The failure of The Business to build a sustainable sale as a magazine looks likely to have been the reason for the news of its abrupt closure yesterday.
Offical magazine ABC figures for the second half of 2007 reveal that it had a paid-for sale of 9,849 out of a total circulation 41,426. The Business relaunched as a weekly magazine in October 2006 – after ten years as a newspaper. Editor Allister Heath revealed this week that he was moving to financial daily City Am.
The Barclay Brothers’ other major magazine, the Spectator, peformed better rising to a new circulation high of 75,633 – up five per cent year-on-year. But of these, only 82.6 per cent (or 65,542) were actively purchased sales – the rest being made up of give-aways.
The sales performance for the New Statesman, also revealed today, may shed some light on news broken yesterday that editor John Kampfner was departing the title. It had a disappointing second half of 2007, dropping 12.7 per year-on-year cent to 26,208.
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The Economist remains the undisputed market leader in the news weeklies sector – its UK edition rose 6.7 per cent year-on-year to 181,374. Like the Spectator, it has some reliance on give-aways – only 81.7 per cent of its UK circulation is due to actively-purchased sales.
Dennis Publishing’s The Week put up in another strong circulation performance, up 7.7 per cent to 145,197, and Private Eye’s fortnightly sale remained steady at 207,566 – down 0.7 per cent year-on-year.
Magazine ABC figures for second half of 2007
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News and current affairs mags sales figures (with year-on-year rise)
- The Economist – UK edition – 181,374, up 6.7 per cent
- Fortune Magazine Europe – 106,631, down 0.2 per cent
- My Money – 89,500
- The Business – 41,426
- Investors Chronicle – 33,514, down 4 per cent
- MoneyWeek – 33,383, up 13.2 per cent
- Private Eye – 207,566, down 0.7 per cent
- The Week – 145,197, up 7.7 per cent
- Spectator – 75,633, up 5 per cent
- Prospect – 26,767, up 20.2 per cent
- New Statesman – 26,208, down 12.7 per cent
- The Oldie – 25,859, down 4.4 per cent
- Time Magazine (British Isles) – 135,496, down 5.6 per cent
- New Scientist (excluding Austalasia and America) – 113,453 – up 0.4 per cent
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