Bauer Australia has announced it will permanently close eight of its fashion, lifestyle and celebrity magazines due to a decline in advertising revenue and economic uncertainty.
The affected titles are Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, InStyle, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Health, NW and OK!
The magazines’ print editions were put on hold in May due to issues from the COVID-19 crisis. A number of staff across the titles were stood down at the time.
Brendon Hill, chief executive of Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand, had promised printing would resume in September but on Tuesday he announced the magazines would not be returning.
Brendon Hill, chief executive of Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand announced the magazines would not be returning
Bauer Australia has announced it will permanently close eight of its fashion, lifestyle and celebrity magazines due to a decline in advertising revenue
Women’s Health (pictured) is one of the titles that will go under the cuts
He said it had been a challenging time for Bauer and their team over the past few months and the ‘unexpected, uncertain and unrelenting economic downturn’ has had a widespread impact on the business.
‘We, like many other media companies, have deeply felt the impact of COVID-19. The reinstatement of these titles and teams was always dependent on the advertising market bouncing back and the return of domestic and international travel.
‘Despite promising signs from advertisers in recent weeks, this has not outweighed the medium term outlook for these titles.
‘Additionally, with a second lock-down in Victoria and minimal travel, it is not feasible to sufficiently distribute NW and OK! without transit channels.
‘The financial impact of these factors and the ongoing economic uncertainty makes the return and sustainability of these titles no longer viable. We have been forced to reset and future-proof the business like all of the media industry has.’
Brendon Hill, chief executive of Bauer Media ANZ, had promised printing would resume in September but on Tuesday he announced the magazines would not be returning
Harper’s Bazaar and Elle are among the magazine titles to be cut after the revenue slump
According to the latest Nielsen AdQuest data, the economic impact of a full month of COVID-19 lockdowns had seen a 38.8 per cent month-on-month drop in media advertising expenditure in April – which is about a $303m decline in spending.
June recorded a 32.7 per cent drop when compared the same month in 2019.
In May, just days after securing a deal to buy Pacific Magazines for $40m, Bauer laid off dozens of staff.
Others were stood down due to the significant impact of travel restrictions on transit-reliant titles such as NW and OK!, and declining advertising revenue.
‘It has been a challenging time for Bauer and our team with exciting highs and devastating lows in recent months,’ Mr Hill said.
The affected titles are Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, InStyle, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Health, NW and OK!
The magazines’ print editions were put on hold in May due to issues form the COVID-19 crisis. A number of staff across these titles were stood down at the time
‘We were delighted to acquire Pacific Magazines in May and were thrilled to recently announce a new future under Mercury Capital. However, these positive changes have taken place amidst an unexpected, uncertain and unrelenting economic downturn.
‘No one could have anticipated the swift, widespread and ongoing impact of the pandemic on our business and industry.’
Hill said there would likely be job cuts to editorial, sales and production staff but he did not indicate how many jobs would be lost.
Mr Hill said Bauer will speak with the affected teams with the aim to find alternative employment across the business.