Columbia a Good Investment
February, 16 2005
Nihon Keizai Shinbum, 02.16.05
Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Columbia Music Entertainment, a company in the throes of rehabilitation under the wing of Ripplewood, looked satisfied. “Through our teamwork, we were able to cut costs and grow sales.” The company is expected to return to profitability on a consolidated basis in this term for the first time in 14 years, thanks to the reorganization of non-profitable businesses and other measures.
Hit tunes by Hitotoyo and Kiyoshi Hikawa have pushed sales toward profitability. Further, the company has high hopes for the distribution of digital music, announcing that, “It is expected that the distribution of digital music will attain significant growth. Japan is a leader in this field.” Zelnick himself comes from a major U.S. record company and was headhunted by Ripplewood. He emphasized the achievement of the rehabilitation, saying that “Columbia is a successful investment.”