Andrew Hirsch, chief executive of leading UK publisher John Brown Media, on expanding the business into booming new territory
With a client list featuring Waitrose, John Lewis, Royal Bank of Scotland and Orange, John Brown Media – a creator of magazines and digital media content – was already the UK's biggest contract publisher. But when it came to making the business both recession- and future-proof, chief executive Andrew Hirsch was already on the next page.
"Five years ago we were the largest contract publisher in the country," says Hirsch. "But we were only based in the UK and we only did magazines. You didn't need to be too clever to think, what happens if the UK has a downturn or if customer magazines go out of fashion?"
The company evolved its UK operation to specialise in digital media as well as print. "Today we're very content-driven," says Hirsch. "It could be a magazine, a website, an app… our job is to help engagement between a client and its customers."
The next step was to find new territories for the business. "I started travelling more," he says. "I often get asked to talk at magazine conferences, so I travelled to America, Brazil and South Africa. At a conference in South Africa I heard that Pick n Pay, the country's largest food retailer, was thinking of launching a magazine."
Taking a chance
Hirsch adds: "We had a stroke
of luck when the editor of our Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine was returning from an assignment in South Africa and found himself sitting next to one of the marketing team from Pick n Pay on the plane.
"The company said their magazine would be launched soon and they would love to know what we thought of it. We flew back out to meet them, not knowing if they'd already signed a deal with another publisher.
"They gave us a brief for a free quarterly to be given away, and we promised to return in two weeks with our pitch. We told them we thought it should be a paid-for monthly and they went for it. Almost four years on, Fresh Living is South Africa's best-selling food magazine."
Into Africa
How did the company establish an office in South Africa? "We looked at two local partners, but decided to do it ourselves," says Hirsch. "We were lucky we had a massive client – in our business the client fully funds our projects. So we agreed a budget which included staffing and a small office of 1,500 sq ft, with room for 10 people. Cape Town was the natural choice as it's where most of South Africa's editorial talent is located.
"The most important thing for any magazine is an editor and we got lucky again when we were introduced to Justine Drake, a well-known food journalist in South Africa," he adds. "We've also had many South Africans working for us in London down the years, who have returned home. So I contacted Lisa Visser, a manager who worked for me 10 years ago and asked her to join us in Cape Town. Her contacts in South Africa were invaluable."
Employment laws
Hirsch explains that John
Brown Media has been careful
to respect South Africa's employment regulations: "There's a very important programme called Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), which assesses how many black South African employees you have in your workforce," he says. "Every company in South Africa has a BEE score from one to eight, with one being the best. To work with the biggest companies you need to be in the top four. We employed a consultancy company called Nexia to advise us.
"Today we have 40 staff in South Africa and the right ethnic mix. We're at level four at the moment. Part of being in South Africa is the fulfilment of creating jobs and giving something back. We also have an office in Johannesburg, which takes care of commercial and account management duties. It employs eight people and it's the same set-up there."
Positive influence
Hirsch believes there is one thing the UK should take home from South Africa – a positive attitude to business. "It's not a surprise the UK economy is gloomy, as it's rare that anyone ever says 'well done, you've done a good job' either to a supplier or an individual," he says. "It's the opposite in South Africa – our clients regularly compliment and thank us and our staff. South Africa's booming because it's got a much more positive attitude. We should import that into the UK."
Security measures
Another major contrast with Britain is the security planning required to run offices in
Cape Town and Johannesburg,
as Hirsch explains. "It's not scary, but security is something you do need to consider carefully," he says.
"For example, you wouldn't have an office exposed without security guards or have your staff driving around at night. Our staff commute regularly between Cape Town and Johannesburg so we always ensure that they go by air and arrive at their destination
in daylight.
"There are horror stories that you hear, but 99 per cent of things happen after dark."
New clients
John Brown Media now has four major clients in South Africa
and other overseas outposts in Shanghai and Tokyo.
October will be a big month for the South Africa business with the relaunch of Edgars Club, a fashion magazine for the top department store and also the launch of a brand new magazine for Discovery Health, the country's biggest medical health scheme. It also publishes a magazine for South African mobile-phone operator Cell C.
"We only want to work with South Africa's biggest brands," says Hirsch. "I'd rather do more quality work for existing clients than try to win new business. Edgars started as a monthly magazine, but we'll do up to nine pieces of work with them by the end of the first year. Today the South African business makes up 15 per
cent of our total profit, and we're a multimillion-pound profit business. "
www.johnbrownmedia.com
South Africa fact file
Population An estimated 50.5 million
Currency South African rand. "While the Cape Town office was set up, we made the first three issues of Fresh Living in the UK," says Hirsch. "It was a risk, because our budget and pricing was in rand, but this was a long-term investment."
Language "The language of publishing in South Africa is English, which made things easy," Hirsch adds. "We have discussed producing future issues of our titles in Afrikaans."
Sightseeing "Hire a car in Cape Town, but hire a driver in Johannesburg," Hirsch advises. "Table Mountain in Cape Town is a stunning sight."
Food "For a great weekend brunch in Jo'burg go to Nice, in Parkhurst," he says. "In Cape Town, Babel at Babylonstoren is a must and Mano's in Green Point is good fun."
Where to stay "I always stay at the One& Only hotel in Cape Town (capetown.oneandonlyresorts.com) and at the Melrose Arch when
I'm working in Johannesburg (africanpridehotels.com/
melrose-arch-hotel)".
Getting there "I go for a 7pm or 8pm flight," says Hirsch. "Sleep on it and you arrive just in time to start a working day." BA, Virgin and South African Airways fly daily from London to both Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Useful numbers British High Commission in Pretoria, 00 27 12 421 7500;
UKTI South Africa,
00 27 11 537 7208
