Zoosk, Elite Singles, Jdate, Christian Mingle in Danger
By Alexandre (admin), last updated on December 21, 2023
As we exclusively revealed several months ago, the Spark Networks group, owner of Zoosk, Elite Singles, Jdate, Christian Mingle and SilverSingles, is in financial difficulty. Bad strategic marketing choices combined with the COVID year and the Zoosk takeover have put the German group in a situation that has forced it to implement a restructuring plan in October 2023.
With debt approaching 200 million euros, Spark Networks has detailed its restructuring plan to save the company. Among other things, it will be shedding almost 200 employees, outsourcing a number of business lines, and evolving its brands and communications with the help of a new marketing agency.
But what about the customers of these dating services? Will certain services disappear? Is there any risk in taking out a subscription?
In our opinion, there is no short-term risk in subscribing to one of the Spark Networks group’s brands. Indeed, the group has given itself until 2024 to return to sound financial health. However, 2024 will be a decisive year, and depending on results, the group may decide to close or merge brands to concentrate on the most profitable.
In our opinion, the brands least at risk are Zoosk, Elite Singles and Christian Mingle. In fact, they have 3 well-defined targets. Zoosk for the mainstream like Match, Tinder or Bumble, Elite Singles for the more demanding like eharmony, Hinge or The League, and SilverSingles to compete with OurTime.
The brands in danger could be Jdate, Edarling and Attractive World. These are losing popularity and therefore users year on year, and are duplicating the Elite Elite Singles brand.
Rest assured that we’ll be keeping a close eye on developments within the Spark Networks group, and we’ll be sure to keep you informed.
About the author
Expert of the platforms of meetings (sites and applications) for more than 10 years. I share with you my objective opinion on these platforms following my tests. I can also advise you on the best dating service to choose in comments.