GRUNER + JAHR AG & Co KG I WWW.GUJ.COM ANNUAL REPORT 2003 INNOVATION ANNUAL REPORT 2003 COVER Searching for the New: Photo session for the Polish magazine GLAMOUR (see detailed report, p. 30) 04 GRUNER + JAHR I ANNUAL REPORT 2003 CONTENTS I GRUNER + JAHR 05 10 30 36 66 CONTENTS 06 FOREWORD 24 “HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF” 38 “INDEPENDENCE IS THE KEY TO REPORTS Dr. Bernd Kundrun: Gruner + Jahr will continue on its In an interview, BRIGITTE editor-in-chief Andreas OUR SUCCESS” 42 MAGAZINE DIVISION GERMANY course of growth by investing in innovations Lebert explains the success of the BRIGITTE brand Interview with Executive Board Member Angelika 44 NEWSPAPER DIVISION/BUSINESS PRESS GERMANY Jahr-Stilcken on journalistic principles at Gruner + Jahr 46 MAGAZINE DIVISION INTERNATIONAL 48 PRINT DIVISION 10 A GUIDE TO GROWING UP 28 KID’S ROOM – MELTING POT 49 CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT How NEON gives insights into the lives and attitudes How the US magazine PARENTS is taking the Spanish- 52 THE LIVING ELBE 50 CENTRAL SERVICES of the twenty-somethings speaking community by storm How Gruner + Jahr is committed to protecting the full 58 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT 2003 stretch of the Elbe across national borders 62 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2003 16 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 30 BEAUTY FROM WITHIN How TÉLÉ 2 SEMAINES became Europe’s most How GLAMOUR helps to create a new self-awareness 66 THE POWER OF IMAGES FACTS & FIGURES successful new publication among women in Poland How Gruner + Jahr became an acknowledged 72 GLOBAL BALANCE SHEET institution for exhibitions of artworks and photographs 77 PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARY AND ASSOCIATED UNDERTAKINGS 20 EXPLORING NEW TERRAIN 36 I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM 77 SUPERVISORY/EXECUTIVE BOARDS How Gruner + Jahr works in Russia How a new European magazine format was born 78 CHRONICLE 1948 – 2003 when SHOPPING came onto the market 81 MASTHEAD 83 PORTFOLIO 06 GRUNER + JAHR I ANNUAL REPORT 2003 FOREWORD I GRUNER + JAHR 07 GROWTH THROUGH INNOVATION Gruner + Jahr will continue to grow thanks to investments in innovative publishing concepts. In addition to reinforcing its core business, expansion on the international growth markets is also an important item on the agenda of the biggest magazine publishing house in Europe. 2003 WAS A YEAR OF INNOVATIONS FOR GRUNER Our core activities in Germany and other coun- + JAHR. New projects were launched in various tries form the broad base on which our business parts of the world, creative concepts were devel- stands. We made substantial investments in the oped and ideas were born. This process of innova- expansion and ongoing development of our strong tion was initiated in 2003, will bear its first fruits in brands during 2003. Our established titles are the 2004 and continue in the years ahead. pillars that support our group’s success. When mar- ket conditions are unfavorable, they need careful Despite the difficult environment prevailing in nurturing and new investment. 2003, Gruner + Jahr, Europe’s largest magazine pub- lisher, once again set standards for corporate suc- Quality is the watchword for G+J’s strong mag- cess and return on sales. Although sales revenues azine brands, both in Germany and internationally. were down and the slump in sales of advertising Their journalistic and technical quality is what sets space continued, operative earnings rose to EUR them apart from the competition. Their names stand 238 million, equivalent to a 9.6 percent return on throughout the world for journalistic competence sales and 1.3 percentage points up on the previous and credibility guaranteed by highly professional year. ROS would have been even higher at 12.1 editorial staffs. The year 2003 saw further invest- percent had it not been for the substantial invest- ments in the editorial skills and creative resources ments made in our publishing business. behind our established titles, to ensure that our strong magazine brands are constantly adapted to We had laid the foundations for this perfor- suit the changing needs of their readership and the mance in the earlier years, by taking quick action to market. These top brands are the basis for our cut costs before it was too late, and also to concen- international growth and for the further innovative trate Gruner + Jahr’s activities on its core business expansion of our brand families with which we fields. Gruner + Jahr has since pursued a well- strengthen the leading positions of these brands balanced corporate strategy. We generate a healthy in different markets. return on sales, while at the same time investing in areas destined to produce growth in the future. Our innovation offensive is two-pronged – it We also take risks because willingness to accept seeks to consolidate and strengthen our core busi- mistakes is a key feature of any bold business poli- ness, and is also one of the elements in our growth cy. Success is impossible without taking risks. No strategy. Companies and publishers are locked in a risk, no gain. struggle, not merely over price and quality, but also Dr. Bernd Kundrun, President and CEO of Gruner + Jahr 08 GRUNER + JAHR I ANNUAL REPORT 2003 FOREWORD I GRUNER + JAHR 09 over leadership in innovation. It is becoming more + Jahr’s very existence depends on the credibility Gruner + Jahr’s French and European magazine in the international markets will be a significant and more important to have ideas and to use them of its titles and the company must defend these business, with sales now running to around 2 mil- growth factor in 2004. We plan to intensify our ac- because innovation is the only way to achieve the ne- against increasing pressures from media agencies lion per issue. tivities in the growth markets of Asia and Eastern cessary growth impetus in business and in society and industrial advertisers, especially at times when Europe where we are already active, and to get star- as a whole. Because every company needs to in- the economic situation is far from favorable. Gruner + Jahr can also report success in its ted on developing new markets for Gruner + Jahr troduce innovations systematically, we are working German domestic market, where it remains market products in other countries. on the introduction of the kind of changes in our cor- In addition to consolidating our core business leader with EUR 618 million gross advertising rev- porate culture that will give our highly capable staff and revitalizing our main brands, our innovation of- enues, EUR 88 million ahead of its nearest compet- Gruner + Jahr, Europe’s largest magazine pub- more scope to develop their creativity. fensive is based on three distinct strategies – first, itor. That means that one in every six euros invested lisher, once again set standards for corporate suc- the development of line extensions, and second the in advertising in a German magazine catering to the cess and innovation in 2003. Growth is now a prio- As part of a strategic process introduced at transfer of brands and concepts from one country general public goes to a Gruner + Jahr title. This clear- rity on our agenda. The foundation for continuing Gruner + Jahr in 2003, we are now working on pro- to another. Exporting titles such as GEO and CAPI- ly confirms the quality and performance of our titles commercial success in the years to come will, as in jects – selected from an abundance of new ideas – TAL has always been one of Gruner + Jahr’s in a bitterly competitive situation. the past, be the independence and the journalistic that will generate the growth sources of the future. strengths. Third, the development of completely quality of our magazines. Read about some of the Our global offensive of new titles and projects bears new, independent magazines. We have successes Although the economy in general and the ad- innovations in the world of Gruner + Jahr on the fol- the title ”Innovation Now!”. in all three of these strategies. vertising space market in particular are expected to lowing pages. We wish you pleasant reading. pick up only slightly in 2004, this will nonetheless This innovation offensive is driven by journalistic One of the year’s outstanding successes is de- contribute to growth. Gruner + Jahr is aiming to values. We research the interests of our readership scribed on page 16 of this report. Gruner + Jahr’s achieve moderate sales growth despite difficult and formulate solutions to satisfy them. After all,in French subsidiary Prisma Presse achieved one of operating conditions and will also be prepared to ma- the final analysis it is the market, i.e. our readership, the most impressive European magazine launches ke further investments in its publishing business. that tips the balance between success and failure. of the postwar period with TÉLÉ 2 SEMAINES, a The solid foundations laid in 2003 will form a basis Our corporate creed is that new titles must satisfy magazine containing two weeks of TV programs. for further growth. Gruner + Jahr has both the ide- the highest standards of quality and journalistic The first issue sold over one million copies, and the as and the financial resources to achieve further independence in their respective segments. Gruner magazine promises to become a major pillar of growth in 2004, in Germany and beyond. Expansion Dr. Bernd Kundrun President of the Gruner + Jahr Executive Board EBITA ROS EXTERNAL SALES EUR mill. EUR + 4 MILL. in % + 1,3% POINTS EUR mill. 238 234 9.6 938 613 Europe United States 8.3 (and other countries) 25 % 38 % 117 3.9 37 % 930 Other facts and figures on the 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 Germany fiscal year 2003: pages 72–76 pro forma pro forma 10 GRUNER + JAHR I ANNUAL REPORT 2003 INNOVATIONS I GRUNER+JAHR 11 A GUIDE TO GROWING UP How STERN’s innovative youth magazine NEON illuminates the world of the twenty-something community each month.