Ana Hanžeković took over the largest Croatian publishing house Hanza Media in a challenging situation – after the death of her father Marijana Hanžekovića (co-owner with her sister Dorom Hanžeković Žuža), in pre-bankruptcy, and at a time when global and local trends do not favor print media.
Hanza Media includes the daily newspapers Jutarnji list and Slobodna Dalmacija, the weekly women’s magazine Gloria, as well as Globus, Sportske novosti, totaling more than thirty print and twenty digital editions.
Ana Hanžeković, in an interview with Lider, explains that Hanza Media, with a strategic commitment through a clear focus on readers and their preferences, delivers top-notch creative services to its partners, created by experts from the award-winning native studio, the photo agency Cropix, and web television production, while also organizing successful conferences and events.
You successfully concluded the pre-bankruptcy settlement despite unfavorable circumstances for print media. Is it easier to operate without the psychological and financial burden of pre-bankruptcy?
– The realization of the pre-bankruptcy settlement was extremely demanding and lengthy; we secured liquidity exclusively from our own operations, and we completed the entire process of financial restructuring of the company and fulfillment of obligations from the pre-bankruptcy settlement even five years ahead of the planned deadline. With a clear focus on our core business, and with necessary organizational changes, we managed to ensure that Hanza Media operates profitably and meets its obligations, while continuously delivering quality and engaging content to the readers of its media editions.
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What are the plans for the future – between digital content and classic print editions?
– We want to be more dynamic and inventive than others, and to achieve this, we invest in infrastructure, employees, we are changing, responding to changes in the environment, and caring for the sustainability of the business. Further integration and development will allow us even clearer advantages in the market, and we will continue to respond to changes in audience behavior and content usage, following social trends and creating the best topics with a clear focus on reader preferences and retaining their attention. With this goal, in this challenging year, we successfully launched redesigned portals for Jutarnji list, Sportske novosti, and Slobodna Dalmacija, the first digital magazines on the market – Gloria Glam and Appeal, we launched the Hanza hub platform which brings series of round tables, expert dialogues, and reflections from leading societal actors on the economic recovery of the country after the major quarantine. Our goal in the upcoming period is to strengthen our position as the leading media company in Croatia, and our projects and solutions have been recognized by international professional organizations and are winning accolades at the global level.
