Pacific Magazines is cutting the print editions of four of its titles - Bride to Be, Prevention, Your Garden and Practical Parenting. The move follows an announcement by owner Seven West Media that Pacific had suffered a 55.6 percent drop in 2015/16 earnings.
Your Garden will close entirely after its final spring edition on sale August 26. Practical Parenting and Bride to Be will become online only, and the licence to publish health and fitness title Prevention will revert back to US publisher Rodale in January 2017.
The final issue of Bride to Be is on sale now and the magazine will relaunch in September as mywedding.com.au. The final print issue of Practical Parenting will go on sale in September.
“Our portfolio changes are designed to focus Pacific on its key consumer brands and categories and to build a stronger business, more able to provide outstanding multi-platform content experiences for our audiences and successful outcomes for our clients," said Peter Zavecz, CEO, Pacific Magazines, speaking yesterday. “The decisions are part of a transformation process at Pacific which creates a more sustainable, future-focused business with stronger competitive advantage.”
“The decision for Pacific to cease publishing these titles in print has not been an easy one," he said. "We are very sad to say goodbye to the talented staff and friends whom are affected by today’s changes."
The company has not said how many staff will be made redundant.
The decision comes after new Audit Bureau of Circulation figures showing that glossy magazines suffered an across the board decline in circulation in the first six months of the year. Bauer's flagship Cosmopolitan was down 43.9 percent and PacMag's popular New Idea dropped 14.5 percent.
Meanwhile, Pacific Magazines announced this morning that Zavecz is now leaving the company and will join News Corp.
“Peter has done a remarkable job over the past 11 years, as commercial director, as a publisher and as CEO of Pacific Magazines," said Tim Worner, CEO of Seven West Media.
“He has led a terrific team working on some of the best brands in the publishing business and successfully led the Pacific Magazines transformation into new forms of digital delivery. We understand and acknowledge his decision to relocate to his home town in Melbourne with his family.”