Press Release 1 October 2018 Rome, Italy
63rd Annual Distripress Congress 30 September – 3 October 2018
The 2018 Distripress Congress has opened at the Rome Cavalieri Hotel. The Congress brings together more than 500 delegates from 47 different countries for 4 days of business interaction and social gatherings. Distripress member companies represent the entire international supply chain of magazine and newspaper publishing and distribution.
Welcome to “Ottobrata Romana” – Managing Director, Tracy Jones opened the Forum – 19 years after Distripress last visited the ‘Eternal City.’ Tracy commented ‘I am so thrilled to be able to introduce such a stellar line-up of high calibre speakers.’
The welcome address was delivered by Fabrizio Carotti, General Manager of the Italian newspaper federation, F.I.E.G, who presented an overview of the Italian press market and stressed the need to build trust in order to deliver reliable news.
Diversification, global brand success and the future of retail – Delegates listened to a wide-ranging and outstanding programme of presentations from; Nicolas Meire, CEO Ubiway, Belgium; Michael Bergmeijer, Reporters Without Borders; Tyler Brûlé, editor-in-chief at Monocle and Dominic Miles, partner at LEK Consulting.
Challenging Times – Distripress President, Carine Nevejans, addressed delegates with an update on Distripress business; including highlights of new member initiatives and details of the profitable performance of the Association in the year ending 31 March 2018. The President set out Distripress’ work this year to build its political presence in continued challenging times. This includes representation at the European Parliament to seek local government support to safeguard the future of press distribution. Plus, the announcement of a joint initiative with Reporters Without Borders to create a handbook on freedom of distribution. Commenting, Carine Nevejans said ‘The role of Distripress is not only about seeking local government support for the future of our industry. It is also about highlighting the challenges many of our members face in the battle for press freedom in their territory.’
Finding Opportunity in Disruption – Highlights of the 5th edition of the Distripress Circulation Monitor Report commissioned by Distripress, were delivered by Jim Bilton of Wessenden Marketing. This report sets out the international trends and key industry themes based on a survey of member companies. The full report is available free to member companies.
Jim Bilton commented ‘The 2018 report indicates that this year is defining the future and that the rate of change in our industry is accelerating. While our industry wobbles through a period of disruption we have identified clear opportunities for the smarter players.’
Expo Village and Business Meeting Hall – The Expo village and business meeting hall was opened by the President. Over the coming days exhibitors of press and by-products will showcase their products and services to member delegates and visitors to the Expo lounge. More than six thousand meetings will be held in the business meeting hall.
About Distripress – Distripress is a non-profit making trade association established in 1955 to support and promote the global circulation and distribution of press products (newspapers and magazines) in print and digital format. Our members are publishers, printers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers, plus complementary product and service providers, all engaged in the end-to-end press supply chain. Our international community has over 230-member companies in 60+ countries and meets once a year at our annual Congress event.
For more information about Distripress go to www.distripress.org
Managing Director, Tracy Jones tracy.jones@distripress.org Tel: +44 7710 080591
Distripress, Postfach 8034, Zurich, Switzerland