The Economist launches new Economist Enterprise business unit
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The Economist Group is restructuring its business to bring together its enterprise products under one brand, Leon Saunders Calvert, president and managing director of the new Economist Enterprise unit, told Axios.
The big picture: News organizations that serve professionals are leaning more heavily into events, data and information services to drive revenue that can be used to bolster their editorial ambitions.
- Dow Jones recently said it expects to earn $1 billion in annual profit within five years, thanks in large part to investments in its enterprise offerings.
- The Washington Post launched WP Intelligence, a premium subscription service for business and policy leaders, last year.
- Reuters launched in 2020 Reuters Professional, a news, analysis and events business aimed at decision-makers.
Zoom in: The new Economist Enterprise unit will combine The Economist Group's business-to-business teams and units that currently serve more than 2,700 organizations globally.
- That includes its EIU research and analysis division, previously called the Economist Intelligence Unit, as well as its Economist Impact partnerships division, which manages advertising and events.
- Economist Enterprise will also include the company's corporate subscription business, The Economist Pro.
- While the company has already started to integrate backend functions across its enterprise businesses, such as sales and marketing, the formal rebrand will benefit the company organizationally and help drive a simplified external narrative, Calvert said.
By the numbers: In its latest public earnings report, the company reported annual revenue of roughly £369 million, or $495 million, and a profit margin of roughly 17%.
- £226.6 million came from its consumer business, which includes consumer subscriptions to The Economist and Economist Education professional online courses.
- The rest of its revenue (£141.9 million) came from its enterprise business.
Zoom out: Some companies, like Hearst, are leaning into their B2B businesses to drive the majority of their growth.
- But Calvert says there isn't a desire for the company's current revenue makeup to change.
- "We're massively invested in both businesses," he said.
Between the lines: The Economist's ownership structure is unique in that it has over 1,000 shareholders, with a few wealthy individuals and families owning large pieces of the business.
- Last week, British philanthropist and investor Lynn Forester de Rothschild said she sold her family's entire 26.9% stake in the company to Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith and his family holding company.
