Outlook Group ties up with G+J International to launch GEO in India

The Outlook Group has joined hands with Gruner + Jahr (G+J) International, the largest European magazine publisher, to launch the licensed edition of ‘GEO’ in India. GEO, a premium science magazine, is expected to be launched by May 2008 and would be the first English edition. ‘GEO’ already has 16 editions being published worldwide and the Indian edition would be the 17th in G+J International’s stable.

The Outlook Group had earlier reached an agreement with American publishing giant Time Inc to bring ‘People’ magazine to India. The personality-oriented magazine is also expected to be launched in the country in the first half of 2008, around May-June.

According to Maheshwer Peri, President & Publisher, Outlook Group, ‘People’ would be targeted at SEC AB, and would attract anyone who liked to read a current affairs magazine like ‘Outlook’ or a film related magazine. Seventy-five per cent of the content of the Indian edition of ‘People’ would be designed to suit Indian tastes.

‘GEO’ has a highly researched content backed by strong visual content. The target group in India, however, would be school going children to working professionals. According to Peri, “Anybody who is knowledge hungry, right from a school going child to housewives to working professionals, would be its target readers. The content is a result of in-depth research done by specialists in respective fields.”

The biggest challenge for Outlook, Peri said, would be to generate Indian content that would match the quality of the international magazine. The Indian edition would have 15-20 per cent of Indian content. At the moment Outlook is working on the content and has commissioned specialised professional for the same. “I would be thrilled if the Indian content is picked up by any of the other editions,” Peri added.

Without divulging details on the price, Peri said that it would be affordably priced. “All I can say is that the magazine would be available at a price which is not expected out of a magazine of such high quality. We would prefer the magazine to be more subscription based rather available on the stands. Producing such a premium quality magazine at a cost effective price is another big challenge,” he added.

Dr Torsten-Jorn Klein, G+J Executive Board Member and CEO of G+J International, said, “We have entered the booming Indian market by adding another chapter to ‘GEO’s tale of success. I am delighted that we have found a partner in the Outlook Group, who has a similar understanding of journalistic quality as Gruner + Jahr. This won’t be our last move in India, and ‘GEO’ International’s Editor-in-Chief Christane Breustedt and Director Andre Mollersmann would also continue to drive their unit’s growth in 2008. G+J International continues on an expansionist course.”

Speaking on the tie-up, Peri said, “We are excited to be tying up with G+J International, Europe’s largest magazine publisher with a strong parentage of Bertelsmann, a €20 million company. For us, ‘GEO’ is a logical extension to tap the huge knowledge magazine space that the Indian market provides, which has been occupied by imported international magazines. We are hopeful that ‘GEO’ would attain similar success in the premium science space that it has in European markets.”

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Outlook Group to launch Time Inc’s ‘People’ magazine in India by mid-2008