+J’s international
h
Cooperation with the Hamburg Media
School (HMS): Internships abroad at G+J
offices for HMS masters students
h G+J Transfer: Incentive program, Participants:
offices, Program: six months home country, four
Executives, Program: two- to four-weeks post-
months Hamburg, four months in another country
ings abroad at a G+J branch
(breakdown may differ from case to case)
h International Corporate Trainee Program:
h G+J Exchange: Posting abroad for executivesin-training seeking an international career,
Participants: Trainees from Germany,
Program: six to twelve months at a G+J
Program: six months Germany, six months each in
branch abroad
two other countries
involves training at all the important publishing departments in Hamburg, then two six-month stints
at two international G+J offices. “Business English and perfect fluency in another language besides German are essential. Ideally, applicants will
have grown up bilingual,” says Brümmer.
Oliva Zumft Cortines, 25, easily meets these
lingual requirements: her mother is Spanish. Oliva
studied international business in Madrid, Florence
and Reutlingen. She gained first experiences in
publishing during a traineeship with the management of G+J’s living and housing magazines. Her
assessment of the trainee program: “The various
stations are different pieces in a puzzle, which together give you the big picture. You build a personal network and learn how the various markets
differ from each other.”
Both trainees are very taken with the positive
atmosphere at G+J. “You can tell that people enjoy their work and that they believe in their job and
their products,” remarks Oliva Zumft Cortines. Her
Russian colleague agrees: “There is an atmosphere
of openness here. It matches the company’s location on Hamburg’s harbor: You can feel the freedom that reigns here.” The two executives-in-training share this positive assessment of G+J as an
employer with the overwhelming majority of employees in the Magazine Division Germany. In a
survey, 85 percent of respondents indicated they
would choose G+J again as an employer. 91 percent feel that G+J has a positive image, and 83
percent are very satisfied or satisfied with the products created by their department.
G+J strives to further promote international exchange. Dr. Jürgen Althans, Vice President of HR
Development, stresses: “Although media are culturally bound by their very nature, we have much
to learn from each other – both in the editorial
teams and in the publishing departments.“
p
Oliva Zumft Cortines gets to know
IU
STERN’s advertising department
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | MANAGEMENT REPORT
Achim Twardy, Chief Financial Officer of G+J
MANAGEMENT
REPORT 2005
Growth through portfolio decisions, improved results in core business
Gruner + Jahr had a very gratifying year in 2005.
For the first time in four years, G+J increased its
revenues and achieved significant growth in profits. Revenues rose by 7.6 percent to €2.62 billion
(2004: €2.44 billion), Operating EBIT improved
from €213.3 million in 2004 to €250.3 million. Return on Sales for the year amounted to 9.5 percent
(2004: 8.7 percent)
Portfolio changes were a major contributor to
G+J’s growth. For one, G+J was able to enhance
its powerful market position in Germany and internationally by acquiring the majority of shares
in Motor Presse Stuttgart with its more than 140
magazines. The step provided an entrance into
countries and segments that G+J was not previously represented in. And for another, G+J se-
2.48
2003
2.44
2004
Revenues up
2005
2.62
In 2005, G+J grew its revenues
for the first time in four years
cured the future of its gravure business through
the PRINOVIS venture jointly set up with arvato
and Axel Springer, which also provides the foundation for future growth in this segment. In May
2005, for lack of prospect of achieving a marketleading position in the American magazine market in the foreseeable future, G+J decided to sell
its underperforming magazine business in the U.S.
to the Meredith Corporation and the American investor Joseph Mansueto at mid-year. This transaction did not include the printing operations of
Brown Printing. Overall, the portfolio adjustments
were largely made without tying up additional financial resources. In the years ahead, the portfolio measures taken in 2005 are expected to yield
sustained positive effects on earnings.
in € billions
U
82
In the core business – i.e. after adjusting for portfolio changes – G+J significantly grew its earnings in 2005. Adjusted revenue is up slightly year
on year, by 1.2 percent. The innovation campaign
begun in 2003 was continued with steady investments in new magazines, and rounded out through
the systematic extension of secondary businesses related to publishing. Return on Sales before
publishing investments was 11.4 percent.
The Magazine Division Germany was a key
contributor to this improved result. Thanks to im-
MANAGEMENT REPORT | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
proved efficiency and processes, it significantly
improved its performance, despite the persistently
difficult situation in the advertising markets. Numerous launches served to strengthen the G+J
brand portfolio in 2005, especially in growing segments. A new title in the luxury segment was
launched – PARK AVENUE – and HEALTHY LIVING made its debut in the health segment. By
launching VIEW, G+J further enhanced the strength
of the STERN brand family. Diversification businesses like BRIGITTE’s audiobook edition and the
book edition in collaboration with Elke Heidenreich
contributed to an enhanced market position and
profitability at BRIGITTE. As in 2004, STERN is the
biggest single generator of revenues and profits at
G+J. One factor that deserves special mention
is the positive performance of ESSEN&TRINKEN
FÜR JEDEN TAG, which increased its total circulation by more than 25 percent year on year, to
over 400,000 copies. NEON, a magazine concept
unique to the German market, is winning over
more and more readers, and with 160,000 sold
copies made breakeven barely 18 months after
its launch. G+J’s German websites (stern.de,
brigitte.de etc.) showed a positive development
in online advertising sales. In 2005, their cumulated ad sales put them among the Top 10 G+J
ad media for the first time.
After Germany’s Federal Cartel Office approved
G+J’s acquisition of the majority of shares in Motor Presse Stuttgart in May 2005, Motor Presse
has been consolidated on the balance sheet since
July 1, 2005. The publisher’s business developed
in line with expectations and positively overall.
G+J and MPS are intensifying their cooperation,
as part of which G+J took on the subscription distribution for Motor Presse’s titles in Germany effective January 1, 2006. G+J is now in charge of
all Motor Presse distribution.
The magazine business in France also made
a significant contribution to growth in the core
business. The country’s biweekly TV listings titles TÉLÉ 2 SEMAINES and TV GRANDES
CHAÎNES continued their growth trend in the distribution and ad sales market and played a key
part in the improved result generated by the French
magazine business.
Thanks to systematic brand management,
FEMME ACTUELLE remains Prisma Presse’s flagship in terms of income. The people magazine
GALA again posted a very gratifying rise in circulation and ad sales, and a record result for 2005.
VOICI stood its ground in a keenly-fought competitive environment. The modernization of VSD
triggered an exceedingly positive development in
the advertising and distribution markets. CAPITAL bucked the trend among French business
238.0
2003
213.3
2004
2005
250.3
Operating EBIT
Compared with revenues,
in € millions
net income grew
overproportionately
Big in France
Thanks to systematic
brand management,
FEMME ACTUELLE
remains Prisma Presse’s
flagship in terms of
income
magazines, growing its circulation and increasing
its result to levels well above the previous year.
In the International Magazine Division, the year
brought an improvement of results from core business, especially in Austria and Poland, and the
establishment of titles launched in 2004. The innovation campaign continued with the simultaneous launch of GEO in five Eastern European
countries and Turkey, and in Italy. Under the auspices of a Chief Editorial Office in Hamburg, the
first-ever international issue of a G+J magazine
was developed, then translated in the respective
countries by a local editorial team and enhanced
with local content. Motor Presse Stuttgart played
a vital role in the realization of the project, shouldering production, marketing and distribution with
its structures in the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Hungary and Romania. G+J also expanded to two
other growth markets: in Greece, G+J bought up
half of the Daphne Communications magazine
publishing company, effective July 1, 2005. Also
effective July 1, 2005, G+J established a joint
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84
venture with Styria Media in Croatia. In another
step, all of Hubert Burda Media’s magazines in
Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia are to be acquired
and contributed to a joint venture with the FinnishDutch publishing company Sanoma International.
The project is pending clearance by the antitrust
authorities. These steps open up promising potential in rapidly growing markets. In the Netherlands, an issue of GLAMOUR was very successfully launched under license, marking G+J’s entry
into the women’s magazines segment. All titles
launched in 2004 showed a positive development.
In Spain, GALA continued to add circulation, transcending a difficult market environment. GALA
BIOGRAFIA in Russia and QUEST in the Netherlands have already well exceeded their target circulation.
In the newspaper unit, the FINANCIAL TIMES
DEUTSCHLAND soared past the one-hundred-
Breakeven
NEON wins over more
and more readers. At
160,000 sold copies,
the magazine achieved
breakeven barely
eighteen months after
its launch
MANAGEMENT REPORT | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
thousand mark in total circulation in the year of its
fifth anniversary, and continues to grow. It outperformed the market in terms of ad sales growth,
and introduced a new supplement, ENABLE, to
extraordinarily positive response from advertisers
and readers. The SÄCHSISCHE ZEITUNG and
MORGENPOST SACHSEN newspapers remained
very profitable despite a sluggish market performance. The assignment of the newspaper printing operations to the newspaper division opened
up potential for cost cuts and revenue increases.
Dresdner Druck- und Verlagshaus publishing house
further strengthened its market position in ad sales
and postal delivery by acquiring the WVD media
group.
The printing division strengthened its market
position despite price and cost pressure from the
market. Now that the EU authorities have cleared
the gravure merger between arvato, Axel Springer
International Publishing house
G+J generates roughly 57 percent
of its revenues outside Germany
and G+J, the integration of the printing plants and
the realization of synergy projects have begun.
PRINOVIS has been proportionately consolidated at G+J since July 1, 2005. Investments in the
future were made both at PRINOVIS and at Brown
Printing’s operations in the U.S.: PRINOVIS has
laid a cornerstone for future growth with its new
plant in Liverpool, which will take up production
in mid-2006; and in the U.S., Brown Printing realized an extensive reinvestment program at its
Waseca plant. Brown Printing’s two biggest customers, Time Inc. and Meredith Corporation, extended their contracts by eight and five years respectively, securing a positive future for G+J’s
U.S. printing business.
Adjustments to the portfolio have led to further changes at G+J in 2005. The acquisition of
Motor Presse Stuttgart and the finalization of PRINOVIS resulted in a significant increase in headcount, to 13,981 employees (2004: 11,567). Adjusted for portfolio changes, the number of em-
ployees increased by 2 percent. The contribution
In the Netherlands,
made to total revenue by the businesses in GerQUEST has already well many, rose to 43 percent due to portfolio effects
exceeded its circulation (2004: 38 percent), while the U.S. business accounted for 16 percent (2004: 22 percent). Eutargets
rope and the other countries contributed 41 percent to total revenue, a large portion of which
came from the French business. Successful portfolio measures and the profitability of the core
business allowed G+J to continue its innovation
programs in core markets, as well as step up its
expansion to foreign growth markets and to new
lines of business related to its strong magazine
brands.
p
Above expectation
11,352
2003
11,567
2004
2005
13, 981
More employees
The acquisition of Motor Presse Stuttgart and
the PRINOVIS effect resulted in a significant staff
increase
85
86
BALANCE SHEET | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | INCOME STATEMENT
BALANCE SHEET
Gruner + Jahr Group
As of December 31, 2005
INCOME STATEMENT
ASSETS
Gruner + Jahr Group
January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005
in € '000
12/31/2005
12/31/2004*
Change
Intangible assets
498,843
246,265
252,578
Property, plant and equipment
738,875
557,462
181,413
64,516
42,471
22,045
1,302,234
846,198
456,036
Financial assets
in € '000
Revenues
Change in inventories
Other operating income
Income and revenues
2005
2004*
Change
2 ,623,688
2,438,650
185,038
805
-10,560
11,365
121,137
109,885
11,252
2,745,630
2,537,975
207,655
Cost of materials
-935,807
-812,298
-123,509
Personnel costs
-771,055
-726,641
-44,414
Amortization of intangible assets and
depreciation of property, plant and equipment
-99,091
18,277
-730,059
-720,563
-9,496
Capital gains and losses
125,807
14,371
111,436
Result from operating activities
353,702
193,753
159,949
12,129
7,709
4,420
7,896
16
7,880
373,727
201,478
172,249
Results from associated companies
Income from other participations
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
Net interest
-53,343
-39,598
-13,745
Income taxes
-48,650
-43,026
-5,624
Net income before minority interests
271,734
118,854
152,880
Minority interests
-187,839
-46,219
-141,620
NET INCOME AFTER MINORITY INTERESTS
Inventories
71,249
66,733
4,516
Trade accounts receivable
344,396
299,407
44,989
Amounts due from affiliated companies
173,913
194,107
-20,194
Other assets
159,947
152,794
7,153
64,127
61,337
2,790
813,632
774,378
39,254
23,056
13,103
9,953
9,778
8,590
1,188
2,148,700
1,642,269
506,431
12/31/2005
12/31/2004*
Change
77,307
77,307
0
196,878
111,670
85,208
9,910
-25,521
35,431
Shareholders' equity (before minority interests)
284,095
163,456
120,639
Minority interests
248,562
78,170
170,392
Shareholders' equity (incl. minority interests)
532,657
241,626
291,031
40,903
40,903
0
Provisions for pensions and similar obligations
547,714
581,577
-33,863
Other provisions
105,377
50,844
54,533
Provisions
653,091
632,421
20,670
Cash and cash equivalents
Current assets
Deferred tax assets
Prepaid expenses
-80,814
Other operating expenses
Non-current Assets
83,895
72,635
11,260
LIABILITIES
Partners' shares / Subscribed capital
Retained earnings
Net income / loss for the year
Profit participation capital
Liabilities to financial institutions
* after retrospective adjustment due to revised IAS 32 (put-options)
in € '000
22,737
3,399
19,338
Leasing liabilities
125,482
128,173
-2,691
Trade accounts payable
244,294
223,203
21,091
17,569
5,322
12,247
Other Liabilities
353,349
232,120
121,229
Liabilities
763,431
592,217
171,214
43,971
15,543
28,428
114,647
119,559
-4,912
2,148,700
1,642,269
506,431
Amounts due to affiliated companies
Deferred tax liabilities
Deferred income
87
88
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | G+J IN FIGURES, SUPERVISORY BOARD/EXECUTIVE BOARD
SUBSIDIARIES | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
G+J IN FIGURES
MAJOR SUBSIDIARIES AND PARTICIPATIONS
Magazines - Newspapers - Printing Facilities
in € millions
2005
Revenues
2,624
Operating EBIT
Cash flow
1)
Total assets
Equity (incl. minority interests)
Third-party liabilities
Fixed assets
Current assets
Personnel costs
2004*
2,439
2003
2,481
WHOLLY OWNED GERMAN AFFILIATES
FOREIGN AFFILIATES AND JOINT VENTURES
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG, Hamburg
Adria Magazin d.o.o., Zagreb, Croatia
50.00 %
Druck- und Verlagshaus Gruner + Jahr Aktiengesellschaft, Hamburg
AG+J S.N.C., Paris, France
75.00 %
Antenna Publications Ltd., Nikosia, Cyprus
Berliner Presse Vertrieb Gesellschaft mbH, Berlin
Brown Printing Company, Waseca, USA
250
213
238
BÖRSE ONLINE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Munich
259
229
236
DPV Worldwide GmbH (formerly: DPV Deutscher Pressevertrieb
2,149
1,642
1,787
533
242
228
1,616
1,400
1,559
1,302
846
923
847
796
864
GmbH), Hamburg
DPV Network GmbH (formerly: IPV Inland Presse Vertrieb GmbH),
Hamburg
G+J Corporate Media GmbH, Hamburg
G+J Electronic Media Sales GmbH, Hamburg
771
727
764
No. of employees at balance sheet date
13,981
11,567
11,352
G+J International Magazines GmbH, Hamburg
No. of employees (average)
12,719
11,634
11,849
G+J Woman Verlag GmbH, Hamburg
Life & Health Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg
Living at Home Multi Media GmbH, Hamburg
Park Avenue GmbH, Hamburg
“Picture Press” Bild- und Textagentur GmbH, Hamburg
Dr. Bernd Kundrun
Klaus Unger Hamburg, Deputy Chairman
Chairman
Birgit Breuel Hamburg
Fabrice Boé
Dorit Harz-Meyn Hamburg
President Magazine Division France
Thomas Holtrop Oberursel
Bernd Köhler Dresden
stern.de GmbH, Hamburg
View Magazin GmbH, Hamburg
As of January 31, 2006
Dr. Gunter Thielen Gütersloh, Chairman
Dr. Bernd Buchholz
President Magazine Division Germany
51.00 %
G+J Glamour C.V., Diemen, Netherlands
100.00 %
G+J RBA Sp.z.o.o. & Co. Spolka komandytowa, Warsaw, Poland
100.00 %
G+J/RBA Publishing C.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands
100.00 %
G+J Uitgevers C.V., Diemen, Netherlands
100.00%
Motor Presse France SAS, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
54.90 %
Motor-Presse Polska Sp.zo.o., Wroclaw, Poland
54.90 %
Motorpress Argentina S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina
46.12%
Motorpress Brasil Editora Ltda, Sao Paulo, Brazil
25.11%
Motorpress Ibérica, S.A., Madrid, Spain
54.90 %
54.90%
100.00 %
Orion S.N.C, Paris, France
100.00 %
Prisma Presse Société en nom collectif, Paris, France
100.00 %
Financial Times Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg
50.00 %
Shanghai G+J Consulting and Service Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
100.00 %
G+J/RBA GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg
50.00 %
Verlagsgruppe NEWS Ges.m.b.H., Tulln, Austria
VSD S.N.C., Paris, France
Hamburger Journalistenschule Gruner + Jahr –
DIE ZEIT GmbH, Hamburg
56.03 %
100.00 %
95.00 %
manager magazin Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg
24.90 %
PRINOVIS Ltd. & Co. KG, Hamburg
37.45 %
President International Magazine Division
Scholten Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart
54.90 %
Achim Twardy
Sport+Freizeit Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart
54.90 %
Rolf Schmidt-Holtz Gütersloh
Chief Financial Officer
SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg
25.25 %
Michael Walter Hamburg
President Corporate and Publishing Services/Newspapers
WVD Mediengruppe GmbH, Chemnitz
30.00 %
50.00 %
100.00 %
60.00 %
Dr. Torsten-Jörn Klein
Burkhard Schmidt Hamburg
100.00 %
Dresdner Druck- und Verlagshaus GmbH & Co. KG, Dresden
Journalistic Member
Dr. Peter Reuter Hamburg
G y J Espana Ediciones S.L.S en C., Madrid, Spain
NG France S.N.C., Paris, France
Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart
Dr. Siegfried Luther Gütersloh
100.00 %
Motorpresse (Switzerland) AG, Scherzenbach, Switzerland
GERMAN JOINT VENTURES AND ASSOCIATED
UNDERTAKINGS
Angelika Jahr-Stilcken
Johann C. Lindenberg Hamburg
100.00 %
Gruner + Jahr ZAO, Moscow, Russia
G+J Clip (Beijing) Publishing Consulting Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
Norddeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg
As of January 31, 2006
50.00 %
Gruner + Jahr Polska Sp. z.o.o. & Co. Spolka
Madrid, Spain
Neon Magazin GmbH, Hamburg
SUPERVISORY BOARD EXECUTIVE BOARD
50.00 %
Gruner + Jahr / Mondadori S.P.A., Milan, Italy
G y J Revistas y Communicaciones S.L., Madrid, Spain
G+J Zeitschriften-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg
1) calculated by the DVFA/SG method
48.70 %
GALA Ediciones S.L., Madrid, Spain
G y J Publicaciones Internacionales S.L. y Cia, S. en C.,
G+J Electronic Media Service GmbH, Hamburg
Daphne Communications S.A., Athens, Greece
Komandytowa, Warsaw, Poland
Ehrlich & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg
50.00 %
100.00 %
54.90 %
89
90
NOTES | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | NOTES
NOTES TO THE
GLOBAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Gruner + Jahr Group
I. GENERAL BACKGROUND
nancial Expenses. The previous year’s figures had to be adjusted accordingly,
current asset value is capitalized as goodwill and amortized by the straight-line
The companies included in the consolidation saw the following developments
Bertelsmann AG owns majority interests in Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG, Ham-
in a retrospective application of the revised IAS 32 standard as stipulated by
method over its assumed useful life. Hidden reserves and charges revealed at
during the year under review:
burg (G+J KG) and Druck- and Verlagshaus Gruner + Jahr AG, Hamburg (G+J
IAS 32.97.
the time of first consolidation are written down or written back in subsequent
AG). These companies and their subsidiaries are included in Bertelsmann’s
The fiscal year is identical with the calendar year.
ities. Negative differences not resulting from anticipated losses are written
consolidated annual financial statements. G+J AG is the managing general
partner in G+J KG, with a two percent interest in that partnership. In particular,
G+J AG possesses the powers of direction for the G+J Group’s foreign printing and publishing activities, which are for legal purposes largely assigned directly to the shareholders.
fiscal years in accordance with the treatment of the relevant assets and liabil-
Companies included
German
Foreign
Total
Included at December 31, 2004
62
39
101
28
23
51
7
1
8
83
61
144
back over a scheduled period in accordance with the provisions of IAS 22. The
Additions
present fiscal year in contrast with those of the previous fiscal year. There is no
same principles are used for the capital consolidation of partially consolidated
Disposals
direct comparability between the reporting periods because firstly, the majori-
undertakings.
Included on December 31, 2005
The financial statements comply with the obligation to show the figures of the
ty in Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH & Co. KG (MPS) was acquired effective
July 1, 2005. And secondly, a joint venture among Axel Springer (AS), BAG and
Although no legal obligation exists, the joint parent company G+J KG and G+J
G+J KG was established effective July 1, 2005, whereby the gravure opera-
AG voluntarily draw up global financial statements for the G+J Group, which
tions of all three partners were merged into the PRINOVIS printing group.
Associated companies valued at equity are carried at the proportion of the equity owned in them. The principles used for fully consolidated companies are
used for the calculation of differences between acquisition cost and value of
the equity share held. Losses on associated undertakings in excess of the
comprises its German and foreign subsidiaries.
A majority stake in MPS was acquired effective July 1, 2005. Accordingly, MPS and
its subsidiaries (altogether 31 companies) were fully consolidated as of July 1, 2005.
In 2004, MPS’ predecessor company, the Vereinigte Motor Verlage GmbH & Co.
KG, was shown under Other Holdings.
The financial statements are presented in Euro rounded off to the nearest
book value of the relevant shareholding are not shown unless there is an oblig-
The balance sheet and income statement of the G+J Group for the fiscal year
thousand Euros (€´000), or in € millions. For greater clarity, individual items
ation to make an additional contribution. All intra-group profits and losses, sales
In a joint venture among the AS, BAG and G+J KG media groups, their gravure op-
from January 1 to December 31, 2005 were prepared in accordance with In-
were summarized in the balance sheet and income statement presentations.
revenues, expenses, earnings, accounts receivable and payable and provisions
erations were merged into the PRINOVIS printing group effective July 1, 2005. BAG
ternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and with the interpretations
These items are analyzed and explained in greater detail in the notes to the fi-
in the accounts of the companies included in the consolidation are eliminated.
and G+J KG each own 37.45%, AS owns 25.1% of the shares. PRINOVIS is fully
issued by the Standard Interpretations Committee/International Financial Re-
nancial statements.
The same principles are used proportionately in the case of partially consoli-
consolidated in Bertelsmann’s group balance sheet. In BAG’s segment reporting, it
dated undertakings. Interim results from the supply of goods and services be-
is divided equally between the arvato and “Gruner + Jahr” divisions, like a joint ven-
tween the companies included in the consolidation were ignored because they
ture. Thus, in divergence from the actual holding amount, the PRINOVIS group is
are of only minor significance for the Group’s net worth, earnings and finan-
prorated at 50% in the financial statements.
cial situation.
The financial statements of the fully consolidated companies were examined by the
porting Interpretations Committee (SIC/IFRIC) of the IASB. There is a statement of changes in equity as of December 31, 2005. However, the notes to
the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2005 do not contain all the data required by IFRS. Nor has a cash flow statement been pre-
II. CONSOLIDATION
PRINCIPLES USED IN THE CONSOLIDATION
pared. Therefore, the financial statements of the G+J Group do not fully com-
All significant subsidiaries directly or indirectly controlled by G+J AG and G+J
ply with IFRS.
KG as defined in IAS 27 are included in the consolidated financial statements.
The revised accounting standard IAS 32 became effective on January 1, 2005.
Contrary to IAS 32.18 b), the equity components of partnerships to be classified as equity under company law were not shown as third-party liabilities in
the financial statements. As last year, they will be shown at book value as part
of equity.
Put-options held by minority shareholders are no longer shown as pending
transactions, but instead are treated as installment purchases and hence as fi-
Joint ventures as defined in IAS 31 are consolidated proportionately to the interest held in them. Significant associated companies are carried in the balance
sheet at values determined at equity as stipulated in IAS 28 in those cases
where significant influence can be exerted.
Uniform accounting and valuation methods are used in the preparation of the
financial statements of the parent company G+J KG and G+J AG and the subsidiary undertakings included in the consolidation.
appointed auditors in accordance with the auditing principles that apply in the re-
COMPANIES INCLUDED IN THE CONSOLIDATION
144 companies (including the parent companies) were fully consolidated (2004:
101). All except 24 (2004: 29) affiliated German and foreign companies were included in the consolidation.
The companies not included have no significant business activities and were
excluded from the global financial statements because they are as a whole of
minor importance for the group’s net worth, earnings and financial situation.
spective countries.
Audit certificates were obtained for the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with applicable national laws. Secondary commercial balance sheets were
also prepared by the foreign subsidiary undertakings using the uniform IAS/IFRS accounting and valuation methods which are standard throughout the Group.
These reporting packages and the accompanying notes were also examined by the
relevant auditors, who supplied written confirmation that the national financial statements had been correct reconciled with the standard Group accounting and valua-
nancial liabilities. For this reason, the shares subject to the put-option are in-
The acquisition method is used for capital consolidation pursuant to IFRS 3.
cluded in the capital consolidation as if the shares had already been purchased.
This offsets the cost of acquisition of the interest in a company against the
This resulted in €29 million in additions to goodwill (2004: €11 million), as put-
share of the equity acquired. Allowance is made for deferred taxation on hid-
options were taken into account in the capital consolidation. As a result of this
den reserves and charges revealed at the time of first consolidation except in
Of the seventeen associated companies (2004: fifteen), six (2004: seven) were
CURRENCY TRANSLATION
rededication of minority shares subject to the provision as Other Liabilities, the
cases where the relevant tax payments or refunds are made at the time of their
reported at equity. The others were reported at (acquisition) cost due to their
The annual financial statements of the foreign subsidiary undertakings were
relevant profit shares of minority shareholders are now reported as Other Fi-
revelation. Any remaining positive difference between acquisition cost and
secondary relevance for the group balance sheet.
translated into Euro in accordance with the provisions of IAS 21 relating to func-
Twenty-seven jointly held companies (2004: three) were included pro rata in the
tion procedures.
group balance sheet.
91
92
NOTES | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | NOTES
Useful life
Securities available for sale are valued in accordance with IAS 39 at their fair mar-
hedges, as well as from asset increases based on reevaluations. It is added to
10 – 50 years
ket value on the balance sheet closing date, wherever this can be determined.
or deducted from equity and does not affect earnings.
Machinery and technical equipment
5 – 15 years
Any resulting profit/loss is (initially) added or charged to earnings. At the time
Office and factory equipment
3 – 12 years
tional currencies. Assets and liabilities are translated at the middle rate apply-
Property, Plant & Equipment
ing on balance sheet closing date, while the average exchange rate over the
Buildings
fiscal year under review is used for items in the income statement. Difference
in balance sheet items arising from fluctuations in exchange rates used in the
of outflow, or when there are indications of a final decrease in value, these prof-
previous year and similar differences arising for this reason between the income
its/losses are included in Profit and Loss Statement. In cases where write-downs
statement and the balance sheet are credited or debited to equity without af-
were taken on grounds which no longer apply, the assets are written up again
LEASING
fecting earnings.
In cases where a group company enjoys all significant opportunities and bears all sig-
Average rate
Closing day rate
nificant risks under leasing agreements and can consequently be regarded for finan-
1/1-12/31/05 1/1-12/31/04
12/31/05 12/31/04
cial purposes as the owner of the relevant assets (finance leases), these assets are
US Dollar (USD)
1.2475
1.2461
1.1797
1.3621
capitalized at the time of signature of the leasing agreement at the lower of market
Polish Zloty (PLN)
4.0268
4.5188
3.8600
4.0845
value or cash value of future leasing installments. The payment obligation resulting from
35.2712
35.8463
Russian Ruble (RUB)
33.9200 37.7574
the finance lease is carried at the same level under liabilities to financial institutions.
and charged to earnings. Through December 31, 2004 value adjustments to securities available for were fully charged to earnings, exercising the choice that
existed until that date. In cases where it is impossible to determine a fair market value, the relevant shareholdings and securities are carried at their ongoing
historical acquisition cost.
PROVISIONS
In accordance with IAS 19, the level of provisions for pensions and similar obligations is determined by the projected unit credit method. This method makes
allowance not only for basic biometric statistical data but also for current longterm interest rates on the capital market and current assumptions on future
trends in salary and pension levels. The proportion of pension expenses attributable to interest is included in the net interest item.
Except the “other personnel-related provisions” calculated under IAS 19, all oth-
INVENTORIES
er provisions are made based on IAS 37, provided there is a legal or factual external obligation to do so. They are included at full cost of the most probable
In cases where it is reasonably certain that the leased assets will pass into the
Inventories are carried at the lower of acquisition or manufacturing cost or market
ownership of the group company, they are depreciated over their useful life. In
value. Manufacturing cost includes material and direct manufacturing costs plus
all other cases they are depreciated over the period of the licensing agreement.
manufacturing overheads attributable to the relevant production process. In cases
Other provisions are created in accordance with IAS 37 as from the time when
The level of installments payable by the lessee varies with fluctuations in inter-
where acquisition or manufacturing cost is higher than market value on balance
it appears probable not only that an obligation has arisen that will cause a future
est rates charged by the lessor. In addition to the aforementioned finance lease
sheet closing date, the relevant inventory items are written down to net realizable
cash outflow, but also that its amount can be reasonably determined. Provisions
Intangible assets created within the group are capitalized at development cost,
agreements, hire agreements definable as operating lease agreements were
value. Inventories are normally carried at acquisition or manufacturing cost. Iden-
for warranties and threatening losses are created at full manufacturing-related
provided that they fulfill the conditions stipulated in IAS 38. Intangible assets
signed in some cases. In these cases the leased assets remain the property of
tical inventory items are valued at average cost.
cost. Long-term provisions are discounted.
acquired from third parties are capitalized at acquisition cost. Intangible assets
the lessor and the leasing installments are treated as expenses arising during
are normally amortized by the straight-line method over their useful life. Capi-
the accounting period. Total leasing installments payable during the basic, non-
RECEIVABLES
LIABILITIES
talized software is amortized over three to four years, licenses over the period
terminable leasing period are shown under other financial liabilities.
Miscellaneous receivables and other assets are normally carried at the lower of nom-
Liabilities are carried at nominal value. Long-term liabilities are discounted. Lia-
inal or current market value. Long-term receivables are discounted. Receivables de-
bilities in foreign currencies are normally translated at the exchange rate apply-
IMPAIRMENTS OF INTANGIBLE
nominated in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rates applying on
ing on balance sheet closing date.
ASSETS AND PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
balance sheet closing date. Due provision is made for any discernible risks.
Impairments of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment is charged
DEFERRED TAXATION
III. ACCOUNTING AND VALUATION METHODS
INTANGIBLE ASSETS
of the relevant licensing agreement and supply rights and subscription customers over periods of not more than 15 years. Regular amortization of goodwill and of rights similar to goodwill with indefinite useful lives is no longer
FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES
shown in the income statement. These assets are subject to an annual impairment test and are subject to an impairment write-down, if applicable.
volume of liability. Long-term provisions are reduced.
in accordance with IAS 36 in cases where the net realizable value of the assets
In accordance with IAS 39, all financial derivatives are carried in the balance
In accordance with IAS 12, deferred taxation assets or liabilities were created
sheet at market value. These financial instruments are taken up in the balance
for all timing differences between the tax balance sheet and the IAS consoli-
sheet at the date on which the transaction was made and classified separately
dated balance sheet – except for goodwill items not deductible for tax purpos-
as either fair value or cash flow hedges. Individual derivatives do not meet the
es – and for tax-deductible losses carried forward from prior years. Deferred
requirements of IAS 39 for capitalization as covering transactions even though
In cases where the grounds for impairments no longer apply, the assets are
taxation assets are adjusted to allow for items not expected to qualify for later
they do provide financial security. Changes in market value of financial deriva-
Goodwill is not regularly amortized (written-down) in the income statement, but
written up again. The write-up in no case exceeds the amount which would
deduction. The tax rates used for calculating the amount of the deferrals are those
tives are handled as follows:
is recognized as an asset and subject to an annual impairment test. Any write-
have applied if the impairments had not been applied. This rule does not apply
expected to apply in the future on the basis of currently known tax legislation.
down is immediately charged to income as an impairment expense. Write-ups of
for goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful life identified as part of
Adjustments reflecting the effect of tax rate changes on deferred taxation as-
goodwill are not reported as a positive item on the balance sheet.
the purchase price allocation pursuant to IFRS 3.
sets or liabilities are normally made in the accounting period in which the rele-
GOODWILL
at balance sheet closing date has fallen below the book value. The net realizable value is calculated as the higher of the net disposal value or the cash val-
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of an acquired entity and
the share of fair values of the assets and liabilities acquired.
ue of the anticipated future cash flow from the assets.
vant tax regulations are published and are added to or deducted from earnings.
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
SHAREHOLDINGS AND SECURITIES
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FAIR VALUE HEDGES: Changes in market value of these derivatives used as
hedges for assets and liabilities are included in the income statement and reflected in the contra movements in the balance sheet items covered by them.
CASH FLOW HEDGES: Changes in the current value of these derivatives used
Property, plant and equipment are carried at acquisition or manufacturing cost
Significant holdings in associated companies are shown at equity. All other share-
less accumulated depreciation. Scheduled depreciation is charged at uniform
holdings and securities included under fixed or current assets are treated as se-
Other comprehensive income differences resulting from currency translation
come and do not affect earnings. These items are written back against the earn-
rates throughout the group and assumes the following periods of useful life:
curities available for sale.
and the calculation of the fair value of securities available for sale and cash flow
ings on the transactions covered by them.
as hedges to secure future cash flow are included in other comprehensive in-
93
CHRONICLE
The other 10 percent remain the property of the
company’s Managing Partner Ernst Naumann, who
later trades them for 5 percent of the shares in G+J.
burg; in 1984, it will be renamed the Henri Nannen
School in honor of the STERN founder’s 70th anniversary.
1971
1979
G+J buys a 24.75 percent stake in SpiegelVerlag (Der Spiegel). John Jahr (at 70) and Dr. Gerd
Bucerius (at 65) retire from active management.
1972
G+J acquires 15 percent of the Vereinigte
Motor-Verlage GmbH & Co. KG (Auto Motor Sport).
The Gruner + Jahr GmbH & Co. becomes the Gruner
+ Jahr AG & Co printing and publishing company.
The company publishes the premier issue of the
monthly magazine ESSEN&TRINKEN.
1973 Bucerius swaps his G+J holdings for shares
in Bertelsmann AG, which is now G+J’s majority
shareholder (60 percent). The remaining shares belong to John Jahr (35 percent) and Ernst Naumann
(5 percent).
In the U.S., G+J buys the Brown Printing
Company, a gravure/offset printer in Waseca, Minnesota. In Paris, the French edition of GEO hits
newsstands. HÄUSER and ART are launched in
Germany.
1980
The business magazine IMPULSE is
launched in Germany.
1981
Following the successful launch of GEO in
France, G+J introduces a title modeled on the P.M.
concept to the French market: the monthly magazine ÇA M‘INTÉRESSE. Spain, too, shows a burgeoning demand for popular science: MUY INTERESANTE
gets off to a successful start here.
1982
CHRONICLE 1948–2005
1948
The Federal Republic of Germany had not
yet been founded when the Henri Nannen GmbH
published the first issue of STERN on Aug 1, in a
print run of 130,735 copies.
& Co. Gruner owns 39.5 percent, Jahr 32.25 percent and Bucerius 28.25 percent of the shares in
the new company.
1969
1965
Magazine publishers John Jahr (CONSTANZE, BRIGITTE, SCHÖNER WOHNEN, CAPITAL) and Dr. Gerd Bucerius (STERN, Die Zeit etc.)
merge with printer Richard Gruner (Gruner & Sohn,
Gruner Druck GmbH) into the Gruner + Jahr GmbH
Richard Gruner sells his shares. After the
ownership restructuring, Jahr and Bucerius each
own 37.5 percent, and Reinhard Mohn (Bertelsmann) owns a 25 percent stake. Gruner + Jahr acquires 90 percent of the Munich-based publisher
Kindler & Schiermeyer (JASMIN, ELTERN, TWEN).
1975 John Jahr sells a 9.9 percent-stake to
Bertelsmann AG, keeping 25.1 percent.
PRIMA, a women’s magazine newly introduced in France, reaches sold circulation of one
million copies within a year.
1976
1984
Bertelsmann AG takes over Ernst Naumann’s 5-percent holding and now owns 74.9
percent of the shares. GEO makes its debut in
Germany.
1978 G+J becomes the first German publishing
company to venture onto the international magazine market: It takes over Cosmos Distribuidora
S.A. (DUNIA, SER PADRES HOY) in Spain. In the
U.S., G+J buys up Parents Magazine Enterprises
Inc. with its titles PARENTS and YM. In Germany,
the popular-science magazine P.M. makes its debut.
G+J’s School of Journalism is established in Ham-
FEMME ACTUELLE is launched in France.
1985
G+J decides to build a new headquarter
on Baumwall in Hamburg. 100 percent of shares are
acquired in the Ehrlich & Sohn publishing company. G+J buys a 24.9-percent stake in Manager Magazin Verlagsgesellschaft (Manager Magazin).
SCHÖNER ESSEN and FLORA are added to the
magazine portfolio.
1986
TÉLÉ LOISIRS makes its debut in France,
and the women’s magazine MIA is launched in
Spain.
95
1987
GEO WISSEN launches in Germany. In
France, the people magazine VOICI premieres.
GEO makes its debut in Spain.
1989
The first issue of the travel magazine GEO
SAISON hits newsstands in Germany.
ONLINE. In America, G+J buys seven women’s
magazines, including FAMILY CIRCLE and MC
CALL’s, from the New York Times Company. In
Poland, the women’s magazine NAJ makes its first
appearance.
The CHEMNITZER, DRESDNER and MECKLENBURGER MORGENPOST dailies are launched.
In a joint venture with the Milan-based Mondadori
imprint, G+J launches the women’s magazine VERA in Italy. G+J moves into the new Pressehaus
on Baumwall in Hamburg’s harbor. The G+J Executive Board anchors environmentally conscious conduct in the corporate mission.
1991
The newspaper business undergoes further development: Berliner Verlag – which publishes BERLINER ZEITUNG, BERLINER KURIER,
WOCHENPOST and the TV listings guide F.F. – is
acquired by means of a joint venture. G+J also acquires a majority stake in Dresdner Druck- und
Verlagshaus, which publishes SÄCHSISCHE
ZEITUNG. In France, CAPITAL is launched and immediately becomes the country’s leading business publication.
BRIGITTE YOUNG MISS, published as a
special issue since 1990, starts being published as
a separate magazine. 75 percent of the WOCHENPOST is sold off. G+J goes live with its first Internet sites: geo.de, mopo.de, pm-magazin.de, stern.de
and tvtoday.de. In France, the business magazine
L’ESSENTIEL DU MANAGEMENT makes its debut.
1996
FOCUS is launched in Poland, and Germany
sees its first issues of ELTERN FOR FAMILY and
the children’s magazine GEOLINO. The French G+J
subsidiary Prisma Presse takes over the weekly
glossy VSD. The illustration printing plant at G+J’s
print center in Dresden takes up operations.
1997
In Germany, the Internet programming guide
TV TODAY ONLINE + COMPUTER (later ONLINE
TODAY) makes its debut. Brown Printing acquires
the PennWell and Graftek printing plants in Woodstock.
The new newspaper printing machine at G+J’s printing center in Dresden takes up operations.
1992
G+J takes over the remaining 50 percent
of Berliner Verlag. In Italy, the popular-science title
FOCUS premieres and rapidly becomes the country’s highest-circulation monthly magazine.
1993
G+J Poland is established, with headquarters in Warsaw. The women’s magazine CLAUDIA
is launched in the Polish market. In France, the people magazine GALA makes its debut.
1994
The people magazine GALA and the listings guide TV TODAY are launched in Germany.
G+J takes over the investors’ magazine BÖRSE
The GEO family continues to grow: GEO
EPOCHE, a history magazine, makes its debut. Under license by the National Geographic Society, G+J
launches NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC in Germany.
2000
1995
1990
1999
1998
G+J takes over the lifestyle magazine MOJE MIESZKANIE in Poland, followed by TOP GIRL,
a magazine for girls and young women, in Italy.
GEO follows up its success in Germany, France
and Spain by launching in Russia. G+J introduces
a new title in China as well: CAR & MOTOR. A 56
percent shareholding in the Vienna-based NEWS
group (NEWS, TV MEDIA) marks the publisher’s entry into the Austrian market. In fall, the NEWS group
launches its third title, FORMAT. The newspaper
portfolio is enhanced with a 50-percent stake in
the Expres publishing company, Bucharest.
G+J brings the FINANCIAL TIMES
DEUTSCHLAND to German newsstands in a joint
venture with the Pearson media group, London.
Three new titles are launched internationally: the
business magazine CAPITAL in Spain, the technology-oriented consumer title JACK in Italy, and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC in the Netherlands. In the
U.S., G+J enters the business magazine sector by
buying INC. and FAST COMPANY. LIVING AT HOME
and the accompanying Internet portal make their debut in Germany.
2001
The internationalization of successful magazine brands continues with GALA in Poland and
Russia. Following the merger with the Kurier group
and the launch of the women’s magazine WOMAN,
the NEWS group in Austria now publishes 14 magazines.
2002
In Germany, the biweekly women’s magazine WOMAN is launched in October. In summer,
the STERN spin-off STERN SPEZIAL BIOGRAFIE
makes its newsstand debut. In France, GEO ADO
becomes the latest addition to the juvenile magazine market. The parenting title FUMU PARENTS is
the publisher’s second step in opening up the Chinese magazine market. The Berlin newspaper operations are sold to the Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group.
2003
GLAMOUR, produced under license in
Poland, becomes the country’s most successful
launch of the year 2003. Young readers in Germany
find new inspiration in NEON, a magazine that is successfully tested in 2003 with two pilot issues. NEON
has been published monthly since February 2004.
Also in Germany, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
WORLD, a bilingual popular-science magazine for
children, premieres in November 2003. The international extension of G+J’s popular-science portfolio continues with the launch of GEOFOCUS in
Russia. G+J sells its Eastern European newspaper
operations to Switzerland’s Ringier-Verlag for strategic reasons.
2004 The launch of 23 magazine innovations
worldwide sets a new record for the publisher. In
France, Prisma Presse launches TÉLÉ 2 SEMAINES
and TV GRANDES CHAÎNES, the country’s first two
biweekly TV guides. QUEST makes its debut in the
Netherlands. GALA premieres in Spain, the fifth
country where the international people magazine is
published. In Germany, GEO KOMPAKT becomes
the ninth title in the popular GEO family.
ESSEN&TRINKEN FÜR JEDEN TAG, launched in
2003, begins its collaboration with VOX and TV chef
Tim Mälzer.
G+J takes over the majority of shares in Motor
Presse Stuttgart, adding motor, telecommunications
and men’s magazines to the G+J portfolio.
G+J, arvato (Bertelsmann) and Axel Springer form
the gravure company PRINOVIS.
2005 The international innovation campaign continues. G+J launches 16 new magazines in eleven
countries, including PARK AVENUE, VIEW and
HEALTHY LIVING in Germany, GLAMOUR in the
Netherlands, and an international GEO edition in
the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania,
Croatia and Turkey. In summer, the U.S. magazine
operations are sold to Meredith Corp. and the publisher Joe Mansueto. The publisher enters one of
Europe’s biggest growth markets by acquiring 50
percent in the Greek magazine publisher Daphne
Communications.
p
WORLDWIDE PRESENCE
Approximately 14,000 employees produce more than 285
magazines and newspapers in 21 countries on three continents
Germany
Poland
Russia
Netherlands
Contact
Information
France
Spain
Publisher:
Portugal
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG
Switzerland
Corporate Communications +
Italy
Public Affairs
China
Austria
D-20459 Hamburg
Czech Republic
Mexico
Croatia
Slovakia
Am Baumwall 11
Ukraine
Germany
Romania
Greece
Contact:
Dr. Andreas Knaut
Brazil
Hungary
Phone: +49 40 3703 0
E-mail: [email protected]
Argentina
Realization:
G+J Corporate Media GmbH
Friesenweg 2 a-c
D-22763 Hamburg
Germany
At December 31, 2005
ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Annual Report 2005

Transcription

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