French publisher Group Hersant Media (GMH) yesterday unveiled an Internet-focused strategy to save its classifieds branch Comareg / Paru Vendu, which was recently placed under bankruptcy protection.

         The company said it hopes to increase its online revenue this year by 250 percent over 2010 revenue, from 18 million euros to 45 million euros, and it plans to invest 5 million euros to help it reach that goal. From now on, individuals who want to post a classified will have it for free on the company’s websites, although the company will offer optional upsells for photos, premium placement and similar promotions. The Web will be the first medium of publication, even for those who want their classified in print. (Some of the company’s current revenue for print is display ads.)

          The group will stop publishing 22 local print editions, out of 223, of its weekly Paru Vendu, which home-delivers 9 millions copies per week. The company will also close its 240 offices and eliminate 30 percent of its 2,500 employees, eliminating 758 persons. And the Paru Vendu website will be revamped to allow individuals to place their own ads.

         “We want to become a strong cross platform in local media in the area of automotive, real estate and job classifieds,” said GHM general manager Dominique Bernard.

          The plan is still subject to court approval under French bankruptcy law.

          Paru Vendu reported revenue of 236 million euros in 2010, down roughly 14 percent from 275 million euros in 2009. According to GHM, roughly 80 million euros are generated by real estate advertising and 60 million in the automotive area.

          By comparison, the other remaining big French player in the print classifieds segment, Spir Communication, recently released its full results for 2010. The media branch for Spir had a total revenue of 222.5 million euros — down 9.2 percent from 2009%. Print weekly revenue was 149 million euros, down 23.1 percent, and Internet revenue was up 43 percent to 73.3 million. Its websites include Logic-immo.com (real estate), Topannonces.fr (general), lacentrale.fr and Caradisiac.com (automotive). Total turnover for the group, including its distribution activities, was 316.8 million euros, down 4.6 percent from the previous year.