Are Media sale flags uncertain future for iconic titles like Australian Women’s Weekly

It’s unlikely there will be too many businesses willing to pay anywhere near the mooted asking price for Are Media’s stable of titles.

Are Media’s various magazines are expected to be sold off individually.

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The Australian magazine industry of today is a far cry from the powerhouse publishing platform it was at the turn of the century, although there are still plenty of advocates who argue it can survive for many years to come.

But with the announcement last Thursday that Are Media – publisher of some of the nation’s well-known magazine brands including The Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day, New Idea, marie claire, Gourmet Traveller and Home Beautiful – is up for sale, discussion has once again turned to the ongoing viability of the industry.

To put it bluntly: why would anyone want to buy into a publishing business that has struggled to capitalise on the shift to the digital era, and is beset by sliding advertising revenue and an ageing customer base?

Industry executives who spoke to The Australian said while $50m might be a starting price for negotiations with a would-be buyer of the 22 titles owned by Are Media, that sort of money for a sector in free fall could be challenging.

One former executive suggested the US’s largest print and digital publisher, Dotdash Meredith, which recently launched a new partnership with Are Media, could be a potential purchaser.

But there aren’t too many businesses willing to pay anywhere near the mooted asking price.

It’s perhaps more likely that private equity companies might see value in breaking up the stable, and buying one or more particular titles.

Are Media bestsellers include the The Australian Women's Weekly, Country Living and Home Beautiful.

Wheels remains a strong performer for Are Media.

Five years ago, private equity group Mercury Capital acquired more than 20 titles from Bauer Media and Seven West Media at what was thought, at the time, to be a fire sale price of about $40m.

With the bonus of the Pacific Magazines brands, Mercury combined the titles into a new company called Are Media.

In an interview with The Australian last week, Are Media chief executive Jane Huxley was upbeat about what a new Are Media owner would be getting.

“We now talk to more than 10 million Australian women per month in print, digital and social,” she said.

“We have lent into our custodianship of these brands, their legacy and strengths, and transformed a company that will continue down this path for the next hundred years.”

Are Media CEO Jane Huxley. Picture: Are Media

Much of the hard work at repositioning the titles for the future has been done, she claimed.

“Behind the scenes, over the past four years Are Media has executed a huge transformation program – strategy, systems, structure, tools, workflows and our metrics have all been reset to focus on our mission,” Ms Huxley said.

But attracting advertisers has been hard.

When Guideline SMI started its measurement of ad spend in Australia in 2007, advertising in magazines from major ad agencies was just under $500m annually. That figure shrank to $81m by 2024, Guideline SMI chief executive and co-founder Jane Ractliffe said.

“Of that $81m ad spend, 28 per cent came from related digital sites and the rest was print,” she said.

Jackie Frank, founding editor of marie claire, launched the title in Australia 30 years ago for publisher Matt Handbury’s Murdoch Magazines and then moved with the brand to Pacific Magazines, stepping away six years ago.

“Finding a buyer for the whole group could be difficult,” Ms Frank said.

Jackie Frank believes buyers may wish to cherrypick the best titles.

“It would more likely be broken up between two or three parties. There could be an opportunity to cherrypick the best-performing titles.

“It could be a goldmine for the right publisher wanting to reach Australian consumers via some of the iconic brands.”

As to whether the Are Media titles could return to the glory days, one recently departed industry executive, who asked not to be named, said there had been too many missed opportunities for that to happen.

“The shame of it all is nothing has replaced the contribution that print made to the P&L.”

Digital disruption has seen values of magazines tumble dramatically. In 2012, Nine’s then-CEO David Gyngell oversaw the sale of the company’s ACP Magazines for $500m to Bauer Media. At the time, the magazine empire included The Australian Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day.

ASIC documents reveal that 2020 trading was shared between Bauer and Are Media with revenue of $201m and a profit of just $1.5m.

Revenues grew to $337m by 2022 but in that same year Are Media reported a loss of $4m, partly due to a number of investments including $7m for the gifting business Hard To Find, which it closed in December 2024.

Are Media started life with 40+ brands.

The titles have since been culled and, although the company remains Australia’s biggest single magazine publisher, there is plenty of competition with an estimated 500 magazines currently being published around the country.

Also Australia’s biggest magazine distributor, Are Media gets a clip of the ticket from competitors via its distribution business Are Direct.

Ms Huxley insists the industry’s retail network remains robust.

“Retailers in general, including supermarkets and newsagents, continue to support magazines as part of their core offering, giving them premium floor space in store,” she said.