Despite the redesign of the title, the distribution of the magazine The Express fell, passing under the barrier of 170,000 copies this year, against more than 200,000 in 2019. But “it’s going well, attests Alain Weill, owner and director of the publication, When you transform a business, it’s a long and sophisticated operation, especially in the press, which has been in decline for at least 20 years. Today, she sees the end of the tunnel, there is an economic model which appears, that of the digital subscription among others, even if the paper is not finished for a weekly. ”
Alain weill explains having “refocused the newspaper on a narrower target, more opinion leaders, more upscale, more CSP +. This can result in a contraction of circulation but if we look at the audience, we have refocused on more ‘active and it is in our objectives. “
We put the newspaper right side up. He was losing a lot of money before and we had to be in balance this year, but with confinement in the first half, there are a few million losses. We should be positive in 2022.
Alain weillon franceinfo
Unlike the national daily press, magazines seem to be struggling to switch to digital subscription. “Subscription is the future of the press, people are willing to pay for quality information, believes the media entrepreneur. The stake for The Express is to build know-how, to have a team that masters the tools, the method to recruit subscribers. It’s a fairly long process, but we are moving in the right direction. Today we have a team that represents a quarter of the workforce The Express who is 30 years old is a phenomenal culture change. We did it a little later than the daily press, but what matters is to see the financial performance, it is the sustainability. And the situation is relatively well controlled here “, comments Alain Weill.
The Express targets 200,000 digital subscribers by 2023, the title’s 70th year. It’s realistic, according to its leader who recalls that he was asked the same question when he took over RMC or created BFM TV. “My approach was to ensure the sustainability of a fantastic press brand and I have total determination to succeed. And around the L’Express brand, we have plenty of projects in audio and video. from The Express, I want to create a multimedia group in the coming years. “ By developing for example in the audiovisual sector? “The TV landscape will change with the merger of TF1 and M6, recalls Alain Weill. In this perspective, these groups must sell TV channels. We will certainly be a candidate to buy a channel and create L’Express TV. I like this idea, now is the right time to do it, TV has a future even if it has to change. “