Vivendi, Vincent Bolor’s group, Lagarde’s largest shareholder, Hauteche Livre. Typically, the first French publisher’s boss, Arnaud Nurri, is launching a media campaign that appeals to a crisis management firm. He explains how important it is to maintain the integrity of the group. There is no question of the apartment allowing one day to sell Lagardera’s jewelry. He insists that the merger with Editis, the first competitor and Vivendi’s assets, makes no sense.
What do you say to employees worried about the capitalist fight between Vivendi, LVMH and Lagardier?
I am not denying that there have been moments of concern here and there, but what matters to the teams is the tremendous results in 2020. [un chiffre d’affaires de 2,4 milliards d’euros, et un résultat opérationnel de 246 millions, en hausse de 11,4 %]. My job is to ensure that there is peace between the teams, and this is it. There is a real pride in being a part of Hachette Livre. Since 2003, I have waged to transform it into an international conglomerate, which today generates 70% of its business overseas to give it stability. It paid off brilliantly in 2020, thanks to the very strong flexibility of Anglo-Saxon countries, where digital formats are highly developed. The magician [d’Andrzej Sapkowski] Sold 4.5 million copies and midnight Sun [de Stephenie Meyer], Final quantity of Twilight3.5 million to Rs.
The second factor of resistance is diversification. More than 25% of our activity comes from audio and digital books, notebooks, boxes, board games or mobile phone games. In the end, the relationship between talent, publishers and writers is the key to everything. This relationship should develop in autonomy and responsibility.
How do you see Vivendi’s hunger for her group?
The plan is to stay in the LaGuarde Group. If this should not be the case – this is not what I want – I would be very careful that the culture and integrity of the group be respected. The merger with Editis does not make any strategic sense. This question was already dealt with by the European Commission in 2003 during the merger of Vivendi Universal Publishing [VUP] And Hachette Livere. She explained that LaGuard could hardly keep anything from the VUP.
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