Cultivating innovation

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The Lagardère Group continued its strategy of innovation in 2009, staying true to its reputation as a pioneer. For example, a number of Lagardère Active and Lagardère Publishing brands have been successfully launched on the iPhone over the last year, bringing customers even closer to the content on offer. In anticipation of a promising market, Lagardère Publishing has also positioned itself on the printing-on-demand segment, and has signed a partnership in this sector. Lagardère Services has introduced a programme to strengthen operating synergies between its retail subsidiaries. The Lagardère Sports division became the fi rst independent partner to which the International Olympic Committee has awarded media rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games; a fi rst in the history of the games!

Lagardère Publishing

Success of the Wines and Vintages application on the iPhone

Through the Wines and Vintages application, based partly on the Hachette Wine Guide, iPhone users can discover numerous appellations and view maps of wine-growing areas. For each appellation they will fi nd the description, nose, colour, grape variety, storage potential and serving temperature. With 700 listings, the application also provides a 230-term glossary. Launched on 11 December 2009, Hachette Livre's Wines and Vintages application had been downloaded 247,358 times at the end of 2009. For a few days, it even ranked number two among free applications downloaded on App Store.

Strategic alliance for printing-on-demand

Printing on demand is a technology that allows a single copy of a book to be printed to normal standards of quality within hours of an order being received from a bookshop or librarian, using a digital file of the work. It means publishers and bookshops do not have to stock such a large number of titles but can still ensure that these books will be available at any time, indefinitely. So that customers and publishers can take advantage of this major innovation, Hachette Livre has launched a joint venture with Lightning Source, a US global leader in printing on demand.

Lagardère Active

2 million applications downloads on iPhone

11: That's the number of iPhone applications launched this year by Lagardère Active, which decided in 2010 to step up the roll-out of its brands on smartphones. Their popularity is refl ected by the 2 million downloads recorded in December 2009, with over half of all iPhone users in France using at least one application from Lagardère Active every month. The available range includes a combination of free and pay applications (Première, Sports.fr, Télé 7, Doctissimo, ELLE à Table, etc.). They focus on practical information (cinema times, real-time sports information, etc.), and some have already
won leading positions in their areas. For instance, the Télé 7 and Première applications have been installed on more than 20% of iPhones. The mobile phone, a key element in the digital strategy, is enhancing the Lagardère Active brands, which have a promising future.

Lagardère Services

Fruitful synergies

The goal of Lagardère Services - the world's eighthlargest duty-free operator through its subsidiary Aelia - is to move into the sector's Top 5 by 2013. To do so, Lagardère Services aims to boost its international dutyfree retail activities by optimizing the know-how and assets of each subsidiary, present in 20 countries. Hence the ambitious Mostra programme, which covers Aelia's retail travel strategy: Aelia will define sales and marketing policy and be responsible for procurement, upstream logistics and IT resources, while local subsidiaries will manage fi nance and human resources. Aelia and local subsidiaries will set up joint ventures in each country to manage all outlets.

Lagardère Sports

Lagardère Sports, special partner to the International Olympic Committee

In February 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Lagardère Sports, through its subsidiary Sportfive, signed an agreement for the management of European media rights for the 2014 Winter and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, which will take place respectively in Sochi, Russia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This agreement makes Lagardère Sports a preferred partner of the IOC, which has agreed to give control of its media rights to an independent agency for the fi rst time in its history. The Olympic Games are a major global sporting event, broadcast in over 200 countries. This means that Lagardère Sports will manage media rights in 40 European countries (excluding France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK) for all media platforms, including freeto-air and pay television, the Internet and mobile telephones.