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Fnac Darty — Capital/Financing Update 2016
Jan 28, 2016
1336_iss_2016-01-28_da1db062-d367-4ac9-ade8-2797b26bea31.pdf
Capital/Financing Update
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FNAC is teaming up with publishers as part of Izneo, the leading European distributor and publisher of comic strips
FNAC and Izneo are announcing that the retailer has acquired an interest in the online comic strip retail and reading platform. This strategic partnership will enable Groupe FNAC, France's leading comic strip retailer, to boost the development of its digital cultural offering.
Izneo was launched by several specialist publishers in 2010, and has established itself as the leading digital comic strip distribution and retail platform in Europe. Izneo, which benefits from a catalogue of over 14,000 titles that covers virtually every French-language comic book, is a distribution platform that provides its catalogue to all digital booksellers (Fnac.com, Apple, Google, Mollat.com, Tea, Dialogues, and La Galerne, etc.) and public libraries. It is also a digital bookshop that allows readers to flick through the first pages of all its titles, which represent the catalogues of over 50 publishers, free of charge.
FNAC will acquire a 50% interest in Izneo, which will put it on an equal footing with all the publisher shareholders, i.e. Ankama, Bamboo, Bayard, Casterman, Dargaud, Dupuis, Gallimard, Jungle and Le Lombard.
As the largest retailer and leading distributor of comic strips in France, FNAC has a very strong position in digital books via its partnership with Kobo. By investing in Izneo, an innovative platform with a catalogue that is particularly suited to on-screen reading, the retailer is strategically enhancing its digital cultural offer, and is driving the development of digital technology in a very specific literary genre, where the publishing and technical models differ from general literature models.
"As the leading comic strip retailer in France, FNAC has always been the traditional partner for authors and publishers, and has significantly expanded its initiatives, such as the FNAC Comic Book Prize, and meetings with authors in our stores. Thanks to this partnership, we are strengthening our ties with key players in the book market, with whom we share the same view and the same long-term interests. We are convinced that access to our great customer base of comic strip fans, the power of our website and our stores, and our technical and commercial expertise will provide fundamental support for driving Izneo's expansion", said Coralie Piton, FNAC's Director of Strategy and Director of Books.
"Thanks to its catalogue of 14,000 titles (comic strips, mangas, comics and magazines, etc.), to which hundreds of new titles are added every month, over 6 million books flicked through since its launch, a varied and evolving commercial offering, a reading device, and specific applications suited to all platforms, Izneo has created the most comprehensive and exhaustive publishing and commercial offering on the market. FNAC is a long-standing customer of, and a key partner for comic strip publishers. Its acquisition of an interest in Izneo should enable FNAC to benefit from Izneo's experience, and from its leading position on the digital comic strip market. At the same time, the strengthening of Izneo's commercial and technical resources should enable an increase in traffic and sales, and the creation of new services" commented Claude de Saint Vincent, Izneo's Chairman.
This change in the capital structure is accompanied by Luc Bourcier's appointment as Izneo's Chief Executive Officer.
Izneo has already established partnerships with Le Figaro, 01.Net and La Libre Belgique, which are likely to be strengthened. It is also developing a Dutch-language catalogue (in partnership with the Yieha Platform, which is based in Antwerp), and an English-language catalogue. Izneo is the technical and commercial partner for Europe Comics, a program supported by the European Commission, which is intended to promote European comic strips abroad.
As the first inter-professional platform in the publishing sector, Izneo has also received support from the French National Book Centre (CNL), OSEO and BPI.
About Groupe FNAC – www.groupe-fnac.com: Groupe Fnac is a retailer of entertainment and leisure products and consumer electronics. A leader in France and major player in the countries where it operates (Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Qatar, Ivory Coast), Groupe Fnac had a multi-format network of 199 stores (including 124 in France) at the end of 2015, plus e-commerce sites, including Fnac.com, which ranks as France's third most visited e-commerce site (over 10 million unique visitors per month). As a standard-setting omni-channel retailer, Groupe FNAC posted consolidated revenue of €3.895 billion in 2014, and employs 14,500 people.
About Izneo - www.izneo.com: Izneo is the leading online comic strip platform. The service is permanently available on all reading platforms (PC or Mac, smartphone, and Apple, Android, and Windows tablets), and enables its users to find out about, purchase, and read the largest catalogue for all kinds of comic strips, comics, and mangas, with new items every week. Izneo provides its readers with the advice best suited to them, and the best digital comic strip reading experience. It was set up in 2010, on the initiative of the main publishers, and with support from CNL and OSEO, and subsequently from BPI, and offers the largest catalogue of French-language comic strips, which are accessible via offers that range from free viewing to purchase, including subscription. Izneo has been gradually broadening its offering since its launch, and is developing its English and Dutch-language catalogues (www. yieha.be).
FNAC Press Contacts:
Laurent Glépin: +33 (0)1 55 21 54 13 – [email protected] Alexandre André: +33 (0)1 55 21 54 46 – [email protected]
FNAC Investors and Analysts Contact:
Nadine Coulm : + 33 (0)1 55 21 18 63 – [email protected]
Izneo Press Contacts:
Pierre Raiman: +33 (0)6 80 57 55 58 – [email protected] Hélène Werlé: ++33 (0)6 09 67 36 71 – [email protected]