Oliver Voight:
"We are Gruner und Jahr, we are not in financial trouble"
From the top floor of his company's office, Oliver Voigt, the chief executive officer of Gruner und Jahr Polska (G+J Polska), has a bird's eye view of Warsaw - dynamic and hard working, he says. Voigt, who is battling both domestic and German rivals on Poland's fiercely competitive consumer magazine market, arrived last year from Austria after G+J Polska's former CEO went to work for the competition. Voigt was chosen to head up the company's Polish operations after successfully rolling out the local edition of Cosmopolitan in 1997. Last month he talked to the WBJ's Anna Kocińska about the magazine business and the publisher's strategy for this year. The following is an edited version of their conversation. Q: How would you summarize the company's performance last year? A: Last year was a very speedy year because we had to make a management change (in Poland), which is always very new for people. We had to bring a new magazine through in Gala. We had to bring Naj back into shape because what G+J is looking for worldwide is market segment leadership. And we started an (Internet) portal in December where we logged more than 1.3 million page views. So last year was very active. Q: What are your predictions for this year? A: In 2002 (publishing companies) have a chance to increase the quality in this market because we're facing tougher times. The ad industry is selectively watching where they invest their money. Now it's time for quality publishers - for creative publishers and all the sunshine captains who always come up in the strong growth years - to reconsider and do their homework. Economically, I hope 2002 will be a bit better year than a lot of analysts predict. There is already an opinion circulating that the autumn will be better. I believe that too. Q: Many publishers are launching new projects despite the economic situation. What about you? A: We see certain interesting areas but I don't see room for (the launch of financial magazine) Capital. My opinion hasn't changed. Of course you can do Capital tomorrow but then we will have the same phenomenon like our competitors - no ad pages or not enough ad pages. The borderline for a magazine like Capital is 30 ad pages a month. We can just watch what's happening on the market. I think that all the decision makers at G+J share my opinion. Q: Axel Springer Polska's financial monthly Profit ranks No. 1 in circulation. If it weren't the market leader, would you go ahead with the Capital project, which you started last year? A: I would definitely not do it. Absolutely not. The launch of Profit was the last argument against launching Capital. And right now we have Profit as a compass and we can check month by month how many ad pages they have and how many copies they are selling. If I were them, I wouldn't be satisfied. That's why I'm happy we didn't launch Capital. Q: German publishers are competing fiercely on the Polish market and are appearing to mimic each other's moves. A: I think the market is very tough. It's very competitive and everybody plays. I think this is very good because the reader is benefiting from that. We have to be - week by week, month by month - better, smarter and quicker. But I'm not having an image fight here. For us it's absolutely normal to plan a magazine and even have a (trial) issue and then decide not to do it. We don't have any image problems with that. Q: Which publication generates most of your profits? A: Claudia. Claudia is the flagship of G+J Polska. It's very beneficial for us in terms of advertising but also in terms of distribution. Claudia is the only monthly (women's) magazine (in Poland) that sells 800,000 copies and in some cases even sells more than 1 million copies. That's why we decided during the so-called economic crisis to reinvest in Claudia since issue No. 11. We're feeling very good about that. Q: How much did you spend on the relaunch of Claudia? A: We always spend as much as necessary. Q: If you compare sales of the new format with the old one, can you say you're doing better? A: It's comparable. We are at the same level. It's extremely beneficial for us because we're selling double what our next competitor sells. In terms of circulation, Olivia (published by Axel Springer Polska) is our next competitor. But with the re-launch of Claudia we have established a very unique position. We're not a kind of upgraded, so-called select magazine, which has nearly no circulation or less circulation. There is one women's magazine with substantial circulation, which is Twój Styl (owned by H.Bauer), but the rest are around 100,000 copies, which is not very much. On the other hand, we're clearly not an advisory or cheaper kind of magazine. Claudia is very well established in the middle. And the advertising industry is clearly booking Claudia. Generally speaking it includes 20 ad pages. At this time, it's a great result. In January we (had) excellent ad booking when most magazines are nearly free of advertising. Q: When can you expect a return on Claudia's relaunch? A: We're not investing for immediate return. We're investing for our market position. It was for us a very strategic move to build Claudia's position. The relaunch was a joint concept of the publisher, editor in chief, mine and of our owners. We wanted to show to loyal Claudia readers and buyers that we're making their magazine - even after nine years - more attractive. Q: Are you sure Claudia will maintain its position? A: I hope so. You never can bet on it, though. You shouldn't bet - we're in publishing, not in a casino. Q: If sales of Claudia decline, will you be in big financial trouble? A: Not at all. We are Gruner und Jahr, we are not in financial trouble. That's an honest answer. And again, it was the first step and to make it clear, we'll work as hard as we can to keep Claudia No. 1 in the monthly segment. I'd even bet my own money on this. Q: But how much of your revenue does Claudia account for? A: It makes quite a big portion of our revenue, but due to our very, very successful relaunch of Naj magazine, we have a second strong producer of turnover. Naj nearly tripled its sales. We were for the last two or three years No. 3 in this area. We're clearly No. 2 now. Q: What's so special about Gala? Why did you launch it? A: Gala is new on the market. It's a continuation of a position we've held since 1995 with Halo weekly. Gala is in very good shape according to our business plan. Q: What is your business plan for Gala? A: This is an issue I (only) discuss with the magazine's owner. Q: But what's so unique about Gala? A: According to the (Association of Press Distributors) ZKDP results from last August, we sold 267,000 copies and in September 225,000 copies. And remember Gala is a weekly so if you compare it to Viva or Na żywo, which sometimes people do, they're biweeklies. They sold 261,000 in July, so everything they sell in two weeks we sell in one. As for content, Gala is the most current magazine in its field. I think we can still increase sales. Q: Are you satisfied with the sales of Focus? A: Its editor in chief is working on refreshing Focus. It's not a relaunch because a lot of old Focus will stay. We're doing it to satisfy our ad clients and to attract new readers and buyers. Focus is probably the most underrepresented magazine in G+J Polska. The biggest success we have is Focus in Italy where it's selling 850,000 copies a month. We believe if we do Focus in a reshaped, refreshed and new editorial format - and I'm not talking about size and paper I mean editorial - we can attract more buyers. I would say the first step for Focus should be 250,000 copies. This is our benchmark. We will follow our Italian model. We want to bring Focus closer to current events. The cover story of Focus right now is not always up to date or newsy. It's a monthly but we can reflect deeply researched events in the world. It shouldn't be a weekly, definitely not. To keep its style, which makes use of deep research of events, we would need a great staff if we would like to become a weekly. From the point of view of economies of scale, it doesn't make sense. I'm not even sure if there are enough buyers and readers who look for a magazine like Focus on a weekly basis. Q: How is the Western print market different from the Polish market? A: France and Germany are very traditional magazine countries. People there appreciate and love magazines. It's absolutely a higher share of print advertising than you have in Poland. This is a major difference. And this country is much more focused on TV, which makes the life of publishers harder. Q: Are you working on any higher-profile magazines? A: I think there is space for quality magazines. We'll see what we do - we have no need to do anything tomorrow. Now we are facing times when we have to continue what we started in 2001. G+J has in the last six months had 30% growth in advertising (from July to December 2001) when the entire world market went down. We want to concentrate on being a very good efficient partner for the ad industry and at the same time increase our infrastructure. We're making ourselves ready and we have ideas. Q: What's your goal in Poland? A: I want to have a company where in two years youngsters from universities will say it's worth going to G+J. It's fun there. They have good people. It's a nice lively, creative and controversial publishing house. This is my personal objective. The publishing business is all about people - this is what I believe. If you don't have the right people who make it, who live it, you're lost in the desert. Q: Aren't you concerned by the danger of a government-imposed import tax? A: I'm concerned as an entrepreneur and as a liberal human being I think that the wrong taxes will slow down economic growth. I hope that people in charge and in power will make the right decisions.
From the top floor of his company's office, Oliver Voigt, the chief executive officer of Gruner und Jahr Polska (G+J Polska), has a bird's eye view of Warsaw - dynamic and hard working, he says. Voigt, who is battling both domestic and German rivals on Poland's fiercely competitive consumer magazine market, arrived last year from Austria after G+J Polska's former CEO went to work for the competition. Voigt was chosen to head up the company's Polish operations after successfully rolling out the local edition of Cosmopolitan in 1997. Last month he talked to the WBJ's Anna Kocińska about the magazine business and the publisher's strategy for this year. The following is an edited version of their conversation. Q: How would you summarize the company's performance last year? A: Last year was a very speedy year because we had to make a management change (in Poland), which is always very new for people. We had to bring a new magazine through in Gala. We had to bring Naj back into shape because what G+J is looking for worldwide is market segment leadership. And we started an (Internet) portal in December where we logged more than 1.3 million page views. So last year was very active. Q: What are your predictions for this year? A: In 2002 (publishing companies) have a chance to increase the quality in this market because we're facing tougher times. The ad industry is selectively watching where they invest their money. Now it's time for quality publishers - for creative publishers and all the sunshine captains who always come up in the strong growth years - to reconsider and do their homework. Economically, I hope 2002 will be a bit better year than a lot of analysts predict. There is already an opinion circulating that the autumn will be better. I believe that too. Q: Many publishers are launching new projects despite the economic situation. What about you? A: We see certain interesting areas but I don't see room for (the launch of financial magazine) Capital. My opinion hasn't changed. Of course you can do Capital tomorrow but then we will have the same phenomenon like our competitors - no ad pages or not enough ad pages. The borderline for a magazine like Capital is 30 ad pages a month. We can just watch what's happening on the market. I think that all the decision makers at G+J share my opinion. Q: Axel Springer Polska's financial monthly Profit ranks No. 1 in circulation. If it weren't the market leader, would you go ahead with the Capital project, which you started last year? A: I would definitely not do it. Absolutely not. The launch of Profit was the last argument against launching Capital. And right now we have Profit as a compass and we can check month by month how many ad pages they have and how many copies they are selling. If I were them, I wouldn't be satisfied. That's why I'm happy we didn't launch Capital. Q: German publishers are competing fiercely on the Polish market and are appearing to mimic each other's moves. A: I think the market is very tough. It's very competitive and everybody plays. I think this is very good because the reader is benefiting from that. We have to be - week by week, month by month - better, smarter and quicker. But I'm not having an image fight here. For us it's absolutely normal to plan a magazine and even have a (trial) issue and then decide not to do it. We don't have any image problems with that. Q: Which publication generates most of your profits? A: Claudia. Claudia is the flagship of G+J Polska. It's very beneficial for us in terms of advertising but also in terms of distribution. Claudia is the only monthly (women's) magazine (in Poland) that sells 800,000 copies and in some cases even sells more than 1 million copies. That's why we decided during the so-called economic crisis to reinvest in Claudia since issue No. 11. We're feeling very good about that. Q: How much did you spend on the relaunch of Claudia? A: We always spend as much as necessary. Q: If you compare sales of the new format with the old one, can you say you're doing better? A: It's comparable. We are at the same level. It's extremely beneficial for us because we're selling double what our next competitor sells. In terms of circulation, Olivia (published by Axel Springer Polska) is our next competitor. But with the re-launch of Claudia we have established a very unique position. We're not a kind of upgraded, so-called select magazine, which has nearly no circulation or less circulation. There is one women's magazine with substantial circulation, which is Twój Styl (owned by H.Bauer), but the rest are around 100,000 copies, which is not very much. On the other hand, we're clearly not an advisory or cheaper kind of magazine. Claudia is very well established in the middle. And the advertising industry is clearly booking Claudia. Generally speaking it includes 20 ad pages. At this time, it's a great result. In January we (had) excellent ad booking when most magazines are nearly free of advertising. Q: When can you expect a return on Claudia's relaunch? A: We're not investing for immediate return. We're investing for our market position. It was for us a very strategic move to build Claudia's position. The relaunch was a joint concept of the publisher, editor in chief, mine and of our owners. We wanted to show to loyal Claudia readers and buyers that we're making their magazine - even after nine years - more attractive. Q: Are you sure Claudia will maintain its position? A: I hope so. You never can bet on it, though. You shouldn't bet - we're in publishing, not in a casino. Q: If sales of Claudia decline, will you be in big financial trouble? A: Not at all. We are Gruner und Jahr, we are not in financial trouble. That's an honest answer. And again, it was the first step and to make it clear, we'll work as hard as we can to keep Claudia No. 1 in the monthly segment. I'd even bet my own money on this. Q: But how much of your revenue does Claudia account for? A: It makes quite a big portion of our revenue, but due to our very, very successful relaunch of Naj magazine, we have a second strong producer of turnover. Naj nearly tripled its sales. We were for the last two or three years No. 3 in this area. We're clearly No. 2 now. Q: What's so special about Gala? Why did you launch it? A: Gala is new on the market. It's a continuation of a position we've held since 1995 with Halo weekly. Gala is in very good shape according to our business plan. Q: What is your business plan for Gala? A: This is an issue I (only) discuss with the magazine's owner. Q: But what's so unique about Gala? A: According to the (Association of Press Distributors) ZKDP results from last August, we sold 267,000 copies and in September 225,000 copies. And remember Gala is a weekly so if you compare it to Viva or Na żywo, which sometimes people do, they're biweeklies. They sold 261,000 in July, so everything they sell in two weeks we sell in one. As for content, Gala is the most current magazine in its field. I think we can still increase sales. Q: Are you satisfied with the sales of Focus? A: Its editor in chief is working on refreshing Focus. It's not a relaunch because a lot of old Focus will stay. We're doing it to satisfy our ad clients and to attract new readers and buyers. Focus is probably the most underrepresented magazine in G+J Polska. The biggest success we have is Focus in Italy where it's selling 850,000 copies a month. We believe if we do Focus in a reshaped, refreshed and new editorial format - and I'm not talking about size and paper I mean editorial - we can attract more buyers. I would say the first step for Focus should be 250,000 copies. This is our benchmark. We will follow our Italian model. We want to bring Focus closer to current events. The cover story of Focus right now is not always up to date or newsy. It's a monthly but we can reflect deeply researched events in the world. It shouldn't be a weekly, definitely not. To keep its style, which makes use of deep research of events, we would need a great staff if we would like to become a weekly. From the point of view of economies of scale, it doesn't make sense. I'm not even sure if there are enough buyers and readers who look for a magazine like Focus on a weekly basis. Q: How is the Western print market different from the Polish market? A: France and Germany are very traditional magazine countries. People there appreciate and love magazines. It's absolutely a higher share of print advertising than you have in Poland. This is a major difference. And this country is much more focused on TV, which makes the life of publishers harder. Q: Are you working on any higher-profile magazines? A: I think there is space for quality magazines. We'll see what we do - we have no need to do anything tomorrow. Now we are facing times when we have to continue what we started in 2001. G+J has in the last six months had 30% growth in advertising (from July to December 2001) when the entire world market went down. We want to concentrate on being a very good efficient partner for the ad industry and at the same time increase our infrastructure. We're making ourselves ready and we have ideas. Q: What's your goal in Poland? A: I want to have a company where in two years youngsters from universities will say it's worth going to G+J. It's fun there. They have good people. It's a nice lively, creative and controversial publishing house. This is my personal objective. The publishing business is all about people - this is what I believe. If you don't have the right people who make it, who live it, you're lost in the desert. Q: Aren't you concerned by the danger of a government-imposed import tax? A: I'm concerned as an entrepreneur and as a liberal human being I think that the wrong taxes will slow down economic growth. I hope that people in charge and in power will make the right decisions.
