Business News
Axel Springer Switzerland takes over leisure portals PartyGuide.ch and usgang.ch
Tuesday 02. September 2008 - New Online Division Amiado Group becomes Swiss Market Leader with 18- to 34-year-old users / Internationalization of the portals planned
Axel Springer Switzerland, a 100-percent subsidiary of the Axel Springer AG, has taken over the Swiss leisure and party portals PartyGuide.ch and Usgang.ch. Both portals will be brought together under the newly created Amiado Group. Both partyguide.ch and usgang.ch as well as the leading Swiss student portal Students.ch, which was taken over by Axel Springer Switzerland in April 2007, all belong to the Amiado Group.
With PartyGuide.ch, the farthest reaching offer among the Swiss party and leisure portals as well as usgang.ch the leading lifestyle and nightlife medium in the premium sector, the online offers of the Amiado Group are advancing straight on towards market leadership in the age group of 18- to 34-year-old users. Adrian Bührer, 31, co-founder and CEO of Amiado AG and Students.ch.will take over the overall direction of the new Amiado Group.
“In addition to our market leadership in the business press, TV magazines and the BEOBACHTERs Group, we are creating a fourth digital pillar with the Amiado Group. With it, Axel Springer Switzerland rises to the Top 5 of the Swiss online providers. Both profitable portals complement each other outstandingly with the site Students.ch, which itself has also developed profitably under the leadership of Adrian Bührer”, said Ralph Büchi, CEO of Axel Springer Switzerland and President of Axel Springer International. Ralph Büchi, will additionally take over the chairmanship of the executive board of the Amiado Group.
“The bundling of the marketing offers, the resulting cost synergies as well as the internationalization of Axel Springer open attractive growth perspectives for the Amiado Group. The newly created group offers advertisers in Switzerland a perfect environment to comprehensively address a young target group, regardless of the medium”, said Adrian Bührer. There are plans to gradually develop the international presence of the Amiado Groups offers in the next years.
PartyGuide.ch is the most frequented online platform by 16- to 30-year-olds in Switzerland. The founders in the entourage of Jason Fellmann, 29, developed in 1999 the idea of documenting and publishing online party and going-out experiences. Alongside party photos, the portal offers today a comprehensive club directory, an event calendar, photo and mobile services and a community 340,000 members strong. PartyGuide.ch is visited monthly by about 360,000 unique users and generates 3.5 million visits and around 200 million pages impressions per month (Source netmetrix).
usgang.ch is the leading lifestyle and nightlife medium in the premium sector in Switzerland. Usgang.ch was co-founded in 2000 by Symeon Virlis, 29, and, by the means of photo galleries, event calendars and a community equipped with numerous functions developed into the leading club portal of the urban centers of the German-speaking Switzerland. Usgang.ch is visited monthly by about 190,000 unique users and registers 0.7 million visits and around 15 million pages impressions per month (Source netmetrix).
Chief executives of PartyGuide.ch and usgang.ch are the co-founders and present directors Jason Fellmann (PartyGuide), Symeon Virlis and Markus Soller (usgang.ch). They report to Adrian Bührer.