The Téma group, which specializes in thematic publications such as transport, agriculture and social issues, was gradually weakened by a number of structural and strategic problems. These obstacles accumulated, leading to the liquidation of several of its subsidiaries.
Since the early 2020s, the Téma group has tried to position itself on the digital market, aware of the gradual decline of the paper press. However, the implementation of its strategy suffered from major delays. François Grandidier, the group's founder and CEO, admitted: "We took too long to roll out our project for a complete media transformation." Projects to create digital portals, designed to bring together several titles on cross-functional themes, have never reached their full potential.
The collapse of paper subscriptions, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighted the inadequacy of Téma's structures. As Antonin Amado, former editor-in-chief of ASH, explained: "Reading habits are changing, and wherever we haven't moved fast enough on the digitization of titles, we're seeing declines in sales."
The Metz court has ordered the liquidation of the holding company and subsidiaries such as Média et Jardin, Média et Agriculture and Agri Terroir Communication. These companies, publishers of titles such as Cultivar and Garden centers employed 80 permanent staff and several freelancers. The human consequences, estimated at almost 100 FTEs, raise questions about the sustainability of such business models in a difficult economic climate.
Some subsidiaries, such as ASH Publications and Supply Chain Magazine, were taken over by Alaloop Media, chaired by Antonin Amado, former editor-in-chief of ASH, and managed by Fabrice Auclert, co-founder of Eureka Presse (publisher of ASH Publications and Supply Chain Magazine) BasketUSA.com , Futura-Sciences , the Internet user , Sciences & Vie and Auto Plus ). By contrast, other specialist titles such as Vegetable growing or L'Officiel des Transporteurs this raises questions about the viability of ultra-specialized publications. This situation raises questions about the viability of ultra-specialized publications in the face of the stranglehold of the big players in digital content.
