Mediahuis acquires navigation app RouteYou
European media group Mediahuis has taken over the Belgian RouteYou. RouteYou is a navigation platform designed to discover, plan and share routes optimized for various outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, cycling and more.
In recent years there has been a strong increase in walking and cycling as healthy pastimes. The market for recreational cycling and walking navigation applications continues to grow and the Belgian RouteYou, founded in 2005, is one of the pioneers.
RouteYou's platforms inspire millions of walkers, cyclists and other sports enthusiasts to plan and discover routes and help with their online experience and navigation. Routes can be adjusted based on individual preferences such as distance, landscape, terrain, sights and the platform offers the opportunity to share experiences with fellow users. Today, RouteYou has more than 7 million routes created by an active community of 15 million unique visitors per year.
With the acquisition, Mediahuis wants to further grow the company by integrating content, improving user engagement on different platforms and integrating Mediahuis' experience in advertising, digital subscriptions and data analysis.
Philiep De Sutter, founder and CEO of RouteYou: “With RouteYou, we have pushed boundaries over the past 18 years to make recreational online navigation possible for the millions of cyclists, walkers and other recreational users who now use our platform. With Mediahuis we have found the ultimate partner to ensure the future of the RouteYou platform and to successfully expand it further. Mediahuis' expertise in the field of content, advertising and marketing will enable us to take the route experience of our users to new heights. In this way we can further realize our mission to help them find, plan and experience the most beautiful routes, under the motto: “it is not about the destination, but about the route and, above all, with whom you take it”.
Gert Ysebaert, CEO Mediahuis group: “With the acquisition of RouteYou, we acquire an experienced team and extensive content and platforms around recreational outdoor activities. We know that our readers have a strong interest in walking, cycling and running. The integration of RouteYou offers great opportunities to enrich the service to subscribers. We are convinced that RouteYou and Mediahuis can mutually strengthen each other. We are happy to complete the remainder of the route with them.”
