No such thing as bad publicity... really?
If there's no such thing as bad publicity, why do so many people take steps to avoid it? Expensive steps at that, sometimes. Or awkward steps, that engender tricky questions and even downright hostility.
The exemplars of apparent sanity who are seeking to switch off the spotlights range far and wide. The Roddicks, the powers behind the UK's Body Shop, are said to be contemplating taking their company private: after courting publicity for their smelly shops and campaigning causes, they are now wondering if they really like the nitpicking scrutiny of journalists, analysts and ethical investors. If they do delist, they will be following in the footsteps of Richard Branson, who took Virgin private some years back.
Anita Roddick and Branson are both high profile figures. So, too, is Colin Powell, who finally decided that he wasn't prepared to exchange his relative freedom from exposure for the chance of winning the presidency of the US. Of course, the all-encompassing exposure Powell feared is quite different from the disclosure legally required of corporations. But many companies, before going public, underestimate the legal demands on them, never mind those of a marketplace ravenous for information.
Perhaps it was a deep respect for privacy on the part of the typical family owners of most continental European companies that traditionally made them rely on banks for capital rather than prying equity markets. Until recently, that is. Now more and more such families are ceding control and selling off chunks of their heirlooms to unfamiliar stockholders via a stock market listing, courting potentially unwelcome publicity in the process.
If the current trickle of such IPOs by continental European companies turns into a flood, we will doubtless see the occasional reversal, as they discover that it's no longer just a question of turning in good profits. Now they also have to explain how the performance was achieved and how they will improve on it next year. And they have to find a way of courting publicity for the company, because that increases familiarity which, in turn, improves the chances of potential shareholders deciding to buy the stock. But it's a fine line, because familiarity can also breed contempt. And then we're back to the glare of publicity that many find hard to bear.