Audax Groep

Audax Groep is a Dutch print media and retail company, active also in Belgium. The publishing arm publishes magazines. It also produces and prints books, calendars, and flyers for other companies and builds websites. The Audax headquarters are located in Gilze.

Audax Groep
TypeBesloten Vennootschap
IndustryPrint media, retail
Founded1958
FounderJacques de Leeuw
Headquarters
Gilze
,
Netherlands
Key people
Hubert de Leeuw, CEO/chair
Productsmagazines
OwnersDe Leeuw family members
Websiteaudax.nl

History

Audax was founded in 1958 by Jacques de Leeuw. Jacques de Leeuw led the company until 2017 when he was replaced by his son, Hubert de Leeuw.

In 2018, Audax sold magazine publisher Cascade to DPG Media, parting from magazines Primo, Eos, Bahamontes, Motoren & Toerisme and For Girls Only.[1] But for Primo, DPG sold these magazines again.[2] In November 2020, Audax Publishing published 11 magazines. Its most notables titles were HP/De Tijd, Weekend, Party, and Mijn Geheim. Most titles were acquired from the Finnish Sanoma concern.

In 2019 Hubert de Leeuw was replaced by Casper de Nooijer.[3] In 2020, Hubert de Leeuw took over the lead again.[3] In May 2021 Audax published an intention to sell off the Marskramer, Novy and Prima stores it had acquired in 2019.[4] In August 2021, these were acquired by the toy chain Otto Simon.[5] On 1 April 2022, HP/De Tijd left the Audax Groep after 31 years.[6] Since then, HP/De Tijd is published by a newly established nonprifit, Het Vrije Woord.[6]

AKO store in Dordrecht railway station

Retail

AKO

The Algemene Kiosk Onderneming (AKO) is a Dutch kiosk/bookstore chain. The company was founded in 1878 as the Amsterdamsche Kiosk Onderneming. Many shops are located at railway stations. A typical shop stores 1,500 books and 2000 magazines. Dutch and international newspapers, magazines, and books are sold. The stores also sell basic office supplies, greeting cards, lottery and football pool tickets, gift cards, tobacco products, light beverages, and sweets. In April 2023 it had 66 stores, down from 72 stores in November 2020.

Bruna
Bruna store in Hoogezand.

Bruna is a Dutch bookseller. In addition to books it sells newspapers, magazines, stationery, computer software, and cards. Bruna was founded in 1868.[7] The company was led by Henk Bruna from 1935 to 1982.[8] ֿIts head office was in Houten until spring 2019, when as a cost-cutting measure it relocated to Amsterdam.[9]

In early 2017, the book chain was in serious financial trouble; its main stockholders came to the rescue in February.[10][11] In December 2017 the company was acquired by the publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK).[12] In late 2019, the company was acquired by Audax, the parent company of competing bookseller Algemene Kiosk Onderneming (AKO).[7][13] In November 2020, Bruna operated 270 shops. In April 2023, the number of stores was down to 244.

Read Shop

Read Shop is a network of stores throughout the Netherlands that sell books, magazines, office supplies, tobacco products, and snacks. The number of stores in April 2023 is 144, down from 170 in November 2020.

References
  1. "De Persgroep Publishing en Medialaan nemen uitgeverij van EOS over". HLN. De Persgroep. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. "Uitgeverij achter Primo en Eos ontmanteld". De Tijd (in Dutch). 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  3. "Eigenaar Bruna en Marskramer stuurt ceo weg". RetailTrends. 26 September 2020.
  4. "'Audax doet Marskramer na twee jaar van de hand'".
  5. "Winkels Marskramer overgenomen door speelgoedhandel Otto Simon". RTL Nieuws. 25 August 2021.
  6. "HP/De Tijd gaat zelfstandig verder". HP/De Tijd. 29 March 2022. Na 31 jaar als weekblad en vervolgens maandblad onder de vleugels van moederconcern Audax te hebben geopereerd, zal HP/De Tijd zelfstandig verdergaan.
  7. (in Dutch) "Bruna overgenomen door moederbedrijf van concurrent AKO", De Volkskrant, 19 November 2019.
  8. (in Dutch) "Henk Bruna, oprichter Bruna-winkels, overleden", Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 26 February 2008, archived from the original on 6 June 2008.
  9. (in Dutch) Peet Vogels, "Bruna wil 100 nieuwe winkels, 'we zijn geen grijze muis meer'", Algemeen Dagblad, 18 April 2019.
  10. (in Dutch) "Aandeelhouders PostNL en ING schieten Bruna te hulp", NU.nl, 14 February 2017.
  11. (in Dutch) Alexander Leeuw, "Nu ook Bruna in zwaar weer", Nederlands Dagblad, 16 February 2017 (subscription required).
  12. (in Dutch) Hanneke Chin-A-Fo and Toef Jaeger, "Winkelketen Bruna overgenomen door uitgeefconcern VBK", NRC Handelsblad, 6 December 2017 (subscription required).
  13. (in Dutch) Floor Bouma, "Bruna en AKO-moederbedrijf Audax gaan samen verder", NRC Handelsblad, 18 November 2019.
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