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landmarks
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overview
This
profile considers the German Hubert Burda publishing group.
It covers -
introduction
Munich-based Burda is active in publishing, printing,
new media, radio, television production and direct marketing.
It publishes some 235 publications worldwide (64 in Germany).
In 2002 group turnover was 1.857 billion euros, up from
around DM2.07 billion in 1998. Burda has subsidiaries
in France, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Luxembourg,
Bulgaria, Russia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Thailand, Singapore and US.
The Burda corporate site is here.
the group
Burda traces its origins to a printing operation founded
by Franz Burda in 1898. The printery expanded into dressmaking
patterns - becoming the dominant producer in Germany by
1933 - and magazines. It benefitted from aryanisation
in the late 1930s, acquiring some competing printers.
Business revived in 1945 when it was authorised to print
schoolbooks and stamps in the French zone of occupied
Germany. Franz Burda II and wife Aenne launched a succession
of womens magazines and continued to expand the family's
printing interests in competition with Bauer.
Their sons Franz, Frieder and Hubert acquired a substantial
stake in competitor Axel Springer
Verlag following the flotation of that group (moves by
the ailing Axel Springer to transfer control to Hubert
were blocked by the Cartel Office). Tensions within the
family following the death of Franz II saw Franz III and
Frieder Burda initially co-operate with the Springer family
to contain Leo Kirch's influence
- notably by denying him a seat on Springer's supervisory
board - and then pool their 25.9% stake with Kirch's 26%
before selling their shares to the Springers.
That sale was unsuccessfully challenged in court by Hubert
Burda, who subsequently acquired his brothers' interests
in most of the Burda group - now renamed Hubert Burda
Verlag - for around DM350 million.
Franz and Frieder gained attention for investment in paper
and pulp manufacture (MD and Technocell), services (Pressegrossvertrieb,
later sold to Valora) and an unsuccessful competitor to
Lufthansa. Frieder is perhaps best known for establishment
of a major contemporary art museum in Baden.
Hubert Burda has had indifferent success online, with
closure of the Europe Online ISP (in partnership with
Pearson, Springer and Hachette)
in 1996 and later sale of its stake in the ambitious international
Health Online Service (HOS) multimedica venture.
imprints
The group is best known for publication of Focus,
Bunte, Elle, Freundin, Das
Haus, InStyle, Burda Modemagazin
and Freizeit Revue.
Burda has emphasised international alliances - licensing
and joint ventures - with groups such as News
(eg the abortive Super!Zeitung tabloid in eastern
Germany), Hachette (eg Elle), Hearst
and RCS MediaGroup.
Titles include -
Germany
Focus
Bunte
Elle
Freundin
Chip
Das Haus
InStyle
Burda Modemagazin
Freizeit Revue
Ein Schöner Garten
Meine Familie & Ich
Anna
Glücks-Revue
Verena
Superillu
Super TV
Schweriner Volkszeitung
Norddeutschen Neuesten Nachrichten
Czech Republic (80% of joint venture with RCS MediaGroup)
Neilepsy recepty
Neilepsy recepty special
Katka
Nasa krasna zahrada
Anna
Betynka
Burda
Svet Zeny
Bydlime s kvetinami
Katka Krizovky
Autohit
Cinema
Nasutulny byt
Hungary (joint venture)
Csodakert
Croatia
Lisa
Poland (80% of joint venture)
Moj piekny Ogrod
Moj piekny Ogrod Special
Sol I Pieprz
Magazine
Burda
Anna
Twoj Relaks
Dobre Rady
Dobre Rady Recepty
Kwiaty w domu
Dobre Rady Kwiaty
Romania (80% of joint venture)
Burda
Despre Tine
Ioana
Secrete bucatariei
Cool girl
Locuinta mea
Gradina lmea de vis plate
Serbia
Lisa
Slovenia
Cosmopolitan
Lisa
Magazine
100 000
80%
Men’s health
Playboy
Avto Magazin
Avto Magazin/Moto Katalog
Nova
Connect
studies
There are no major English-language studies of the group
or Burda family. Works in German include Die Burdas
(Hamburg: 2002) by Peter Köpf.
 next
page (Burda landmarks)
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