Lebrument harshly criticizes Publigroupe top management

It had become bogged down abroad. He understands the sale of Publicitas to Germany after what has happened in recent years. "I regret this," said Lebrument in an interview with the SDA news agency on Wednesday. However, it was not only the decline in advertising that was to blame, but also the Publigroupe management. In his eyes, however, it should not have come to this. Publigroupe had invested a lot of money in America, China and India and had actually done too little for Swiss advertising sales and ad placement as the group's most important business. "We should have put all our efforts into our most important subsidiary, Publicitas, instead of running around the whole world. Not a single publishing house in Switzerland has done that," said Lebrument. Only the once richest media company had adopted this strategy. However, advertisements are a national matter in the broadest sense and not an export product. Publicitas should have changed from an advertising broker and seller for the press to an advertising broker and seller for the electronic media as well. But the attempts at TV, radio and online had not made much progress.

A lot of money burned

"The excursions abroad have cost a lot of money. This was covered up for a long time by selling the silverware, by selling the large real estate division," said Lebrument. When asked to what extent the publishers were also to blame for the decline of Publicitas by switching to managing the advertising business themselves, Lebrument said: "You actually always stay if you are satisfied." One of the sins was that Publicitas had given the NZZ Group preferential treatment when it came to the takeover of Zürichsee-Medien years ago. "The case accelerated the whole thing," said Lebrument. (SDA)

Picture Hanspeter Lebrument: Keystone