The Australian Financial Review reported this morning that the German publishing giant Bauer Media is closing its weekly fashion magazine Grazia Australia, and while Bauer is yet to officially confirm or deny the news Pedestrian’s sources indicate it is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ with the magazine having already canceled scheduled fashion shoots just this afternoon.
UPDATE: This morning Bauer CEO Matt Stanton released a statement confirming the closure: “Unfortunately, despite everyone’s best
efforts and the ongoing commitment of the team, market dynamics are not
able to sustain Grazia’s weekly format.”
The celebrity/fashion title has been suffering dwindling circulation and with new readership figures set to be revealed in the Bauer Media weekly tomorrow, the timing of the close would not come as a surprise to industry insiders Pedestrian spoke with who suggested the price of the magazine ($6 – quite high for what is ostensibly a gossip mag) was a likely contributor to the underwhelming circulation numbers.
With the imminent launch of Elle Australia it might be that Bauer Media are canning Grazia to quash the possibility of self-cannibalising of its brand.
Launched less than five years ago, Grazia Australia has never been as successful as it’s international counterparts in Italy or the UK (which are far less expensive). Initial sales of the magazine were booming at first, yet after three years those numbers had halved. Editor Amy Molloy, who took over the reigns from Kellie Hush in July last year, did little to boost sales which perhaps can be attributed to the Grazia’s focus on global content rather than local interest.
When we called Grazia for comment our call went straight to message bank.
