Swiss Post is expanding its range for French-language publishers in Switzerland and abroad. With effect from 1 July 2010, Swiss Post International, the Swiss Post Group unit that operates in the cross-border shipping of letters and goods, is taking over Swiss press specialist EDIGROUP in Chêne-Bourg, Canton Geneva, which has a workforce of 22. EDIGROUP provides publishers with additional, international market potential to acquire private customers, and is the market leader in French-speaking Switzerland in the marketing and dispatch of press publications. In Belgium, the company is the number 2 in the field of subscription acquisition and management.

Swiss Post is taking over the EDIGROUP SA group, which is made up of four companies with immediate effect. The group specializes in publisher management and the mailing of publications, and concentrates on French-speaking regions. Two companies in Chêne-Bourg in the Swiss canton of Geneva market and dispatch newspapers, periodicals and magazines and manage reader subscription and address details. A third company, based in the French town of Gaillard near the Swiss border, represents foreign publishers in France and distributes publications. A fourth company in Brussels, Belgium, is responsible for promotion, mailing and subscription management for magazines. In the 2008/2009 financial year, EDIGROUP generated sales of CHF 14.7 million. The parties have agreed that the purchase amount will not be disclosed.

New sales platform for the publishing industry

Managing subscribers on foreign markets is a challenging task for publishers. Export markets in the publishing industry have very strong linguistic identities. Swiss Post International already successfully covers the German-speaking region, with its subsidiary MDS in Kriens, Switzerland. By taking over the EDIGROUP companies, it is now securing access to the French-speaking regions. Swiss Post International is presenting publishers in those regions with the opportunity to acquire new subscribers or win back old subscribers for their publications, and sell additional subscriptions. EDIGROUP also manages the subscriptions and handles the mailing of the publications.

Swiss Post International

Swiss Post International has an innovative sector concept for the publishing industry which supports publishers with the sale of their publications abroad. As a result of taking over EDIGROUP’s 22 employees, Swiss Post International now employs around 80 people in the international shipping of publications.

Swiss Post currently generates almost 20 percent of its sales abroad and in its cross-border business. Swiss Post International is a Group unit of Swiss Post, employing around 1,300 people in Europe, Asia and the USA. In 2009, Swiss Post International generated profits of CHF 53 million from sales of CHF 1,028 million. Swiss Post International is currently the number three national postal company in the world in the international letter business.