The Mail & Guardian will from next week be responsible for its own distribution, a key step in securing the newspaper’s independence, M&G chief operating officer Hoosain Karjieker said on Thursday.
M&G Media, publisher of the M&G and several other leading publications, has bought a stake in Central Media Distributors (Cape) (CMD), a company started by leading distributor and entrepreneur James Swemmer.
M&G Media owner Trevor Ncube is chairperson of the new distribution company and Swemmer is the MD.
Karjieker said: ”This acquisition is part of our plan to take ownership of activities that were previously outsourced to the larger media groups, so that the company will have better control over its circulation and profits.”
M&G Media will be aiming to distribute more than 60 000 copies of the newspaper every week for shop and street sales throughout South Africa as well as in other sub-Saharan countries.
Karjieker added: ”We are excited about this new development in the company and look forward to reaping good rewards in this regard.”
”By controlling distribution, we can continue to make investments in quality media to serve our growing pool of readers,” said Ncube. The distribution company is vital to the company’s growth strategy.
The M&G showed impressive growth in circulation from January to March this year, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures released at the end of May.
The M&G‘s ABC circulation figure for the period was 42 116 — higher than figures for Business Day (41 623) and the Sunday Independent (42 001).
This means the newspaper’s circulation grew by 6,2%, even though the sector (weekly newspapers) shrank by 3,5%. The sector for weekend newspapers shrank by 8,1%.
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