Juan Carlos Franquet, CEO of Thomson Reuters (Spain)

1. Thomson entered the Spanish market in 1999 through Aranzadi. Why did you set up in Spain and how have you progressed in recent years?
The Thomson group entered the Spanish market by setting up a joint-venture with the publisher Aranzadi to provide new sectors requiring legal information with tools to enable them to become familiar with the legal world. This initial process culminated in Aranzadi joining the Thomson group in July 1999.
From that moment on, a new phase began characterized by the on-going search for innovation through the development of technological solutions to enable the work of professionals in the legal domain. That is why we made a 12 million Euro investment in 2001 to launch Westlaw.es onto the market, the first Internet legal service, which remains the most complete and powerful referential tool in the Spanish legal field today. This was the beginning of a journey, which continues today, and which is now giving rise to an expansive offering of services and the continual improvement of all the services we already offer our clients.

2. What are the plans of the company in the short and medium terms, and how is the current economic and financial downturn affecting it internationally and in Spain?
Our company’s business model is stable and as a result is suited to organic growth and growth through expansion plans with new purchases that enable us to broaden our portfolio of services and our geographical coverage. And despite the fact that the economic downturn is affecting all sectors, we at Thomson Reuters Aranzadi continue to focus on profiting from our strengths in order to maintain the value we offer to our clients and our shareholders. The company is aware of falling growth rates in Spain as well as in other markets, such as the United States. Nevertheless, we should not forget that times of crisis are also times of opportunity and in terms of innovation, it is a lot easier to find those opportunities and to carry out the growth and expansion plans we have in the pipeline.

3. How big a role do the new technologies play in a business traditionally undertaken on paper?
More than 60% of our turnover currently comes from the Internet. The jump from being a traditional legal publisher to being a solutions company has already happened. Our Online service, Westlaw.es, now has more than 50,000 users, and during 2009 we have increased our portfolio of online products with three new services: Westlaw Forma, Westlaw Concursal and Westlaw Litigator Civil-Mercantil. The last of the three also constitutes a turning point on the company’s journey because in the same way as when we set up Westlaw, its launch has enabled a hugely important qualitative jump by providing a tool to help litigation lawyers develop arguments and foresee the declarations of their opponents from a new perspective; that of the “role of their client” in the litigation. Moreover, the service enables them to reduce preparation times required for cases and provides quality comprehensive information so they can advise their clients as to the possibilities of winning or losing cases. It is the first time the market has had access to a service of this nature, which has been developed in close collaboration with our clients through the detailed analysis of working processes and of where the greatest obstacles were encountered. That is why we are now proud to be able to present an intelligent information service that will save you time and provide you with security.

4. What are the advantages of Spain for your company and where do you think improvements could be made to the Spanish business climate?
Spain is now the tenth largest economy in the world, and Thomson Reuters has a presence in several countries in the EMEA region such as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, so Spain is a very attractive market that strengthens the trademark globally. Furthermore, and since Aranzadi has been familiar with the expectations and real needs of the market for nearly 80 years, we have a competitive edge from the outset, which Thomson Reuters intends to take advantage of at all times.

Despite the difficulties of gaining an advantage in any sector or market niche, I think it is necessary to adapt the economic system in general (as hackneyed as it may sound, we need to get over our addiction to bricks and mortar, however long it may take) and specifically to improve the competitiveness and preparation of our workers, executives and, why not, our leaders too. We have to change the mentality of everyone who in one way or another participates in and benefits from the production system. We must all be aware of the need to recover that spirit of sacrifice and optimism, characteristic of the Spanish on so many occasions, which gave rise to our somewhat adventurous and ingenious image. And if we combine this with certain necessary changes to the company administration model, the tax system, and the labor market, we will be able to continue to feel proud of our companies, Spanish companies, which are sure to go on conquering the world in many areas.