Business publications refine focus, new products underway
Solidification of readership and revenue behind a few major players in the national press market has many speculating that publishers will now turn their attention to business publications and that the result could spark a battle for the niche market.
Although circulation for business publications pales compared to that of general news dailies, more targeted information services could be the banner for the future, media watchers said. And as the economy grows and the public tires of the political banter and looks for ways to save and invest, business publications could be the answer. And the internet will likely figure prominently into the build out, they said.
"People want to know how to become trendy and how to make money these days," said Pawel Rabiej, vice president of Business Press, the publisher of Businessman magazine. "If we still don't have strong business periodicals in Poland, it's not because people don't want to follow economic news, but because the publisher's concept was wrong."
While readership solidifies behind a few, main national dailies, fewer people overall are scanning through the printed page than they did in the 1980s, said Zbigniew Bajka, deputy head of the Press Research Center, which is affiliated with Jagiellonian University in Krakow. But those who do pick up newspapers more and more have very specific interests, he said. "That's good news for profiled papers," Bajka said.
Publishers have traveled a long journey since 1990. Formerly state owned, print was among the first sectors to be privatized and allowed to flourish with multitudes of publications flooding kiosks and newsstands in the early years of the transition. In many cases foreign publishers bought into traditional publications, but there have also been a host of new publications backed by large Western and homespun publishers stamping their brand on the marketplace here. "I don't expect serious changes in groups such as main dailies, as we are entering the phase of stabilization," Bajka, said. "The future belongs to specialized papers and publications, which will have to meet specific interests of readers, cover specific professions."
The big name publications in the national press market include daily tabloid Super Express, a market leader with a daily circulation greater than 496,000 copies, based on a recent WBJ survey of publishers. (See The List, page 14.) Super Express is owned by Swedish group Marieberg International, a subsidiary of the Bonnier Group.
Gazeta Wyborcza, owned by publicly traded Agora, runs a strong second with 406,000 in daily circulation, followed by Rzeczpospolita with more than 270,000 in daily circulation and now owned by Presspublica Holding Norway, an Orkla Media subsidiary.
More targeted business press is a new phenomenon in an economy that for two generations was driven by bureaucrats and quota systems, and ownership, private property and incentive were exceptions to the rule. Thus business press publishers here have created a market from scratch and those leading the charge are not discouraged by the niche market's modest circulation numbers.
As Poles become less interested in politics and the economy progresses, people will focus on how business and the economy impact their lives, publishers said.
"The research we did before launching Puls Biznesu proved that the market for business press must appear at some point in an economically healthier and well-developing country of 40 million people," said Waldemar Tevnell, president of Bonnier Business Polska, the paper's publisher. "So, our conclusion was the sooner we enter that market, the better."
Puls Biznesu was launched in 1997, publishing twice a week. Today a daily, Puls Biznesu has 32,000 copies in circulation with a subscriber base of 9,000, according to Tevnell. The paper has seen 300% increase a year in the number of ads, said Tevnell, who would not detail ad revenue growth except to say it's increased significantly.
Despite growth, Puls Biznesu has yet to turn a profit, Tevnell said. "But, of course it's a long-term investment and it might be a few years before it will become profitable," he said. For example, Dagens Industrie, Puls Biznesu's counterpart in Sweden, started in 1976 and took seven years to become profitable, Tevnell said. It now yields a $40-million return, Tevnell said.
Daily Parkiet with a circulation of about 70,000 readers, according to market researcher SMG/KRC, could be considered a leader in this niche but growing market segment. Parkiet focuses on information about companies traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) as well as money markets and government financial policy. Parkiet closed last year with a net profit of zl. 500,000, said Lukasz Zuk, president of publisher Parkiet.
"At the moment our market is relatively small, but its volume will increase as the capital market in Poland will be expanding," Zuk said. This year, ad revenue during the first six months were slower because there weren't that many companies which went public. Ads from companies going into an initial public offering (IPO) play an important role in Parkiet's revenue, he said.
Concerning circulation, Zuk said, "We want to widen our group of readers, but obviously 100,000 circulation is not a realistic figure for us."
The success of business publications here will depend on focus, publishers said.
New management at Business Press, including Rabiej and President Jan Jaroszewicz, has decided to invest several millions of dollars to reshape Businessman and make it the company's flagship publication. The 10-year-old magazine will focus more on shaping opinion and trends "as people don't need to be taught any more," Rabiej said. What they need is to become familiar with various life styles and approaches, he said.
Business Press is also preparing to launch "Young," a magazine for young entrepreneurs. In September, 2000, Dom i Biuro, now a supplement, will be launched as a separate magazine. Puls Biznesu is also building a more focused platform, which management calls "clear formula" approach.
"We are a fairly light and a reader-friendly paper for entrepreneurs," said Tevnell of publisher Bonnier. "I think that advertisers are beginning to see that it's better to spend money on clearly profiled press as they precisely know to whom a paper is addressed."
