Handwerk Magazin

What Handwerk Magazin does

Handwerk Magazin is a German B2B business magazine founded in 1985/1986 and published by Holzmann Medien GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Planegg near Munich with customer-service operations in Bad Wörishofen. It is described as the largest independent business magazine for trades entrepreneurs (Handwerk) in Germany and serves as a crossmedia brand spanning print, digital subscriptions, podcasts, social media, events, and award programs, with an editorial team of roughly 15-20 staff led by Chefredakteur Patrick Neumann since December 2019.

The core product is a monthly print magazine covering business management topics for trades SME owners — taxes, law, finance, insurance, marketing, HR, digitalization, fleet management, and succession planning — distributed via subscription and through preferential pricing arrangements with associations including UnternehmerFrauen im Handwerk (UFH), Junioren des Handwerks (JdH), and Betriebswirte im Handwerk. The digital layer is anchored by hm+, a premium subscription platform launched January 2025 priced at €2.79/week, offering exclusive articles, financial calculators (in cooperation with FMH-Finanzberatung), downloadable work aids, podcasts, and video galleries. A WhatsApp-based AI chatbot called "Bello," released in 2026 and recognized with a European Digital Publishing Award for Usability, provides text-based conversational access to subscriber tools.

The business model combines subscription revenue (print and digital hm+), advertising and sponsorship (including awards co-sponsored with R+V Versicherung and Würth Modyf), and event/program income from organized industry events and competitions such as the Unternehmerfrau im Handwerk award (since 1996), Top Gründer im Handwerk, the Professor-Adalbert-Seifriz-Preis technology transfer award, and the Deutscher Nutzfahrzeugpreis. Reach is concentrated in the DACH region, primarily Germany, with a LAE 2021 decision-maker readership of approximately 580,000. The brand operates within the family-owned Holzmann Medien publishing group alongside sister titles such as Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung and sister brands including Freizeit Verlag and Handwerker Radio.

Name

Handwerk Magazin

Legal name

Holzmann Medien GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://handwerk-magazin.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Handwerk Magazin is the largest independent German B2B business magazine for trades entrepreneurs, founded in 1985 and published by Holzmann Medien. It delivers a crossmedia portfolio — monthly print magazine, premium digital hm+ subscription, calculators, podcast, WhatsApp AI chatbot, and co-organized industry awards — to SME owners across the German Handwerk sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Magazine subscriptions including print editions and digital hm+ premium access. Weekly subscription (hm+) available at €2.79/week. Multiple subscription tiers with preferential pricing for association members.
2. Advertising and Sponsorship: Print and digital advertising space sold to businesses targeting tradespeople. Sponsorship of awards and events (Unternehmerfrau im Handwerk, Top Gründer).
3. Industry Events: Organizes and hosts industry events including Bundeskongress, award ceremonies, and competitions that generate sponsorship and participation revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Handwerk Magazin is a German monthly business magazine and digital subscription platform that provides trades business owners (Handwerksunternehmer) with editorial content, practical tools, and community programs covering taxes, law, finance, insurance, marketing, personnel, digitalization, and fleet management. The core offering combines a print magazine subscription with the hm+ premium digital platform offering exclusive articles, financial calculators, downloadable work aids/templates, podcasts, and image galleries.

Product overview

Handwerk Magazin is a German business magazine for tradespeople (handwerk) offering a multi-platform portfolio combining print and digital content. The core product is the monthly print magazine covering business topics for trades SME owners. The digital extension hm+ provides premium subscribers with exclusive online content, calculators, downloads, podcasts, and video content. Key product differentiators include practical digital tools (calculators, work aids), the WhatsApp-accessible chatbot "Bello", award programs for women entrepreneurs, startup founders, and technology transfer, as well as a podcast series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• hm+: Premium digital subscription platform offering exclusive articles, tools, calculators, downloads, podcasts, and picture galleries for subscribers.

Products and services

• handwerk magazin (Print Magazine Subscription) Monthly business magazine for German trades business owners (Handwerksunternehmer) covering taxes, law, finance, insurance, management, marketing, personnel, fleet, and digitalization. Distributed via print subscription, with annual billing and preferential pricing for association members.
• hm+ Digital Subscription Premium digital membership providing access to exclusive articles, practical work aids, downloadable templates, checklists, calculators, podcasts, video galleries, and image galleries for trades business owners. Offered as weekly subscription at €2.79/week or bundled with the print subscription.
• Sonderheft "GRÜNDER" Annual special print and e-paper edition targeted at new trades founders and Meister, covering startup topics and business planning. Available at newsstand and as e-paper.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• R+V VersicherungcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 March 2026Insurance partner for 'Unternehmerfrau im Handwerk' award program. Co-organizes annual award ceremony recognizing women entrepreneurs in trades. Provides sponsorship and prize support.
• Würth ModyfcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 March 2026Workwear/safety equipment partner for 'Unternehmerfrau im Handwerk' award. Co-organizes annual award recognizing women entrepreneurs in trades.
• DATEV eGminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2018Collaboration on joint surveys and research about digitization in trades. Partnered for 'Medientag des Handwerks' at International Handwerksmesse (IHM).
• Steinbeis-Stiftung / Verein Technologietransfer Handwerk e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 November 2010Co-organizes 'Professor-Adalbert-Seifriz-Preis' (Seifriz Prize) - technology transfer award between trades and science. Magazine has organized this award for over 30 years.
• UnternehmerFrauen im Handwerk (UFH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with UFH organization. Magazine hosts 'Unternehmerfrau im Handwerk' competition and publishes extensive content about women in trades. Collaborative surveys and events.
• Junioren des Handwerks (JdH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for 'Top Gründer im Handwerk' competition and joint surveys on topics like payment behavior and liquidity in trades businesses.
• Holzmann Medien GmbH & Co. KGcoreOthersParent company and publisher of handwerk magazin. Located in Bad Wörishofen, Germany.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bauhandwerk: German B2B trade magazine for construction craftsmen, published by Bauverlag. Comparable business model (print + digital subscriptions, advertising) and overlapping target audience of construction trades SMEs.
• Malerblatt: B2B magazine for the German painting and decorating trade. Same Handwerk audience, same subscription + advertising model, same focus on business management topics for trade SMEs.
• elektrobörse smarthouse: German B2B trade publication for electrical craftsmen and smart building trades. Overlapping audience of German Handwerk business owners and analogous print + digital subscription model.
• IKZ Haustechnik: German B2B trade magazine for HVAC/plumbing trades SME owners. Same target audience and business model (subscription, advertising, events) within a specific Handwerk vertical.
• SHK Profi: German B2B trade magazine for sanitation, heating and climate (SHK) trades. Comparable audience of trades SME owners, similar content mix of business management and trade-specific topics, and identical subscription + sponsorship revenue model.
• Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung (DHZ): The official newspaper of German crafts (Handwerk), published by Verlag Handwerk GmbH (ZDH). Directly comparable B2B trade publication serving the same German Handwerk entrepreneur audience with print and digital subscription revenue.

Broad incumbents

• Vogel Communications Group: Large German B2B media group operating across multiple industrial verticals. A broader incumbent whose portfolio overlaps with the German trades media market but at much larger scale and across many categories beyond Handwerk.
• Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden: Major German B2B trade media house (part of Springer Nature / Wolters Kluwer ecosystem). Overlaps with Handwerk Magazin in serving German SMB professional audiences with subscription and event businesses, but across many industries.
• Hubert Burda Media: Diversified German media conglomerate with B2B trade media assets. Comparable in publishing breadth, audience monetization, and event/sponsorship capabilities, but operates far beyond the Handwerk niche.

Others

• Verlag Handwerk GmbH: Publisher of Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung and other Handwerk-sector publications; the publishing arm of ZDH. Directly comparable publisher to Holzmann Medien for German trades business information, but operates as a trade association-owned publisher.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/handwerk.magazin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/handwerk-magazin
• Instagraminstagram.com/handwerkmagazin
• Xx.com/handwerkmagazin

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Handwerk Magazin