BusinessWeek has announced that it will reposition its approach to global markets – it starts with the discontinuation of its European and Asian editions. A greater emphasis will be placed on providing online news, analysis and information and on developing local language publications while maintaining a single flagship print product, a press release issued by the ccompany said on Wednesday.
"We have decided to create robust, customised Asian and European versions of our popular BusinessWeek Online website, while delivering a single global edition of BusinessWeek magazine instead of providing separate regional versions," said Stephen J Adler, Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWeek. "We are taking this action to harness the growing power of the Web globally and to serve readers and advertisers in a more timely, efficient, and targeted way."
"BusinessWeek is dedicated to maintaining a strong international presence and we see a great deal of opportunity for our business," said William P Kupper, President, BusinessWeek Group. "The enormous growth we have seen in Online suggests a great opportunity for BusinessWeek. By aligning our resources more strategically to those areas where we see the greatest demand, we can enhance BusinessWeek's growth prospects and expand our international presence in key markets."
A single global edition of the print magazine will now serve readers and advertisers across North America, Europe, Asia, and other global markets. BusinessWeek will keep its network of international bureaus to maintain the breadth of its news coverage but will discontinue the European and Asian editions as of December 30.
BusinessWeek plans to bolster its online coverage of global markets to provide more robust and timely news and information to its growing international online audience. Customised online editions for Europe and Asia will be created as well as vertical content areas such as business education, design and innovation, and small business. International visitors to BusinessWeek Online have nearly doubled in the past year and today represent approximately 25 per cent of BusinessWeek Online's site visitors, the release said.
BusinessWeek will continue developing regional partnerships to expand local language editions in key markets around the world. Demand for local language editions is strong, the release claimed. Currently, BusinessWeek publishes in China, Poland, Indonesia, Russia and Turkey. The Arabic edition was launched in October 2005 and the Bulgarian and Romanian editions are scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2006.
Founded in 1929 and published by the McGraw-Hill Companies, BusinessWeek magazine is followed by more than 5.6 million readers each week in 140 countries.
