The circulation of consumer magazines shot up by 40 percent between July 2005 and June 2006, with five new titles launching in the first half of this year, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) results released on Friday.
Move! magazine, launched by Media24 in February last year, experienced the highest growth in the consumer magazine sector, increasing its circulation between April and June this year to 72,208 – nearly tripling its 27,918 circulation in the corresponding previous period.
‘The last three previous issues have gone over 80,000. The magazine is obviously well positioned and we are giving our readers what they want. We are fairly young and growth possibilities are high,” says editor Sbu Mpungose, whose readership falls within the LSM 4 – 6 groups for black women up to the age of 35.
‘But in terms of the South African demographics, older women can also read Move! magazine. If you think you have lots to contribute to our country and believe there are a lot of opportunities out there, Move! magazine is for you,” adds Mpungose, whose publication sells for R3.95.
Afrikaans women’s magazine Rooi Rose‘s circulation in the last quarter dipped below the 100,000 mark – from 132,702 to 97,205 – while its rival Sarie decreased from 153,244 to 131,280.
Fairlady magazine, whose new editor Suzy Brokensha had her first issue on the shelves in April, saw its circulation shrink from 95,617 to 82,881 in the second quarter of this year compared to the corresponding previous period.
Media24’s new Christian magazine Lééf has a circulation standing at 43,794 while the more established Finesse increased its ABCs from 89,258 to 101,784.
Afrikaans travel title Weg upped its circulation from 70,891 to 95,054 while its English rival Getaway went from around 77,000 to around 74,000. The men’s magazine Popular Mechanics increased its ABCs in the second quarter of this year by nearly 5,000 to 38,188. GQ and Men’s Health both had drops in circulation – Men’s Health decreased by some 3,000 while GQ saw its figures shrink by about 10,000 to 31,087.
People gossip magazine upped its circulation from 101,088 to 120,609 while the new Afrikaans version Mense‘s circulation stands at 23,676. Teen magazine Seventeen upped its figures by about 7,000 to 39,546.
In the other categories, custom magazines saw a 28 percent rise and one new title in the first half of this year, with Dish & Skottel and Edgars Club Magazine at the forefront of the growth. Between April and June this year, Dish & Skottel increased its circulation from around 1.1-million to 1.3-million while Edgars Club Magazine upped its numbers from 783,389 to 826,814.
On the newspaper front, weekly newcomer The Weekender published by Johnnic, has a first circulation figure of 5,076 while Sunday World increased its circulation in the second quarter from 147,769 to 178, 620.
The biggest daily newspaper, the Daily Sun, increased its circulation from 445,777 to 463,691 while Zulu paper Isolezwe saw its ABCs rise from 79,691 to 91,316. The Sowetan newspaper also increased its circulation from 129,590 to 131,562.