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Bauer Media announces immediate closure of Shop Til You Drop magazine

Bauer Media will cease publishing its quarterly fashion title Shop Til You Drop, with the current autumn magazine to be its last issue.

The news comes after a spate of recent magazine closures and sell-offs for the publisher, with Rugby League Week axed earlier this month, Dolly’s print edition wrapping up late last year and five adventure titles including Caravan World sold to a group of investors in October after CEO Nick Chan announced the publisher would be focusing on five key consumer and customer segments.

Shop Til You Drop moved to a quarterly print cycle in October 2014, but as recently as February last year Bauer Media said it had no plans to close the title, despite axing its website presence in December 2015 with Shop’s website traffic being redirected to the Cosmo website.

The magazine’s digital content currently sits within Bauer’s Now to Love network which launched earlier this year – the final pillar in Bauer Xcel’s ‘To Love’ digital network’ – drawing on content from The Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day, NW, OK!, Take 5, TV Week, Yours, Good Health, Mother & Baby, and Shop.

Chan said the magazine wasn’t sustainable in the current publishing and fashion environment.

“As a seasonal edit of the best in fashion and beauty, the frequency of Shop no longer meets the needs of today’s shopper,” he said. “While these decisions are always regrettable, it’s clear market and business realities mean the quarterly magazine is not sustainable.”

He said the publisher’s remaining titles in the sector would cater to the gap left by Shop.

“Our portfolio of leading women’s brands including Elle, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar continue to showcase the latest fashion and beauty treds across multiple platforms with increased regularity.”

Chan thanked the magazine’s staff for their hard work and dedication and said the publisher would be talking to them about their options within the business.

In October last year, Chan announced Bauer would shut magazines and streamline its presence around five consumer segments – Women’s Entertainment & Lifestyle; Homes; Food; Fashion, Health & Beauty; Motoring & Trader – with all magazines undergoing a “viability” audit.

Since then the publisher has announced the closure of Rugby Week Magazine altogether, the axing of Dolly’s print edition, and the sale of Caravan World, Campertrailer Australia, Motorhome and Caravan Trader, Travelin and Turu to Adventures Group Holdings – which is led by former general manager of adventures at Bauer Xcel Media, Robert Gallagher.

The publisher also closed Cleo magazine in 2016, and Zoo Weekly and Top Gear Australia Magazine in 2015.

In 2015, Bauer also sold three of its motorcycle titles – Australian Motorcycle News, Australasian Dirt Bike and Motorcycle Trader – to Citrus Media and Motoring Media Network. In 2014, Women’s Fitness was also picked up by Citrus after Bauer announced its closure.

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