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Growth at Bonnier
Herbert R. Lottman -- 4/24/00

Count at least one European major publisher that is both family owned and survives, thrives even, largely thanks to print on paper sold in those bricks-and-mortar places. Sweden's Bonnier, founded more than 200 years ago as a bookseller and still owned and operated by Bonnier descendants, reported sales of 14.8 billion Swedish crowns in 1999--some $1.7 billion at a current conversion, and more than half of that derived from books and other information media. Its best-known publishing assets are the market-leading Bonnier trade group in Sweden with a panoply of logos and clubs, Norway's Cappelen, Denmark's Lindhardt & Ringhof--with the country's largest book club--Finland's Tammi, Germany's lively Piper Verlag and the international Carlsen imprint for children's books. Sales outside the mother country now account for 52% of total media revenues.

Not that Bonnier is neglecting electronics. One recent acquisition is Hoppenstedt, Germany's leading business information company, most of whose operations are now digital. It runs major companies in the Netherlands and Britain, with branches in Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, and has expectations of becoming the European market leader in its field.

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