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NewsLine Interview: Robert Price – Future Publishing

NewsLine Interview: Robert Price – Future Publishing

Last week Future Publishing appointed Robert Price as its new managing director, with responsibility for driving growth across a portfolio of 60 specialist magazines including Total Film, Official PlayStation 2 and Redline.

In one of his first interviews since taking over the position, the man at the helm of the UK’s fifth largest consumer publisher told NewsLine that his business strategy is all about being “loud and proud” – with a raft of new launches and acquisitions to be expected over the next twelve months (see Price Is Right For Top Job At Future Publishing).

He said: “This is a year for us to be aggressive, to really push growth for our company. We’ve gone through some difficult times and we are now in a very strong position to move the business forward. Over the next few months we are going to be loud and proud about what we have and the audiences that we can deliver.”

Future Publishing, which makes most of its money from computer gaming magazines, has had a rough ride over the last few years after being badly burned in the wreckage of the dotcom crash. The company laid off around 800 staff and closed dozens of titles as part of a wide-ranging cost-cutting programme designed to relieve its over-stretched finances.However, the outlook is improving for the specialist magazine publisher and its parent company recently announced a 21% increase in pre-tax profits to just under £23 million for 2003. This will translate to an extra £2 million for new launches over the coming months and a significant increase in marketing activity across a number of Future’s key brands.

Price said: “In the games area there will be heavy marketing investment around a number of titles including Official PlayStation 2, PSM and PCGamer. There will be significant launch activity in the digital sector and investment in the entertainment portfolio will centre around Redline, Total Film and T3.”

He added: “We are looking very heavily at launch activity this year and into the next. Initially that will be to build share in our existing sectors, but we are also looking at launches and acquisitions in a number of new markets. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t see five or six new launches across our key sectors by the end of the year. However, there could easily be more.”

Motoring and home interest are two sectors Future is keen to expand in. It is also expected to follow Dennis Publishing into the online gambling market with a more specialised title targeting betting enthusiasts. New launches in this area will coincide with expansion in the music-making sector and a number of new entertainment-focused projects currently under development.

Price was keen to quash speculation that Future is contemplating a break away from its heritage with a move towards more consumer-focussed magazines. He insisted the company was proud to be a specialist publisher and would not be following Emap and IPC into the men’s lifestyle sector in the near future. He said: “You won’t see us spending £8 million on launching a weekly men’s lifestyle magazine. That is simply not the business we’re in and we don’t feel we need to do that.”

He added: “Both Nuts and Zoo Weekly are good in their own ways, but it remains to be seen whether there is room for two massive launches at the same time. At the moment it’s very much a case of wait and see, but in the long run it is inevitable that more publishers will jump on the bandwagon.”

Price is confident Future Publishing will strengthen its position in the market over the next twelve months and predicts further growth for 2005. He said: “Last year was a good year for Future Publishing. We strengthened our position, we proved to ourselves that we have got a very strong business here – a business that is capable of delivering significantly more growth over the coming years.”

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