New attempt at resurrection for the magazine “VSD”

Will they succeed where the previous buyer failed? Two months after buying the “VSD” magazine last April at the helm of the Paris Commercial Court, the press publisher Heroes Media, hitherto specialized in cars, combis and motorcycles, launched on June 29 a new formula for this renowned title, but damaged by a long decline.

Without breaking with the DNA of the general magazine, which mixes news, people, news, travel, culture and leisure, the new “VSD” wants to be “more practical and closer to readers”, according to François Tauriac, one of the three co-founders and shareholders of Heroes Media, with Philippe Abreu and Vincent Ham. “For this, we called on ten renowned rubriquards, which are references in their field”, he explains, specifying that the first issue of the monthly will be printed in 150,000 copies.

Among these personalities capable of embodying the information and making the newspaper shine, the RTL and TF1 meteorologist Louis Bodin on the climate, the RTL astrologer Christine Haas, the doctor and columnist for France Télévisions Gérald Kierzek, the lawyer and columnist on RMC Sarah Saldmann or chef Alain Duce.

At the same time, the model and typography were reviewed. The title, where the image takes pride of place, will also produce some of its photos itself. The pagination, around 150 pages, remains the same. A new version of the website should finally be put online at the beginning of July.

“mythical” brand

Will these efforts be enough to reinvigorate this magazine, founded in 1977, once a credible rival of “Paris Match”, but tested by several particularly difficult years? Acquired in June 2018 from Prisma Media by the press entrepreneur Georges Ghosn, who made it go from weekly to monthly, the newspaper went through a receivership proceedings, before being hit by the covid crisis and to end up in compulsory liquidation, weighed down by a debt of nearly 4 million euros.

This was erased by the court, to allow the takeover of the newspaper by “Heroes Media” and the safeguarding of part of the jobs. “VSD” retains four permanent staff and works with around ten freelancers. “” VSD “is a beautiful brand, which corresponded to our desires and our expertise”, considers the co-founder and CEO of “Heroes Media”, Philippe Abreu.

“A mythical brand, which only asks to be more respected”, he adds, specifying that the title achieves, depending on the numbers, between 30,000 and 50,000 copies sold on newsstands, and has around 10,000 subscribers. A sufficient basis to bounce back, especially since the magazine today generates almost no digital or advertising revenue.

“We are going to tackle the advertising market in a more dynamic way, indicates Philippe Abreu, by showing what we can do with our other titles”. “Coffee table books” with high-end positioning, such as “Auto Heroes” or “Moto Heroes”, intended to seduce advertisers.

The Heroes Media group, founded in 2020 and which now has 9 titles, achieves around 8 million euros in annual turnover, including “VSD”. “A size that allows us to weather crises calmly,” says Philippe Abreu. Affected in recent years by the covid and paper crises, the group should be in the green in 2023.