Gruner + Jahr
 |
|
| Subsidiary of Bertelsmann | |
| Genre | Publishing house |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Founder |
Henri Nannen Gerd Bucerius John Jahr Sr. Richard Gruner |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, Germany |
|
Area served
|
Europe |
|
Key people
|
Bernd Klaus Buchholz (CEO) Torsten-Jörn Klein (head of International Magazines) |
| Products | Newspapers, magazines |
|
Number of employees
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12,500 |
| Subsidiaries | Prisma Presse S.N.C. (100%) Motor Presse Stuttgart (59,9%) NEWS Publishing Group (56%) ... |
| Website | http://www.guj.de/ |
Gruner + Jahr AG & Co KG is Europe's largest printing and publishing firm. It is headquartered in Hamburg.
Originally founded on 1 August 1948 as the Henri Nannen publishing house, Gruner + Jahr was created in 1965 from a merger by acquisition, by publishers John Jahr Sr. and Gerd Bucerius joining the printing firm of Richard Gruner. In 1969, Richard Gruner retired, and thanks to the entrepreneurship of Reinhard Mohn, Bertelsmann acquired 25% of the ownership. Over the next fifteen years, the firm grew by expansion, acquisition (publishers Kindler & Schiermeier) and merger (Spiegel Verlag and Motor-Presse Verlag). By 1976, Bertelsmann owned a 74.9% stake, and the Hamburg publishing family Jahr owned 25.1%, a balance which has been maintained through 2007.
In 1978, Gruner + Jahr became the first German publishing house to expand into other European and International markets. Over the next twenty years, publishing houses in France, the USA, and Spain were purchased, and a number of new magazines were started in Germany including Impulse, Schöner Essen, and Gala. In 1990 Gruner + Jahr moved into its new headquarter at Neustadt's Baumwall, a 88,000 m2 (947,000 sq ft) large, metal clad office complex designed by Otto Steidle. In 2005, Gruner + Jahr exited the U.S. magazine business, selling its women's magazine portfolio to the Meredith Corporation and its business magazine portfolio to Mansueto Ventures. In 2005-2006, Gruner + Jahr participated in the Du bist Deutschland marketing campaign.
In 2006, Gruner + Jahr surpassed Hubert Burda Media to become the largest European publisher, based on market share.
Gruner + Jahr publishes approximately 285 magazines and newspapers in 22 countries, including Poland, Spain, Russia, France and the People's Republic of China. As of 2007[update], Gruner + Jahr publications include:
Bernd Kundrun is Chairman of the Board, and also a member of the executive committee of Bertelsmann. Gruner + Jahr has more than 12,500 employees and had gross profits for 2005 of 2.62 billion euro, of which 57% were from outside Germany.
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