Canadian magazines experienced some devastating sales declines during the 1st half of 2008.  The following titles are included in this category: Canadian Family (-75%), Canadian Home & Country (-56%), Wish (-53%), Canadian Business (-38.8%), Flare (-28.5%), LouLou (English) (-23.3%), Chatelaine (-21.2%), and The Hockey News (-15.9%).
Digital Home
Â
ASDA (subsidiary of Walmart) has called off some of their proposed changes to the distribution deals that they had in place with magazine publishers and distributors.  The retail chain had received a great deal of negative feedback from the publishing community after ASDA’s magazine buyer had released a series of demands that were branded as “outrageous”.   A source [...]
In Britain, when the Audit Bureau of Circulation releases their 1st Half 2008 figures, it has been predicted that significant sales reductions will be realized for some celebrity and women’s magazines.
Brand Republic UK
Â
Actor Denis Leary is set to host the FASHION ROCKS 2008 event.   Supported by Conde Nast’s Media Group, the annual fashion-meets-music extravaganza this year moves from London to the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where confirmed acts Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, Duffy, Fergie, Justin Timberlake, L’il Wayne, [...]
The U.K.’s ASDA grocery chain, owned by WALMART USA,  is seeking “outrageous” concessions from magazine publishers.  An ASDA email memo, sent to British magazine publishers and distributors has outlined a series of proposed conditions with which publishers are requested to comply. These proposals are as follows;
-Â Asda’s demands include a request for two pages of editorial or [...]
Independent newsstands seem to be a throwback from a bygone retail era.  In Victoria (BC), City Hall News despite competition from a nearby Chapters superstore and a shifting demograhic base has managed to have their customers keep coming back.Â
The Globe & Mail
An extensive report published by Fitch Ratings indicated that U.S. consumer magazines continue to struggle in the weakening economy, but are positioned to fair better than newspapers. Folio (July 10, 2008)
Author Cathy Alter spoke to The Globe & Mail about her new book; Up For Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over.  Her life was like a hurricane. After a year of following advice from COSMOPOLITAN and GLAMOUR, Cathy has turned her life around.
The Globe & Mail
Â
B2B publisher IDG is no small fish. They have over 450 websites, 300 magazines, 13,000 employees and revenues over £3bn. Their strategy to move online appears to be paying dividends.Â
The Guardian
Conde Nast U.K., has announced the launch of a British version of WIRED. Publisher Jamie Jouning perceives the challenging economy as an ‘opportunity not a threat’.    ‘We’ve done a lot of research into this launch and genuinely feel there’s not a better time to launch. Technology is playing an increasingly important role in contemporary civilisation [...]