While the majority of Canadian consumer magazines suffered double-digit drops during the past six months, a relative newcomer’s numbers headed in the opposite direction, according to a report released on Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
In its first 18 months, paid circulation for Hello! Canada, including subscriptions and single copy sales, has surpassed an average of 75,000 each week. And two separate issues of the magazine featuring exclusives from the wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly sold over 100,000 copies each.
‘Hello! Canada is the most successful magazine launch in recent Canadian history,’ notes exec publisher Tracey McKinley. ‘The numbers speak for themselves. Clearly, Canadians are enjoying the unprecedented access to celebrities’ lives that [we] provide.’
Meanwhile, ABC says all but 18 of the 61 other English- and French-language Canadian publications audited between Jan. 1 and July 30 this year suffered double-digit declines in newsstand sales, although subscription numbers mainly stayed steady.
Single-copy sales increases were enjoyed by, among others,
Outdoor Canada, The Beaver, Western Sportsman, Canadian Home Workshop and Canadian Gardening. But Chatelaine, Canadian Business, Canadian Family, Canadian Home & Country, Wish, Flare, LouLou (English) and The Hockey News all experienced sales declines.
Among the publications whose fortunes remained relatively steady were: Maclean’s, Toronto Life, Canadian Geographic, Canadian Living, Today’s Parent, Canadian House & Home, Decormag, Style at Home and Elle Canada.
