Bauer suspends some magazines, cuts jobs

The country's biggest publisher, Bauer Media, is suspending printing of some of its magazines and cutting 70 jobs as it deals with a fall in advertising revenue.

 

Print editions of several magazines including well-known brands Elle, OK!, Harper's Bazaar, and NW are being shelved, with the company saying a decision on recommencing printing will be taken “once the trading environment improves”.

According to reports, Bauer was making around $800,000 a week in advertising last year, but will be pulling in a lot less than that in the first six months of this year at least, its CEO Brendon Hill saying there had been a “sharp decrease” in advertising revenue.

In New Zealand, Bauer closed its business completely when the government forced it to stop printing magazines under its stringent Level 4 virus restrictions.

Today is also the day Bauer is due to complete its $40m takeover of rival Pacific Magazines, which will see the number one and number two publishers join forces to create a business with around 55 per cent of the domestic magazine market.

At present, most Bauer titles are printed by Ovato, while rival IVE holds the PacMags contract. Both printers have been buffeted since the virus struck.