Home › Comics › British Comics › Egmont Publishing aims to strengthen position in the kids’ magazines and comics market

Egmont Publishing aims to strengthen position in the kids’ magazines and comics market

By John Freeman on May 4, 2020

Now part of HarperCollins UK, could we be seeing a expansion in comics and magazines from Egmont Publishing here in the UK in coming months?

After selling the children’s book businesses in the UK, Poland and Schneiderbuch in Germany, Egmont Publishing has declared it wants to expand their position as a publisher across Europe.

Currently, Egmont publishes just six magazines aimed at children in the UK – Thomas & Friends, Disney Princess, Paw Patrol and Trolls for the under sevens, and TOXIC and Go Girl for over sevens. TOXIC currently reprints previously commissioned comic strip.

“We have a leading position in kids’ magazines in our 26 markets, and we plan to expand that business even further,” says CEO of Egmont Publishing, Torsten Bjerre Rasmussen.

“Our ambition is to be the best licensing partner for world leading licensors. Nothing has changed. Today, we are proud to have a strong partnership with great licensors like Disney, Mattel, Hasbro, Nickelodeon, MGA Entertainment and Lego, and we have high ambitions for the future.”

Egmont Publishing has very high ambitions for all three areas of its business. As well as being a publisher of kids’ magazines and comics, Egmont Publishing also invests in e-commerce and marketing services. Based on these business areas, Egmont Publishing expects to grow further in the future.

“For many years, we have been a very strong market-leading kids’ publisher. The UK, Germany and Poland, together with the Nordics, are very important markets in our global strategy for magazines and will have a key role to play in the years ahead. We will continue to invest in excellent content and creative development in order to deliver high-quality magazines for young readers,” says Torsten Bjerre Rasmussen.

The books publishing business in the UK, Poland and Schneiderbuch in Germany has been sold to HarperCollins, who took over the business from 1st May 2020.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.