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Bauer confirms the closure of Women’s Fitness

Women's FitnessBauer Media has this morning confirmed it will close Women’s Fitness with November’s issue the last.

In a note to staff CEO Matt Stanton wrote: “We have just held a meeting in the Sydney office to advise staff that Women’s Fitness will cease publication with the last issue being the November cover date.”

Stanton told staff at Bauer that they were working to minimise the redundancies and look to reallocate staff.

“We understand that this is a very unsettling time for our staff and are looking to do as much as we can to support them during this time. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the team for their dedication and effort on the magazine,” wrote Stanton. 

The magazine launched in September 2012, the day after German publisher Bauer bought out ACP Magazines, with a $2m marketing push.

The move is a surprise as the magazine is one of the few to have enjoyed consistent circulation growth in that time, and had a circulation of 61,152 in the last survey, a 10.9 per cent increase from the year before, but still trails its rival Pacific Magazines’ Women’s Health which has a circulation of 75,523.

In an media statement made this morning Stanton signalled that the area of health and fitness was one that Bauer would continue to push despite the closure.

“Health and fitness are important pillars across our Bauer Media magazine brands and we will continue to produce excellent content in this space for relevant titles, as well as our current digital assets and new multi-platform initiatives to be rolled out in the near future,” said Stanton.

“I take this opportunity to thank the teams here at Bauer, as well as the advertisers and retailers, who have supported Women’s Fitness during its lifecycle.”

It is understood that the licensing fee from Dennis Publishing combined with a challenging advertising market for print magazines has led to the proposal to close the magazine.

Earlier in the week Bauer told staff on the magazine about a proposal for the closure of the magazine.

Nic Christensen

Stanton’s full email to staff:

Dear All,

I am writing to advise you of an announcement that has just been made to members of our staff regarding Women’s Fitness magazine.

We have just held a meeting in the Sydney office to advise staff that Women’s Fitness will cease publication with the last issue being the November cover date. The attached press release will be distributed shortly.

We have met with the Women’s Fitness team to discuss how this will impact them and outline the options that are available to them. We understand that this is a very unsettling time for our staff and are looking to do as much as we can to support them during this time. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the team for their dedication and effort on the magazine.
Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you require further information.

Thanks

Matt

Bauer’s media statement:

Bauer Media today confirmed the company’s intention to cease publication of Women’s Fitnessmagazine, with the last issue being the November cover date, on sale 9TH October, 2014.

The magazine, which is licensed from the UK, has been a success with Australian readers, however with a reduced advertising spend and increasing costs the title is not commercially sustainable for the longer term.

Matthew Stanton, CEO of Bauer Media said, “The staff have done a great job on Women’s Fitness over the past three years and I commend their work and thank them for their dedication and effort. It is not an easy decision to close a magazine and we have certainly considered all the options before coming to this conclusion.

“Health and fitness are important pillars across our Bauer Media magazine brands and we will continue to produce excellent content in this space for relevant titles, as well as our current digital assets and new multi-platform initiatives to be rolled out in the near future.

“I take this opportunity to thank the teams here at Bauer, as well as the advertisers and retailers, who have supported Women’s Fitness during its lifecycle.”

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