Values

3
the Heyne employees fi nd new roles. “It
was an enormously professional integration,”
remembers Heyne managing
director Ullrich Genzler. During this
period, he devoted himself wholeheartedly
to the task, and in this way
ensured that new books – among them
the new Grisham bestseller “The King
of Torts” – continued to make their impact
in the book marketplace.
In May 2004, the Heyne publishing
group celebrated its 70-year anniversary
in Munich. Staff members were able
to let loose, and danced until the early
morning hours. Genzler even put in a
turn as DJ Groove under the arches of
the Praterinsel nightclub. Today, employees
still talk about how there was a
tangible sense of relief at the party,
along with the conviction that things
were once again looking up.
The acquisition proved to be an engine
for change. “I think that, had we
not bought Heyne, it would have been
much more diffi cult to get the company
to change course,” says Pfuhl. “Our
new decentralized structure creates the
ideal framework for talented editors,
creative marketing staff, and ambitious
publishers.” And that’s not just the case
at Heyne. “In principle, the integration
of Heyne laid the groundwork for everything
that we’ve achieved here together
in the past seven years.”
While size alone is not the goal, it
does offer certain advantages, in that
successes and failures tend to balance
1 2
each other out. None of the publishing
companies belonging to the Random
House Group risks folding if they have
a weak year, for example. And that
guarantees the continuity that late
founder Rolf Heyne always sought –
for all the publishers. There’s also the
competitive factor within the very diverse
group: one company’s success
spurs the others on to come up with
new ideas.
Numerous imprints launched by
Random House in recent years have
proven that this principle works. The
new fantasy imprint, Penhaligon, landed
a surprise hit with “Demonkeeper,”
the debut novel by previously unknown
writer Royce Buckingham. The book remained
on the bestseller list for weeks.
Heyne Hardcore, Pantheon and cbj
didn’t need long before they were also
turning a profi t. And the audio book
project, “Starke Stimmen” (“Strong
Voices”), by Random House Audio in
1 | Heyne publisher and managing director
Ulrich Genzler as DJ at the party marking the
company’s 70-year anniversary in May 2004
2 | Joerg Pfuhl, CEO of Random House
Germany, and his team ensured that
Heyne was quickly and successfully
integrated into the group
3 | Heyne has published many international
bestselling authors in Germany
cooperation with the G+J magazine
Brigitte was a bestselling sensation.
The belief that books will continue to
be profi table assets in the 21 st century has
been benefi cial for Random House Germany,
as refl ected in their latest results.
How did it happen? “With understanding
and patience for the book business, but
speed and effi ciency in management.
And by letting each respective publisher
do their work,” says Pfuhl.
– 25 –