IVE Group has swiped a key four-year contract from rival PMP to print the entire stable of titles of leading Seven West Media-owned magazine publisher Pacific Magazines.
The majority of PacMags titles – including Marie Claire, Family Circle, That’s Life!, Who, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, InStyle, Home Beautiful, Girlfriend, Virgin Australia Voyeur and Diabetic Living - will transition to IVE in mid-October, while the remaining two mastheads - New Idea and Better Homes & Gardens – will follow in January 2018.
“We are delighted to be expanding our services with Pacific Magazines,” says IVE Group MD Warwick Hay. “Our capacity to provide high quality on time delivery for a range of publications is underpinned by our current $40 million investment program to upgrade technology in Blue Star WEB and the establishment of our Franklin WEB operation in NSW.
IVE Group recently shifted construction of its major heatset-web printing plant from Seven Hills to a larger existing facility at Huntingwood in Sydney’s west.
Pacific Magazines CEO Gereurd Roberts says: “Blue Star WEB have been valued partner since 2005, and we are pleased to be taking our relationship to the next level."
The contract snatch is the latest shot in a heat-set web printng war between the two giants.
In January, IVE won the multi-million-dollar contract to print Coles Supermarkets’ monthly catalogue from IPMG, effective 1 July 2017.
The deal came just weeks after IVE completed a $116 million takeover of Franklin Web and AIW – a move seen as a counter to the market dominance of rival PMP – and weeks before PMP’s takeover over of IPMG was approved by the ACCC.
PMP prints Bauer and News Life Media magazines, as well as a host of catalogues including Woolworths, Harvey Norman, Bunnings, Officeworks, Aldi, Metcash, Myer, David Jones and Ikea.
The two major players dominate over 90% of the catalogue market.