Seven months have passed since businessman Jean-Martial Lefranc tried to buy the weekly Marianneofficially put up for sale in April by the CMI France group, owned by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Although he was initially out of favor with the seller, due to a first offer considered too low and rejected in the spring, the 63-year-old, who spent most of his career in video games and had bought the youth press group. Fleurus in 2009, returned to the game in mid-July after the failure of negotiations with the Otium group of the sovereignist and fervent Catholic Pierre-Edouard Stérin.
Jean-Martial Lefranc finally presented his plan to purchase the magazine, during an economic and social committee (CSE) especially dedicated to the sale of the weekly created in 1997 by Jean-François Kahn and Maurice Szafran. His oral exam took place on Tuesday, October 29, in the afternoon. While Marianne is preparing to close the year 2024 with a deficit of 3.5 million euros for only 11 million euros of turnover, the businessman is convinced, however, that it is possible “return to positive cash flow in twelve months”.
Firstly, it is counting on the departure of ten to fifteen journalists thanks to the transfer clause (a provision that allows them to leave an editorial office in conditions similar to those of a financial dismissal) on a staff of just under 50 journalists. The businessman estimates that reducing payroll would allow him to save between 2 and 2.5 million euros annually.
Better website monetization
“There will be no replacement for each exit initially, the priority is to return to balance”details in Worldhowever drawing “Exceptions both in the research unit and on the Web”. He also assures that he wants “sanctuary” sales and subscriptions to kiosks, certainly in decline, but generating 2 million euros of annual profit with between 22,000 and 24,000 weekly sales at kiosks and between 45,000 and 50,000 “print” subscribers.
Jean-Martial Lefranc is also betting on better monetization of the website, which will allow digital sales to go from one million to more than three million in 2029 or 2030. From the current 10,000 digital subscribers, he would like to go to 25,000 in the next decade . At one point mentioned, the strategic partnership with the media group DC Company (KonbiniThe Gorafi, History) finally went out. “We are looking for other solutions”Mr. Lefranc agrees, in conversations with different service providers.
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