Bonial takes a majority stake in Tjek and adds four Nordic markets

Bonial, the digital leaflet company owned by Axel Springer, is buying a majority stake in Tjek, a Copenhagen firm that runs offer and brochure apps in four Nordic countries. German trade title Lebensmittel Praxis reported the deal on October 12. The price and the size of the stake were not disclosed.

Tjek runs leaflet apps in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland

Tjek was founded in 2009. Its apps collect the weekly offers of many retailers in one place. In Denmark it runs eTilbudsavis. In Norway it has eTilbudsavis and Mattilbud, in Sweden eReklamblad and in Finland eTarjouslehdet. Tjek says it reaches 2.5 million users a month.

The two founders, Morten Bo and Jack Tolboe, stay on as managing directors and keep a share of the company.

Bonial grows from two countries to six

Until now Bonial worked in Germany, with the Kaufda and Meinprospekt apps, and in France, where it counts 14 million users a month. With Tjek it will be present in six markets. The company puts its combined reach at 16.5 million users. It sells marketing services to about 1,500 retailers.

Mark Dekan, the Axel Springer board member responsible for commerce, called the deal the next step in Bonial’s European expansion. He said it strengthens the business in the Nordic markets in particular.

Leaflet apps compete with retailers’ own media networks

Digital leaflets are one of the oldest forms of paid retail promotion. Shops pay to place their weekly deals in front of shoppers who are already planning a purchase. The same budgets are now also courted by retailers’ own ad businesses, such as Tesco Media’s in-store screens. IAB Europe has proposed common ways to count in-store ad impressions.

The numbers show the scale of the step. Nordic retailers have so far bought leaflet placements from a company reaching 2.5 million users a month. After the deal, the same apps belong to a group that sells access to 16.5 million users in six countries.