Below are statements from: FANCY magazine, Gurgle Magazine, Haymarket Consumer Media, How It Works magazine and Saga magazine.
FANCY magazine
River is delighted to announce that its speciality cooking and baking title FANCY has charted a whopping 15.4% period-on-period ABC increase – with a Jul-Dec 2011 circulation of 57,759. What’s more, FANCY has succeeded in overtaking Jamie magazine.
Phil Geary, group marketing director at NBTY Europe, comments, ‘The March/April issue of FANCY will be the ninth produced by River and this latest ABC figure speaks for itself. In less than a year we have seen consistently stronger conversion rates for FANCY in Julian Graves stores around the country, substantiating its effectiveness in terms of magazine sales, repeat footfall, incremental product sales and increased basket size.’
Nicola Murphy, River CEO, says, ‘We hold FANCY magazine very close to our hearts and to see it report such a substantial increase period-on-period in the most competitive market out there right now is heart-warming indeed. Overtaking Jamie magazine is the buttercream icing on the cupcake, literally!’
FANCY Editor Julia Shaw adds, ‘We’re thrilled that FANCY is having such success – it’s testament to the great product that FANCY is. Our readers are loyal, discerning Julian Graves customers, who love their cooking and baking, love sharing their recipes with us, and most importantly, love FANCY to bits. It’s quirky, beautifully designed and irreverent. It taps into the current flurry of interest for all things cooking and baking, and FANCY’s aim is to always inspire readers, both young and old, to grab their spatulas and mixing bowls with gusto and bake for Britain. We feature tips and recipes from top chefs, artisan producers and, of course, our own readers. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves having fun with food.’
Gurgle magazine
Gurgle magazine recorded an ABC of 31,462 representing a 38% period on period increase. The bi monthly parenting title, launched by Media 10 in May 2011, is already the second top selling parenting magazine after only 4 published issues!! All other parenting titles, including Mother & Baby and Prima Baby, experienced significant ABC decreases.
Gurgle was initially launched exclusively into all Mothercare and Early Learning Centre stores as part of a joint partnership. Mark Kenton, Marketing Manager, said’ following a very successful launch the retail distribution footprint has increased dramatically with all the major retail multiple groups now stocking the magazine. There has been a real buzz around the magazine in the trade and a great consumer reaction which is reflected in our impressive ABC performance’.
Scarlett Brady, Editor, commented’ We’ve discovered a gap in the market for a modern mother and baby magazine that looks and reads like a stylish glossy. The magazine delivers everything a mum needs to know about caring for their babies and toddlers, while inspiring them to have fun, feel fab and look fit in the process’.
Haymarket Consumer Media
Haymarket Consumer Media’s flagship football title FourFourTwo recorded an outstanding performance in the latest ABC audit while Stuff magazine cemented its place as the biggest circulating gadget title.
FourFourTwo’s sales figures were up 19.9% period on period and 6.8% year on year with a total circulation of 96,215 copies. This exceptional growth is the result of a continued focus on producing innovative editorial content.
Haymarket’s gadget magazine Stuff grew 0.1% to 80,226 copies period on period, cementing its position as the market leading gadget title, and maintaining the gap to its nearest competitor T3 with 63% more copies sold over the July-December period.
95.3% of Stuff’s circulation is actively purchased against 77.9% for T3. In comparison, 19.4% of Wired’s circulation is free or bulk sales, while 20% of T3’s copies are free.
What Car? circulation fell by 6.1% period on period with 99.8% of copies actively purchased – the highest figure in its sector.
Autocar recorded a small decline (3.5%) since the last ABC audit to 43,004 copies, but this is in line with the overall motoring magazine market. The weekly title outperformed its nearest rival Auto Express, which posted a 7.7% fall in circulation.
Classic & Sports Car outperformed the market, with a steady circulation compared to the previous audit period (72,169 copies) and -1.3% year on year against a total market decline of -2.4%.
Haymarket Motoring, which includes What Car?, Piston Heads, Autocar and Classic & Sports Car, now reaches over 8 million (Figure based on unique users across Haymarket Motoring brands in January 2012 plus magazine sales. It does not include NRS readership figures or possible duplication across brands) car buyers and enthusiasts each month in print and online - a 29% increase year on year.
In total, Haymarket Consumer Media subscriptions grew by 1.2%, a good performance in the context of the overall market. This is testament to the value of the company’s specialist titles to its most loyal consumers.
Detailed analysis of ABC results shows that, as a group, Haymarket continues to focus on circulation figures that are based on an active purchase, with few bulk copies and heavily discounted subscriptions.
Commenting on the results, David Prasher, Managing Director of Haymarket Consumer Media, said: 'We’re delighted with FourFourTwo’s fantastic performance. To achieve almost 20% growth period on period is a tremendous result given economic and market conditions in 2011. These numbers cement the position of the FourFourTwo brand in the men’s market, which we expect to be boosted even further during 2012 by the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
‘The automotive market faced challenges in 2011 with fewer new car sales. However, the fall in print circulations for What Car? and Autocar have been offset by significant growth in digital platforms, with more people than ever accessing our content online and via mobile and tablet devices.
‘The performance of the majority of our titles is directly or indirectly based on consumer purchasing power and as a result has been greatly impacted by the economic downturn.’
‘Across all the sectors in which we operate, we are confident that our brands maintain their competitive position.’
Hugh Sleight, Brand Director of FourFourTwo said: ‘We’re absolutely delighted with our performance. It’s tempting to say that we’ve suddenly found a secret ingredient but that’s not true. We’ve just really focused on what made FourFourTwo successful in the first place: great stories, brilliant writing and standout covers, combined with innovative publishing. Developments like Stats Zone and FourFourTwo Performance have also created a real buzz around the place that manifests itself in everything we’re producing.’
‘Our mission is to produce magazines that our readers love and our editorial teams should be proud of these strong ABC results. Haymarket Motoring now reaches an amazing six million car buyers and enthusiasts a month, a figure which is still growing strongly and reinforces our leadership in the specialist automotive market.’
Andrew Golby, What Car? Publishing Director, said: ‘What Car? has seen the effects of a new car market with fewer private buyers in the market during 2011, and that has certainly had an impact upon our newsstand sales. That said, we’re beginning to see improved sales recently, and visitor numbers to whatcar.com have surpassed our own expectations. In January, more than 2.5 million users visited whatcar.com on a desktop, tablet or mobile device, which has smashed all previous records. We hope this is a clear signal of a gradually improving market in 2012.’
How It Works magazine
How It Works, the successful science and technology magazine from Imagine Publishing, has received its first ever ABC audit for the period Jan-Dec 2011. Imagine is pleased to report a first-time ABC result of 30,342, demonstrating further the success and popularity of its flagship monthly title. Despite joining the market amid undeniably tough economic circumstances, How It Works defied the downturn, immediately gaining favour with the public and becoming the most successful new launch in Imagine’s seven year history.
Editor Helen Laidlaw said: “The ABC result is a clear indicator of the popularity of this amazing magazine. Since we launched in late-2009, we knew there was something inherently marketable about the concept of creating a fun and approachable science magazine. And now this positive first result will confirm it to existing and potential retailers, advertisers and consumers.”
Account Manager Liz Tucker said: “The fact that How It Works is now an officially audited title, and with a fantastic first ABC result, is clear proof of the magazine’s growth and success. Having carved out a strong position in the marketplace, the title’s appeal to readers and advertisers alike will only continue to intensify. We’re extremely pleased with this result.”
With a powerhouse brand and wealth of state-of-the-art complementary products, including digital magazines, eBooks, bookazines and, of course, the recently revamped website – www.howitworksdaily.com – the How It Works name is fast becoming synonymous with quality, entertainment and innovation. Today’s ABC figure is yet another sign of the relentless success of the brand in this competitive market.
Saga Magazine
Saga Magazine has just sailed away with ‘UK’s bestselling monthly magazine’ title for the fourth consecutive year.
Saga Magazine has retained its title as the UK’s bestselling subscription monthly – for the fourth year running, with a total circulation of 631,530 (ABC figures for July-December 2011).
The latest ABC release shows that Saga Magazine has delivered another strong performance, with total circulation up 2.3% period-on-period and also achieved year-on-year growth of 0.8%.
In fact, of the top 10 magazines (by total circulation), half are customer magazines, given away free. Of the other half, Saga Magazine is the ONLY consumer title to have recorded a year-on-year increase. Watch out for the phrase "actively purchased", which reveals how many copies counted in a magazine's total headline circulation are actually bought, not given away free. Saga Magazine's figures show that an impressive 98.5% copies are actively purchased.
This terrific performance is seen against a backdrop of decline amongst many Publishers, with double-digit falls for some of the UK’s leading titles.
Editor Katy Bravery said: "We're thrilled to post another rise in circulation. It shows that quality journalism remains in high demand. The strength of Saga Magazine lies in its intelligent, eclectic content and we will continue to both surprise, amuse and inform our readers.
“Our recent redesign went down well too - I received many hundreds of letters about it. As a subscription magazine, it is that unique relationship we have with our many readers that I feel is one of the most vital, and happy, keys to our ongoing success."
Martin Smith, Director of Media at Saga added: “The continuing success of the magazine and its increasing readership is testament to the strength of the Saga brand and its expertise in knowing what people over fifty want and need. With its vast circulation and unrivalled reach, Saga Magazine offers advertisers a prime opportunity to reach the over-50s audience, who have greater disposable income than any other group.”
