Building an independent media empire – exclusive interview

“I guess I started a magazine because I knew almost nothing about print.”

It may not sound like the best time to buy an entire magazine, but that’s just what Lothar Eckstein has done. Twice.

The founder and editor-in-chief of sleek magazine, in November he bought two of his favourite independent magazines, Qvest and Luna, from German company Mediakom, to create a stable of three fashion magazines under the umbrella of B20 Publishing.

He talked exclusively to the Blogsplosion, sharing tales of independence, economies of scale and the future of magazine advertising.

Your background is in advertising – what made you first want to get involved in magazines?

I started in advertising 20 years ago. But in advertising, you are always working on someone else’s baby. In the end, the client builds something, not you. Fifteen years ago, I moved into working in television and then the internet.

I guess I started a magazine because I knew almost nothing about print. I knew all the risks in television and the internet, and didn’t dare [create my own venture]. In print, it was the opposite.

When did you think you could make independent magazines your main business?

When I was working for big German publisher, Axel Springer.

Describe your magazines.

Luna is the only high-end children’s fashion magazine in Germany.

Qvest shows forward-looking fashion in a visually distinctive way, and will include some exciting new features with the launch of issue 37. With a circulation of 80,000, Qvest is by far the biggest serious magazine in its segment, in the German market.

Sleek is unique in exclusively combining art and fashion. Each issue has its own theme.

Why did you decide to acquire Qvest and Luna?

I always felt that it would be worth trying to strengthen independent titles by giving them a chance to profit from economies of scale. Like: Buy paper together. Print together. Distribute together and sell ads in Italy or France together. But remain editorially fiercely independent.

How much did you pay for the titles?

We paid too much, of course! What else can I say as a buyer?

Is B20 owned by you alone? Why the name B20?

I have two partners, Matthias Düwel and Marcus Meyer. The name? We wanted something modest. The brand is just a vehicle for business to business affairs. B20 stands for the 20s in Berlin, a time and place that the three of us are impressed by.

Did you change the editorial teams after taking over?

Yes. Annika von Taube moved up from Managing Editor to Editor in Chief for sleek – she replaces me. Adriano Sack will be in charge of Qvest as of Edition 37 together with Clark Parkin. They will take over from Tamara Rothstein and Ashely Heath, who I want to thank for what they achieved for Qvest over the last two years, very impressive work.

Have you made any changes to the magazines themselves?

There will be some changes linked with the new teams. But it is too early to tell what they will be.

Have you started to gain the economies of scale you had hoped for?

There are amazing savings, more than we expected.

Are you planning to create any new magazines? What kind of magazine would you like to add to these three?

Yes, we are. Or rather: Yes, we were. But given the financial crises, who knows what will happen…

What is the future of magazine advertising?

It helps to have a good online model to go with the print model. Being visually driven and using “haptics” to the max also helps. The most important thing is being small, though. The market will shrink, but it will continue to be big enough for small players to continue for a long time to come, especially in high-end, quality niches.