Audax Groep is a Dutch print media and retail company, active also in Belgium. The publishing arm publishes magazines. It also produces and prints books, calendars, and flyers for other companies and builds websites. The Audax headquarters are located in
Gilze
Gilze en Rijen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains four villages: Rijen, Gilze, Hulten and Molenschot. It is home to the Gilze-Rijen Air Base.
Rijen grew in the 19th centur ...
.
History
Audax was founded in 1958 by Jacques de Leeuw. Jacques de Leeuw led the company until 2017 when he was replaced by his son, Hubert de Leeuw.
In 2018, Audax sold magazine publisher Cascade to
DPG Media
DPG Media Group is a Belgian Media conglomerate, media group. It is active in Belgium and the Netherlands. The exact ownership structure is not clear; it is believed that the group is mainly owned by the Belgian Van Thillo family. In November 2020, Audax Publishing published 11 magazines. Its most notables titles were
HP/De Tijd
''HP/De Tijd'' is a Dutch language monthly opinion magazine. Its editorial offices are in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Alongside '' De Groene Amsterdammer'', '' Vrij Nederland'' and ''Elsevier'', it is one of the most influential Dutch opinion magazin ...
, Weekend, Party, and Mijn Geheim. Most titles were acquired from the Finnish
Sanoma
Sanoma Corporation (, , formerly SanomaWSOY) is Finland's largest media group and a European education publisher. The company has media business in Finland and an education business in twelve European countries, including Belgium, Netherlands, ...
concern.
In 2019 Hubert de Leeuw was replaced by Casper de Nooijer. In 2020, Hubert de Leeuw took over the lead again. In May 2021 Audax published an intention to sell off the Marskramer, Novy and Prima stores it had acquired in 2019. In August 2021, these were acquired by the toy chain
Otto Simon
Otto Simon is a Dutch importer, distributor, and franchiser of toys and homeware, headquartered in Almelo.
History
The company was founded in 1911 by Otto Simon. At that time it was mainly a peddler company, specializing in beads and glassware. ...
. On 1 April 2022, HP/De Tijd left the Audax Groep after 31 years. Since then, HP/De Tijd is published by a newly established nonprifit, Het Vrije Woord.
Retail
AKO
The Algemene Kiosk Onderneming (AKO) is a Dutch kiosk/bookstore chain. The company was founded in 1878 as the Amsterdamsche Kiosk Onderneming. Many shops are located at railway stations. A typical shop stores 1,500 books and 2000 magazines. Dutch and international newspapers, magazines, and books are sold. The stores also sell basic office supplies, greeting cards, lottery and football pool tickets, gift cards, tobacco products, light beverages, and sweets. In April 2023 it had 66 stores, down from 72 stores in November 2020.
Bruna
Bruna is a Dutch bookseller. In addition to books it sells newspapers, magazines,
stationery
Stationery refers to writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery usually specifies materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer p ...
, computer
software
Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications.
The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
, and cards. Bruna was founded in 1868 as a bookselling and publishing firm. The company was led by
Henk Bruna
Henk Bruna (11 June 1916 – 22 February 2008) was a Dutch publisher and director of the stationery and bookstore chain Bruna. He was a brother of A.W. (Abs) Bruna (1902–1996) and an uncle of the artist Dick Bruna.
From 1935 till 1982 Bruna wa ...
from 1935 to 1982. ֿIts head office was in
Houten
Houten () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.
Population centres
The municipality consists of the following towns:
* 't Goy
* Houten
* Schalkwijk
* Tull en 't Waal
Houten (town)
The main town in the municipality i ...
Algemeen Dagblad
The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' (; ), also known by its initialism ''AD'' () is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam.
History and profile
''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered i ...
'', 18 April 2019.
In early 2017, the book chain was in serious financial trouble; its main stockholders came to the rescue in February. Alexander Leeuw "Nu ook Bruna in zwaar weer" ''
Nederlands Dagblad
''Nederlands Dagblad'' (; "Dutch Daily") is a Dutch daily newspaper, available nationwide, with a daily circulation of 23,800 issues (in 2020).
History
The paper was founded in 1944 as a semi- resistance paper during World War II called ''Refor ...
De Volkskrant
''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000.
Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...
NRC Handelsblad
''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country.
History
was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...
'', 18 November 2019. In November 2020, Bruna operated 270 shops. In April 2023, the number of stores was down to 244.
Read Shop
Read Shop is a network of stores throughout the Netherlands that sell books, magazines, office supplies, tobacco products, and snacks. The number of stores in April 2023 is 144, down from 170 in November 2020.