Most magazines on the market offer either business insight or lifestyle information. The new women’s magazine, Destiny, attempts to combine both.
Founding editor Khanyi Dhlomo, who previously edited True Love magazine, said she explored several ideas while doing an MBA at Harvard. “Destiny seemed the best place to start,” she said. The magazine is published by Ndalo Media, a 50-50 joint venture owned by Dhlomo and Media24. Sharda Naidoo, previously from the Sunday Times‘s Business Times, is deputy editor.
“There is nothing like [Destiny] in South Africa or overseas that I could find,” Dhlomo told the Mail & Guardian. She said there is no mainstream magazine that deals with business topics as part of women’s lifestyles.
Dhlomo said her classmates at Harvard, who were interested in business, read publications like the Wall Street Journal and the Economist, but also fashion magazines like Vogue, InStyle and Harper’s Bazaar. “A few that I chatted to said they’d love a magazine that combines both. Not because they didn’t enjoy the different magazines, but because it would affirm who they are in a holistic way — as beautiful, stylish women who are also potentially powerful, successful leaders.”
Destiny is taking advantage of a gap in the market. “Focus group research conducted in South Africa showed that while people didn’t ask for that mix, there was a need for business information targeted at women,” she said.
Dhlomo said there is a “need to do the obvious” with articles on women in business and entrepreneurship, but Destiny also will offer general business content, giving readers stories normally found in “male-dominated” financial magazines, such as the Financial Mail or Finweek. “You can page through a financial magazine and not see a single woman, or just one or two,” she said.
Destiny‘s content will be friendly and accessible, but still rigorous. “A friend of mine is a well-known investment banker and he said he found local financial writing was very technical. He understands it, of course, being an investment banker, but he still found it technical. If someone like that feels financial writing is technical, how does someone who isn’t as involved in business feel?” Dhlomo said.
The magazine is primarily targeting women aged between 25 and 55, with an average age of 35. Readers will either be in business — whether junior or senior managers or chief executives — or professionals linked to businesses, such as accountants or lawyers.
In its first issue Destiny mixes business with pleasure. Business features include the tug-of-love between the SABC and founder of the top-rated soapie, Generations, Mfundi Vundla; an analysis of South Africa’s fragrance market (now worth R2,1-billion and counting from R1,2-billion in 2001); a feature on the local luxury goods market; several articles on women entrepreneurs; and a look at whether white women should continue to benefit from affirmative action. Writing about subjects women are assumed to be interested in (soap operas, celebrities, handbags and shoes) with a business angle is one way of making content accessible and friendly.
But Destiny doesn’t always deliver on the vision of girl power and female leadership it promises. One profiled career woman, a public relations executive, says: “For my job, image is everything. I must always portray an image of beauty, which means I have to be well groomed and professional, with immaculate skin and hair.” What makes her feel beautiful and powerful? “Being well groomed gives me instant confidence and a sense of power.”
There’s the compulsory celebrity profile found in every woman’s magazine. This time it’s Angelina Jolie, star of A Mighty Heart and goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. And there’s plenty of general lifestyle content — fashion, health, entertainment and quick cooking — for when the business content gets a bit too heavy. Destiny retails at R26,95. The first issue went on sale on Tuesday last week.
SA’s wealthiest women
South Africa boasts two women billionaires — Irene Charnley of MTN and property entrepreneur Pam Golding, according to the first issue of Destiny magazine.
Charnley is worth R1,412-billion, the magazine says. The estimated value of her investment in Newshelf 664 is R1,341-billion, which acquired 309-million shares in MTN. She directly holds 13 800 shares in MTN. Charnley also holds 772 600 MTN share options with a strike price of R23,92, with an estimated value of R68-million.
Golding is worth an estimated R1,391-billion through the Pam Golding International Property Group. The company sold properties worth R16,5-billion in the financial year ending in February 2007.
Assuming 100% ownership, a total gross commission rate of 7,5%, 45% net commission retention, 1% spending on advertising, marketing and administration and a tax rate of 29%, the group could potentially record an after-tax profit of R278,3-million. “Assuming a conservative price-to-earnings ratio of five times makes the group worth about R1,391-billion,” the magazine says.
Santie Botha, worth R350-million, comes in at number three on the list. The estimated value of her holding in Newshelf 664 is R278,6-million.
She also holds 750 000 MTN share options with a strike price of R23,92 at an estimated value of R71,6-million.
Lorna Maloney, fourth-ranked, is worth R113-million. She directly holds 12,25-million shares in Wesizwe Platinum at a price of R9,20 each.
Gloria Serobe and Louisa Majola, each worth R109-million, each hold 7,2% in Wiphold.
Ingrid Davis, in seventh place, is worth R100-million. She holds 5 272 773 shares directly and 1 613 750 shares indirectly in Network Healthcare. She also holds 1,5-million share options in the company at an average strike price of 710 cents and a share price of R13,20.
Destiny used public sources, such as annual reports, company circulars, share registers, the Registrar of Companies and the internet to gather information.
Holdings in listed companies were valued at the close of business on Friday September 14. Where possible, only factual information was relied on for the compilation of the list.
Assumptions were made based on industry norms. The magazine also used information supplied by McGregor’s Who Owns Whom.
The list focuses on women who have created their own wealth. Wealth acquired through inheritance or marriage was not ranked.
Business earnings were also excluded from the compilation. However, Maria Ramos, chief executive of Transnet, was the top female business earner, with a pay cheque of R4-million, said the magazine.
Since it is difficult to determine the value of private holdings, many women were not ranked due to a lack of information, Destiny said.
Businesswomen such as Wendy Luhabe and Bridgette Radebe, who have considerable wealth through private companies, have not made the list as the information is not available. — Jocelyn Newmarch