National Geographic Kids leads way as magazine sales surge
Subscriptions to magazines, including National Geographic Kids as well as gardening and home titles are soaring during the coronavirus crisis.
Subscriptions to magazines are booming during the coronavirus crisis.
Against a double-digit drop in advertising revenue across the broader Australian media sector, digital subscription retailer isubscribe’s recent sales have been the best April to July period for almost two decades, according to managing director Hunter Drinan.
National Geographic Kids is the most popular magazine on its Australian and New Zealand websites, with upmarket women’s magazine Vogue holding top spot on its British site. Locally, Gardening Australia, Better Homes & Gardens, National Geographic and Australian Traveller round off the top five selling magazines.
Niche titles The Australasian Beekeeper has seen sales go “through the roof”, thanks to the increasing popularity of beekeeping, Mr Drinan said.
“The last four months have been really good for us, and that means it’s been good for our clients,” Mr Drinan told Media.
“It’s not just one particular area that’s doing exceptionally well — it’s right across the board.”
Across its three markets, the privately owned company sells 5000 subscription products, including magazine and newspaper subscriptions, plus boxes of beauty and wellness products. About 70 per cent of its customers are female, aged between 35-59, with a “slightly higher disposable income”.
It has more than 1000 clients worldwide, of which 400 are locally based, including ABC, Executive Media and News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian. For every subscription isubscribe sells, it receives a 25 per cent commission. That is essentially what news agents and supermarket chains receive.
The healthy appetite for magazines subscriptions has also been reported by news publishers and streaming companies as consumers seek out entertainment while spending more time at home during the health crisis.
Mr Drinan attributes the strong magazine demand to the vast range of products, plus the growing popularity of shopping online, particularly with more people stuck at home.
“People who buy a subscription are invariably more passionate about the content, and they want it delivered to their home and they want it for 12 months of the year,” Mr Drinan said.
During the lockdown in New Zealand a few months ago, isubscribe saw a “big surge in sales”, as in Britain.
“It’s almost a replica across the three markets.”
Mr Drinan said the closure of eight Bauer Media titles, including Harper’s BAZAAR, InStyle, ELLE, Men’s Health and OK!, by their new owner, private equity firm Mercury Capital, “hasn’t had a dramatic impact” on its business.
“They’re still clients of ours. We still have their titles on our site,” he said, adding that its product range helps the group maintain sales.
The Australian business accounts for more than half of isubscribe’s annual sales, with the rest coming from New Zealand and Britain.
The group has sold more than two million subscriptions since it was set up by Andrew Burge, who is the group’s biggest shareholder and chief executive. Mr Drinan is also a stakeholder, along with two other investors.
“We continue to push subscriptions as hard as we possibly can all the time,” he said.
Mr Drinan said isubscribe had considered expanding to other markets including Asia and the US.
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