Audax Groep

Last updated
Audax Groep
Type Besloten Vennootschap
IndustryPrint media, retail
Founded1958
Founder Jacques de Leeuw
Headquarters,
Key people
Hubert de Leeuw, CEO/chair
Productsmagazines
OwnersDe Leeuw family members
Website audax.nl

Audax Groep is a Dutch print media and retail company, active also in Belgium. The publishing arm publishes magazines. It also produces and prints books, calendars, and flyers for other companies and builds websites. The Audax headquarters are located in Gilze.

Contents

History

Audax was founded in 1958 by Jacques de Leeuw. Jacques de Leeuw led the company until 2017 when he was replaced by his son, Hubert de Leeuw.

In 2018, Audax sold magazine publisher Cascade to DPG Media, parting from magazines Primo, Eos, Bahamontes, Motoren & Toerisme and For Girls Only. [1] But for Primo, DPG sold these magazines again. [2] In November 2020, Audax Publishing published 11 magazines. Its most notables titles were HP/De Tijd, Weekend, Party, and Mijn Geheim. Most titles were acquired from the Finnish Sanoma concern.

In 2019 Hubert de Leeuw was replaced by Casper de Nooijer. [3] In 2020, Hubert de Leeuw took over the lead again. [3] In May 2021 Audax published an intention to sell off the Marskramer, Novy and Prima stores it had acquired in 2019. [4] In August 2021, these were acquired by the toy chain Otto Simon. [5] On 1 April 2022, HP/De Tijd left the Audax Groep after 31 years. [6] Since then, HP/De Tijd is published by a newly established nonprifit, Het Vrije Woord. [6]

AKO store in Dordrecht railway station DordrechtStationInterieur03.jpg
AKO store in Dordrecht railway station

Retail

AKO

The Algemene Kiosk Onderneming (AKO) is a Dutch kiosk/bookstore chain. The company was founded in 1878 as the Amsterdamsche Kiosk Onderneming. Many shops are located at railway stations. A typical shop stores 1,500 books and 2000 magazines. Dutch and international newspapers, magazines, and books are sold. The stores also sell basic office supplies, greeting cards, lottery and football pool tickets, gift cards, tobacco products, light beverages, and sweets. In April 2023 it had 66 stores, down from 72 stores in November 2020.

Bruna

Bruna store in Hoogezand. Bruna, Hoogezand (2019) 02.jpg
Bruna store in Hoogezand.

Bruna is a Dutch bookseller. In addition to books it sells newspapers, magazines, stationery, computer software, and cards. Bruna was founded in 1868. [7] The company was led by Henk Bruna from 1935 to 1982. [8] ֿIts head office was in Houten until spring 2019, when as a cost-cutting measure it relocated to Amsterdam. [9]

In early 2017, the book chain was in serious financial trouble; its main stockholders came to the rescue in February. [10] [11] In December 2017 the company was acquired by the publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK). [12] In late 2019, the company was acquired by Audax, the parent company of competing bookseller Algemene Kiosk Onderneming (AKO). [7] [13] In November 2020, Bruna operated 270 shops. In April 2023, the number of stores was down to 244.

Read Shop

Read Shop is a network of stores throughout the Netherlands that sell books, magazines, office supplies, tobacco products, and snacks. The number of stores in April 2023 is 144, down from 170 in November 2020.

Related Research Articles

<i>de Volkskrant</i> Dutch newspaper

de Volkskrant is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HEMA (store)</span>

HEMA, is a Dutch variety chain store. The chain is characterized by relatively low pricing of generic household goods, which are mostly made by and for the chain itself, often with an original design. The owner is Dutch billionaire Marcel Boekhoorn, who has lost control to bondholders.

<i>De Tijd</i>

De Tijd is a Belgian newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is printed on salmon pink paper since May 2009, following the example of its colleagues Financial Times, Het Financieele Dagblad, FT Deutschland and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Heijn</span> Dutch supermarket chain

Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands with a market share of 34.8% in 2020. It was founded in 1887, and has been part of Ahold Delhaize since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DPG Media</span> Belgian media company

DPG Media Group is a Belgian media company also active in the Netherlands and Denmark. It is owned by the Van Thillo family and employs some 6,000 people.

Mediafin is a Belgian media group. The company was established in 2005 when it was bought by De Persgroep and Rossel. Its name was switched from Publisher Tijd to Mediafin. De Persgroep and Rossel hold a fifty percent stake in Mediafin.

Mass media in the Netherlands – television, radio, newspapers, magazines – are characterised by a tradition of politico-denominational segregation ("pillarisation") on the one hand and an increasing degree of commercialism on the other.

<i>HP/De Tijd</i>

HP/De Tijd is a Dutch language monthly opinion magazine published by the Audax Groep. Its editorial offices are in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Alongside De Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland and Elsevier, it is one of the most influential Dutch opinion magazines.

The Bookspot Literatuurprijs is a prize for literature in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is awarded to authors writing in Dutch and amounts to €50,000. The ceremony is televised live each year. The prize was conceived in 1986 and inaugurated the following year with the aim to promote literature and increase the public's interest in books.

Koninklijke Wegener NV was a Dutch publisher of newspapers. It was the largest publisher of daily regional newspapers, free local newspapers and special interest magazines in the Netherlands. It also sold internet products and graphical products. The company ceased to exist when it was acquired by Belgian media company De Persgroep in 2015.

Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) is a Dutch publishing group of fiction and nonfiction books that is active also in Belgium. It operates through multiple units. Its headquarters are located in Utrecht.

The mass media in Belgium is characterized by its diversity due to the linguistic divide in the country.

Group of Marxist–Leninists/Red Dawn is a Maoist group in the Netherlands. GML/Rode Morgen was founded in 1977, as a merger of a group of Amsterdam students and some groups of individuals expelled from the Communist Unity Movement of the Netherlands (Marxist-Leninist) in 1976. At the time of its foundation it had around 25 members. From the start, GML was mainly active in factories and trade unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talpa Radio</span> Dutch radio company

Talpa Radio(formerly: 538 Group and Sky Radio Group) is a radio company of Talpa Network, in which various radio and television activities are housed.

Jan van Raalte is a Dutch football manager of amateur squads and formerly a professional footballer, mostly in the Eerste Divisie and one season with Cambuur Leeuwarden in the Eredivisie. Van Raalte won the Rinus Michels Award for coaching amateur teams. He lives in Harkema where he finished his midfield player career.

Peter Vyncke is a Belgian entrepreneur and Co-CEO of the Vyncke company, active in combustion technology. He manages the global family business together with his brother Dieter Vyncke.

Cegeka is a European provider of IT solutions, services and consultancy. The company was founded in 1992 and has data centers in Hasselt, Belgium and Geleen, the Netherlands. Anno 2020 CEO Stijn Bijnens leads the company from its headquarters in Hasselt. In 2020, the group had 5,000 employees and achieved a consolidated turnover of 640 million euros.

Otto Simon is a Dutch importer, distributor, and franchiser of toys and homeware, headquartered in Almelo.

References

  1. "De Persgroep Publishing en Medialaan nemen uitgeverij van EOS over". HLN. De Persgroep. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. "Uitgeverij achter Primo en Eos ontmanteld". De Tijd (in Dutch). 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  3. 1 2 "Eigenaar Bruna en Marskramer stuurt ceo weg". RetailTrends. 26 September 2020.
  4. "'Audax doet Marskramer na twee jaar van de hand'".
  5. "Winkels Marskramer overgenomen door speelgoedhandel Otto Simon". RTL Nieuws . 25 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 "HP/De Tijd gaat zelfstandig verder". HP/De Tijd . 29 March 2022. Na 31 jaar als weekblad en vervolgens maandblad onder de vleugels van moederconcern Audax te hebben geopereerd, zal HP/De Tijd zelfstandig verdergaan.
  7. 1 2 (in Dutch) "Bruna overgenomen door moederbedrijf van concurrent AKO", De Volkskrant , 19 November 2019.
  8. (in Dutch) "Henk Bruna, oprichter Bruna-winkels, overleden", Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 26 February 2008, archived from the original on 6 June 2008.
  9. (in Dutch) Peet Vogels, "Bruna wil 100 nieuwe winkels, 'we zijn geen grijze muis meer'", Algemeen Dagblad , 18 April 2019.
  10. (in Dutch) "Aandeelhouders PostNL en ING schieten Bruna te hulp", NU.nl , 14 February 2017.
  11. (in Dutch) Alexander Leeuw, "Nu ook Bruna in zwaar weer", Nederlands Dagblad , 16 February 2017 (subscription required).
  12. (in Dutch) Hanneke Chin-A-Fo and Toef Jaeger, "Winkelketen Bruna overgenomen door uitgeefconcern VBK", NRC Handelsblad, 6 December 2017 (subscription required).
  13. (in Dutch) Floor Bouma, "Bruna en AKO-moederbedrijf Audax gaan samen verder", NRC Handelsblad , 18 November 2019.