Fairfax moves back into magazines with Amex title

The deal with American Express to publish a local version of Travel + Leisure represents Fairfax's first big push back into paid magazines since it pulled out of the sector in the late 80's.

The successful US publication currently has a circulation of around 976,000 copies a month, and Fairfax General Magazines (currently publishing free titles) are in charge of preparing the local version for publication in September. The title is set to lock horns with other similar themed titles on the market, including the ACP published Australian Gourmet Traveller.

Fairfax spokesman Alan Revell claims the title offers the company an excellent strategic opportunity to leap back into magazine publishing. “This venture with American Express Publishing is an exceptional opportunity for Fairfax to expand its presence in the magazine market,” he says. “We have been looking at different business opportunities that would allow us to expand our magazine publishing portfolio, and we feel we will now have a publishing powerhouse in this sector that will be exceptionally hard for competitors to match.”

Fairfax already publishes several specialist titles, among which are BRW and Shares.