Sprea

What Sprea does

Sprea Editori (Sprea S.p.A.) is an Italian thematic magazine publishing house headquartered in the Milan area (Cernusco Sul Naviglio), operating a multi-category catalog of more than 100 print and digital periodical titles organized across roughly 20 content verticals including hobbies, children's publications, history, music, cooking, photography, motors, science, computing, puzzles, crafts, and education. The company holds Italian publishing licenses for several international media brands including BBC Top Gear, BBC Sky at Night, Nikon Photography, Porsche Magazine, and Geronimo Stilton, alongside proprietary brands such as Mani di Fata, History, Classic Rock, and Anime Cult.

The core technology stack is a proprietary e-commerce publishing platform hosted at sprea.it, supporting both print and digital subscriptions, single-issue purchases, PDF collections, and bundle offerings. Sprea distributes through a multichannel stack combining its e-commerce storefront, phone, email, fax, WhatsApp ordering, traditional newsstand retail via the Area Edicola program, and a dedicated Bando Scuole institutional channel for selling educational materials to Italian schools. Payment options include PayPal, PostePay, Carta del Docente, Amazon Pay, Satispay, and major credit cards.

Sprea's revenue model is primarily direct-to-consumer, built on recurring annual subscriptions (typically 10-12 issues priced €29.90-€59.90), single-issue sales (print €3.50-€20.00, digital €1.90-€6.90), and discounted bundle packages. The customer base spans hobbyist adults, children, puzzle enthusiasts, collectors of niche content such as vinyl and classic cars, and institutional school buyers. The company is privately held with 51-100 employees, has not disclosed funding or M&A activity, and has operated continuously since founding, with a website copyright range of 2008-2026.

Name

Sprea

Legal name

Sprea S.p.A.

Website

https://sprea.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sprea Editori (Sprea S.p.A.) is an Italian thematic magazine publishing house in Milan, operating 100+ print and digital periodical titles across 20+ hobby and education categories, selling subscriptions, single issues, and bundles direct-to-consumer plus schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines (MPAJAEAF)

Keywords

• Magazine publishing
• Thematic periodicals
• Print subscriptions
• Digital magazines
• Educational publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Cernusco Sul Naviglio

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from magazine subscriptions across diverse categories including hobbies, children's publications, history, music, and more. Subscriptions typically run for 10-12 issues annually with options for print, digital, or combined formats.
2. Single Issue Sales: One-time purchases of individual magazine issues and special editions, available in both print and digital formats at varying price points.
3. Bundle/Package Sales: Bundled offerings combining multiple magazines, specials, and related products at discounted package prices.
4. School/Educational Sales: Sales of educational materials to schools including history texts, music texts, legal texts, and primary school materials through dedicated Bando Scuole program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sprea Editori (Sprea S.p.A.) is an Italian publishing house that publishes and sells thematic periodicals across more than 20 content categories including crafts, cooking, history, music, photography, science, motors, children's publications, computing, and puzzles. The company offers print and digital magazine subscriptions, single-issue purchases, bundle deals, PDF collections, and dedicated educational materials for Italian schools via the Bando Scuole program.

Product overview

Sprea Editori (Sprea S.p.A.) is an Italian magazine publishing company operating a multi-product portfolio of print and digital magazine publications. The company offers subscriptions and individual purchases across more than 20 content categories including Animals (Gatto Magazine, Il Mio Cane), Home Decor (Casantica, Casa Chic), Children's Publications (Geronimo Stilton Magazine, History Kids), Wellness (Vivere lo Yoga, Diabete Magazine), Crafts (Mani di Fata, I Love Amigurumi, Borse Uncinetto), Cooking (Un Mese in Cucina, Vegetariani in Cucina, Ricette per friggitrici ad aria), Puzzles (Crucintarsi, Sudoku titles), Photography (Il Fotografo, Nikon Photography), Computing (Linux Pro, Win Magazine, Hacker Journal), Motors (BBC Top Gear, Motociclismo Motorrad, Porsche Magazine), Music (Classic Rock, Prog, Vinile, Buscadero, Metal Hammer Italia), Science (Scienze, BBC Sky at Night), History (History, Scoprire Antico Egitto), and Comics/Anime (Anime Cult). The company provides products in both print and digital formats, including dedicated digital reading apps and PDF collections. Additionally, Sprea offers educational materials for Italian schools through its 'Scuole' program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mani di Fata: Craft and needlework magazine publication
• History
• Classic Rock
• Geronimo Stilton Magazine
• Anime Cult
• Il Fotografo
• Motociclismo Motorrad
• Win Magazine
• Leggi Illustrate
• Ciao 2001
• Vinile
• Collana Storia
• Collana Re e Regine
• Collana Guerre e Guerrieri
• Collana Civiltà Antiche

Products and services

• Mani di Fata A crafting magazine covering needlework, crochet, knitting, and embroidery patterns and techniques, targeted at hobbyist readers.
• History A history magazine covering world history topics from ancient civilizations to modern events.
• Classic Rock A music magazine focused on classic rock, featuring artist profiles, album reviews, and music history.
• Il Fotografo A photography magazine covering techniques, equipment, and artistic inspiration for photographers.
• BBC Top Gear An automotive magazine covering cars, driving, and motoring culture, published in Italian edition.
• Geronimo Stilton Magazine A children's magazine featuring the popular mouse character Geronimo Stilton, with stories and educational content.
• Motociclismo Motorrad A motorcycle magazine covering motorcycles, riding techniques, and motorcycling culture.
• Scienze A science magazine covering topics in astronomy, physics, biology, and general scientific discovery.
• Anime Cult A manga and anime culture magazine covering Japanese comics, animation, and pop culture.
• Vinile A vinyl record magazine combining physical vinyl releases with magazine content about music.
• Linux Pro A technology magazine focused on Linux, open-source software, and system administration.
• Win Magazine A computing magazine covering Windows software, technology tutorials, and digital tools.
• Porsche Magazine A magazine dedicated to Porsche cars, featuring models, driving experiences, and automotive culture.
• Nikon Photography A photography magazine in partnership with Nikon covering camera techniques and equipment.
• BBC Sky at Night An astronomy magazine covering celestial observations, space exploration, and astronomy science, published in Italian edition.
• History Kids A children's history magazine making historical topics accessible and engaging for young readers.
• I Love Amigurumi A crafting magazine dedicated to amigurumi (crocheted stuffed toys) patterns and techniques.
• Un Mese in Cucina A cooking magazine featuring monthly recipes and culinary techniques.
• Vegetariani in Cucina A vegetarian cooking magazine featuring plant-based recipes and culinary inspiration.
• Metal Hammer Italia A heavy metal music magazine covering metal bands, albums, and culture.
• Buscadero A music magazine focused on Italian and international music, particularly rock and pop.
• Casantica A home decor and country living magazine featuring interior design and lifestyle content.
• Hacker Journal A technology security magazine covering hacking, cybersecurity, and IT best practices.
• Digital Editions (Digitale) Digital versions of Sprea's magazine publications, accessible on various devices through their digital reading platform.
• PDF Collections (Raccolte PDF) PDF compilations of magazine issues available for digital download.
• School Textbooks (Testi per Scuole) Educational materials for Italian schools including scientific texts, historical texts, music texts, legal texts, and primary school materials distributed through the Bando Scuole program.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lagardère (Hachette Filipacchi): French-headquartered media group with one of Europe's largest consumer magazine operations (Elle, Paris Match, Le Journal du Dimanche). Comparable on multi-country European consumer magazine publishing with licensed brand titles.
• Mondadori: Italy's largest magazine and book publisher, with a portfolio of consumer periodicals across multiple categories. Directly comparable to Sprea on geography (Italy), business model (consumer subscriptions and single-copy sales), and breadth of hobby and lifestyle titles.
• RCS MediaGroup: Italian media company publishing newspapers and magazines (e.g., Corriere della Sera, Oggi, TV Sorrisi e Canzoni). Direct peer on geography and multi-category consumer magazine publishing, including licensed brand periodicals.
• Bauer Media: European magazine publisher with a large portfolio of hobby, lifestyle, and special-interest titles across the UK, Germany, and other European markets. Directly comparable on subscription model and breadth of niche consumer categories.
• Future plc: UK-based special-interest magazine and digital publisher with titles in technology, music, photography, and hobbies. Direct peer on multi-category niche hobby magazine publishing and subscription revenue model.
• Immediate Media: UK special-interest magazine publisher with hobby, food, and children's titles (BBC-branded magazines). Comparable on licensed brand partnerships (BBC), multi-category catalog, and children/hobby segments.

Regional players

• De Agostini: Italian publisher of partwork collections, books, and magazines. Comparable on Italian market, multi-category publishing, and Bando/educational sales channels.

Broad incumbents

• Condé Nast: Global magazine publisher with premium lifestyle, fashion, and hobby titles. Broad incumbent in consumer magazine publishing with overlapping customer demographics but a more upscale, global focus than Sprea's niche Italian portfolio.
• Hearst Magazines: Major US/global magazine publisher (Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Car and Driver). Broad incumbent with overlapping hobby and lifestyle categories but at much larger scale and primarily English-language focus.

Emerging players

• PressReader: Digital newspaper and magazine distribution platform giving consumers access to titles from multiple publishers. Comparable on subscription distribution model for periodicals; could be an emerging channel partner or competitor to Sprea's own digital editions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SpreaEditori
• Xx.com/spreaeditori

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sprea