French brands

Grazia Australia is expanding its publishing system with the launch of two print editions in 2017.

The name given to the new special publication, The Next Generation Issue, has two main aims: to reach out to a new audience, but also to act as a social agenda on the issues that matter most to readers.

The Next Generation Issue is the result of the success of the digital platform (https://grazia.com.au/) with which, since last year, Grazia has been present on the Australian market and established itself as one of the most dynamic fashion and lifestyle brands.

Of particular note is the distribution model which revolutionises the approach and contact points with the public using a new concept printed product.

With a print run of 110,000 copies, Grazia Australia will be Australia’s first luxury magazine to experiment with an innovative distribution method: not only using the usual channels, i.e. newsstands and retail outlets, but also directly through selected retailers who will make the magazine available at key locations for the world of fashion, capturing the interest of a selected and dynamic group of readers.

The Next Generation Issue has two different covers and aims to celebrate, in an unconventional manner, the many different channels of the fashion industry, the influence of social media – especially among millennials – and the combination of elegance and easy chic style that characterises Grazia all over the world.

With this initiative the Grazia brand once again confirms its role as an international point of reference for fashion and style.

Grazia International Network (www.graziainternational.com), the network created by the Mondadori Group to develop Grazia around the world, has built a global multi-channel system around the brand that, with its various publications and web sites, reaches an overall community of 17 million readers and a monthly circulation of 10 million copies.

According to the circulation figures released by the OJD (Office de Justification de la Diffusion) for 2011, Mondadori France confirmed its position as a leading publisher with significant successes and excellent circulation results.

“Innovation and editorial quality are our strengths and the drivers of our performance,” underlined Ernesto Mauri, the chairman of Mondadori France. “4 re-launches since 2010 and three new titles in three years: Grazia in 2009, followed in 2011 by Auto Plus Classiques and Guerres et Histoire, which further reinforced our Science & Vie brand,” Mauri added. “These results have also been accompanied by an authentic success in advertising, thanks to which our advertising company has achieved a market share of 10.3% (+0.7% compared with 2011), positioning the company in second place, in terms of volume, in the magazine sector,” Mauri concluded.

Genuine circulation success
Among the haut de gamme (upscale) women’s titles was the continuing circulation success of Grazia France, which reached an average sale of 184,832 copies, an increase of +3.1%.
Meanwhile also the “success story” of Biba has continued, showing the strongest and most significant growth among the competitors in the same segment. In fact the monthly has grown by 80% since 2004 and in 2011 grew by a further 4.5% to an average of 326,339 copies.
Pleine Vie, following a redesign completed last June, saw newsstand sales increase by 54.5% compared with 2010, with an average circulation at 843,647 copies (+1.3%).


Additional leadership
Modes & Travaux, after an extensive reconfiguration is now, after 26 years, the leader in its market of reference with an average sale of 444,228 copies (+5.9% compared with 2010). In two years the magazine has increased average circulation by 70,000 copies (+19,3%), to become the women’s monthly with the highest growth level compared with the previous year (+24,859 copies).
Since 2009 Telé Star has achieved the best performance in the market for TV listings titles (+1,037,954 copies) and in 2011 became the second magazine among the titles in the weekly segment. Despite a general decline in the sector, Télé Star limited its fall to -2.5%.
L’Ami des Jardins is the leading gardening monthly, with an average circulation of 154,736 copies (+3.6%).

Confirmed leadership
2011 saw the confirmation of the success of Top Santé, the main point of reference in the health and fitness area since its launch, which recorded a 5.8% growth in sales to an average of 350,386 copies; while Closer which, with an average circulation of 414,174 copies, maintained its leadership among the “people” titles for women.
In a particularly difficult market, the car titles of Mondadori France continued to perform extremely well. Auto Plus, with an average sale of 297,667 copies, confirmed also in 2011 its leadership among generalist weeklies in the segment.
And once again, Science & Vie, with a circulation of 288,690 copies (+2.4%) and Science & Vie Junior, with sales of 168,533 copies (+2,7%), were the leaders in their respective segments.

Mondadori has joined forces with Flipboard, the world’s first social magazine for the iPad, to make content from Grazia.it, Grazia.fr and Graziadaily.co.uk available on Flipboard. International fashion and style aficionados can access the three language versions of Grazia in Flipboard’s Content Guide, where the publications are featured this week.

Flipboard, named Apple App of the Year by Apple, allows readers to discover, browse and share digital content that has been optimised for iPad for an unparalleled reading experience. Additionally, they can to flip through news, photos, videos and friends’ updates on Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, LinkedIn, Tumblr, 500px, Flickr and Instagram.

From today the section featuring Flipboard’s recommended titles provides access to a range of digital content from the web sites of Grazia Italy, Grazia France and Grazia UK.

Mondadori is the first publishing group in Italy to work with Flipboard and Grazia the first digital women’s title in Italian to be present on the app.

“We are delighted to be working with Flipboard which will enable us to make Grazia.it accessible to users of the app that Time included among the 50 best inventions of 2010,” declared Vittorio Veltroni, general manager of Mondadori Digital. “Flipboard has recorded 4 million downloads across the world for the iPad, generating 600 million flips per month, a figure that is destined to rise. Grazia.it will then be available to an increasingly large audience, and audience that combines its passion for fashion with shopping, as well as socialising,” concluded Vittorio Veltroni.

“With Grazia Flipboard readers can access the content of one of the brands that is synonymous with fashion and style in Italy, France and the United Kingdom,” claimed Christina Mace-Turner, head of partner strategy at Flipboard. “For the first time, we are integrating content in three different languages, a first step in customizing the Flipboard experience for our readers around the world.” Mace-Turner, concluded.

Grazia France is two years old and celebrating its leading position in the “News Fashion Magazine” category. The upscale women’s weekly, published by Mondadori France, headed by Ernesto Mauri, has been a significant publishing success with excellent results in both circulation and advertising.

The magazine, edited by Yseult Williams, is highly appreciated by its readers thanks to an original and immediately recognisable editorial concept that combines news and celebrities, fashion, beauty and culture. Now a point of reference among haut de gamme women’s titles, Grazia France, which has from the start being an anticipator of trends, is aimed at a target of women between the ages of 25 and 44, who are active, independent, dynamic and who love to be kept up to date with habits and styles.

Circulation and advertising:
Grazia France has reached an average weekly circulation of 182,726 copies (OJD/dsh 2010 – 2011) an increase of +3% compared with 2010.
In the months of July and August alone, Grazia saw an increase in circulation in France, compared with the previous year, of +17.5%, with weekly sales of 210,000 copies. The magazine also achieved record circulation with its September issue “Special Mode”: 230,000 copies sold in France (source: publisher’s data) with a total of 116 advertising pages.
The weekly is in second place in the entire French magazine market for the total number of advertising pages sold: 2,436 pages in a year (October 2010 – September 2011), an increase of +63% (+942 pages).
The client portfolio, which is made up almost exclusively of up-market brands, confirms the upscale positioning of Grazia France, with more than 70% of fashion and beauty brands and around 50% of selected brands.

The Grazia.fr web site:
Grazia.fr has a monthly average of around 400,000 unique users and 4 million page views (source: Nielsen), and, in September, recorded a record number of hits on the site with more than 5 million page views.

Applicazione per iPhone e iPad:
The Grazia France app for the iPhone has been downloaded by 300,000 users and is recording some 2 million page views per month. Meanwhile, yesterday saw the launch of the new “Grazia Spécial Accessoires” app dedicated to fashion accessories for the autumn/winter 2011/2012 season.

First half 2011 results and activities:
In the first half of 2011 Mondadori France generated revenues of €172.4 million, an increase of +2.4% on the same period of 2010. In terms of advertising, the company saw an increase of +4.7% compared with the first half of the previous year, while circulation revenues were up by +2.1%.

“These positive results confirm the value of the strategy based on strengthening our large circulation titles, alongside a policy of continuous improvement in editorial quality and the success of an innovative magazine like Grazia”, declared Ernesto Mauri, chairman of Mondadori France.

Also of note was the growth in circulation of the Group’s women’s monthlies, including Top Santé (+11.2%), Modes & Travaux (+11%) and Biba (+7.4%); a positive performance by the popular science area Science (+1.8%); the strengthening of the leadership in the auto segment (1.6 million copies per month) and brilliant performances by Télé Star (1,046,149 copies) and Closer (431,686 copies).
Finally, it should also be pointed out that the company’s digital activities have also been reinforced thanks to the acquisition, in September 2011, of Autoreflex.com, France’s second biggest portal for online car sales ads (Business to Consumer).

Mondadori France launched Grazia in France a year ago, on 29 August 2009: a new up-market title that – in line with the company’s innovation and development strategy – has enriched the French women’s magazine market, and rapidly became a new point of reference.

With Grazia Mondadori France has created a new up-scale women’s weekly that is both different and immediately recognisable..

With the benefit of the international experience of the Mondadori Group and the strength of a brand that is currently present in 16 countries, Grazia made its debut on the French market with an original editorial concept that combines news, celebrities, fashion, beauty and culture.

The excellent results achieved by the title confirm, one year from the launch, the validity of the Grazia identity as a “news fashion magazine”: a formula that is highly appreciated by readers in the 25 to 44 year-old age range who are active, metropolitan, independent, passionate about news, fashion, new technology and with a high level of purchasing power.

Circulation:
Since its launch Grazia France has reached an average weekly circulation of 177,360 copies (OJD/dsh 2009-2010): +11% on the declared target of 160,000 copies.

The web site Grazia.fr:
910,000 unique visitors and 5 million page views (Source: Nielsen, June 2010).

iPhone app:
71,000 downloads since the app was launched in February 2010.

Advertising sales:

A total of 1,600 advertising pages sold for the first 52 issues of the magazine (an average of 30.8 pages per week): +60% on the declared target of 1,000 pages.

Grazia France has won the unanimous approval of advertisers, 63% of the client portfolio made by up-market advertisers. A success that has also resulted in an evolution of the overall composition of the advertising revenues of Mondadori France, 22.4% of which now comes from the up-scale sector (compared with 6.5% in 2009).

Innovation
The strategy of the Group is to reinforce its portfolio of historic mass market titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Nous Deux, Modes & Travaux and Top Santé, thanks to the constant updating of the editorial offer supported by a focused marketing policy.

Significant events in recent months:

– significant growth for the monthly Biba in its sector: with an increase of 5.1% in the first half of the year, raising the title’s circulation to more than 300,000 copies. A success that has resulted in an increase of 44% on the performance over the previous four years. Meanwhile, advertising revenues in the first seven months of the year were up by 30%.

– For the second year in a row the weekly Closer has confirmed its position as the undisputed leader in the people sector: advertising pages were up 10% on 2009, and market share up by 2.8%.

– The new formula for the monthly Modes & Travaux – launched in June – has met with exceptional success, with a 30% increase in circulation compared with the months prior to the re-launch.

– With annual sales of 15 million copies, Nous Deux continues to be very popular with readers, thanks to a strengthening and renewal of the title. Among the most successful initiatives were a series of twelve previously unpublished novels sold along with the weekly, the publication of five special issues and the launch of “Miss Nous Deux” in June. The solidity of the Nous Deux brand is an authentic point of strength for the Group.

– Following the launch of the new formula, the magazine L’Auto-Journal saw circulation grow by 16% in the period January-July 2010.

First half 2010: a comment on the results

In the first six months of the year Mondadori France generated revenues of €1684 million, an increase of 6.6% (on a like-for-like basis, excluding titles no longer in the portfolio and includingGrazia) compared with the first half of 2009, thanks to a good performance in terms of circulation (+5.3% on a like-for-like basis) and, above all, a significant increase in advertising revenues (+21.1%), mainly due to the success of Grazia.

There was also a big improvement in gross operating profit, which came to €16.4 million (+35% on the €12.2 million of the first half of 2009), and equal to 9.7% of total revenues.

With a portfolio of 28 titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Top Santé, Nous Deux and Modes & Travaux Mondadori France is the France’s third largest magazine publisher in terms of circulation.

With total sales of some 200 million copies, Mondadori France publishes three of the top selling consumer magazines in the country: Télé Star, Télé Poche and Pleine Vie.

In the last two years the company has distinguished itself in the “Magazine de l’Année” competition, organised in France by the Syndacat de la Presse Magazine et d’Information (SPMI), winning four prizes in 2010 (including the prizes for “the best new magazine” for Grazia France; “best people magazine” for Closer; “best passion magazine” for Réponses Photo; and “best TV magazine” for Télé Star) and five awards in 2009, including “best magazine of the year”.

With a staff of around 1,000, Mondadori France generated total revenues in 2009 of €343.5 million.

A new international edition of Grazia: Mondadori’s women’s weekly, will be launched tomorrow in France by Mondadori France, one of the leading consumer magazine publishers in Europe’s most important market in terms of both circulation and advertising.

“The launch of Grazia in France is an operation of considerable significance for the Mondadori Group crowning a strategy that began more than three years ago with the acquisition of EMAP France and continued with the process of close integration and cooperation, on both management and editiorial levels,” declared Maurizio Costa, deputy chairman and chief executive of the Mondadori Group.

“The focusing of the portfolio of titles on segments of the market with greater growth potential,” Costa underlined, “will today be enriched, thanks to the launch of Grazia, by a thoroughly modern and innovative magazine for the up market women’s sector.”

The launch of Grazia in France raises to thirteen the number of countries in which the Mondadori title, a symbol of elegance and the style of Made in Italy, is published. From Italy to Great Britain, taking in Russia, China, Australia, Holland, India, United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Croatia, Greece and Bulgaria: a network of international publications that in just five years has achieved an overall monthly circulation of more than 4 million copies.

Grazia France is aimed at a target that is passionate about fashion and highly conscious of what is going on in the world: the new magazine will offer its French readers an entirely new editorial mix that will include everything they absolutely need to know about the world of fashion, beauty and lifestyle, along with the most glamorous celebrity interviews, and news with a feminine touch.

And next week there will also be something new for Italian readers. In fact, on Tuesday 1 September the first issue of the French edition will be included as an exceptional supplement with Grazia Italia.

Mondadori has been operating in France since 2006 through Mondadori France, one of the country’s leading consumer magazine publishers with more than 30 titles. Closer, Science&Vie, Télé Star, Biba, Pleine Vie and Auto Plus are just some of the leading titles of the Paris-based company which this year was rewarded at the “Magazines de l’Année”, a competition organised in France by the Syndacat de la presse magazine et d’information (SPMI), in which the company won five prizes out of the ten categories.

Grazia, the Mondadori Group’s upmarket women’s magazine, will be published in France in September 2009.

The launch on the French market of the weekly Grazia is a markedly strategic move for the Mondadori Group aimed at consolidating its positioning in France, particularly in the up-market segment which continues to expand, even in 2008, in the country.

The launch of Grazia in France increases the number of countries in which the Mondadori brand is published to thirteen: in addition to Italy, also Great Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Holland, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Australia, and the very recent successful launches in India and China.

Grazia is the only Italian weekly that in the space of just a few years has managed to build a network of international editions characterised by the style, elegance, fashion and news that brings together women from around the world.

Mondadori has been operating in France since 2006 through Mondadori France, one of the country’s leaading publishers with a portfolio of more than 30 magazines.

Closer, Science&Vie, Télé Star, Biba, Pleine Vie and Auto Plus are just some of the key titles of the Paris-based publishing group which was recently celebrated at the “Magazines de l’Année”, a competition organised in France by Syndacat de la presse magazine et d’information (SPMI) the French magazine publishers’ association, winning five awards out of ten categories.

Following the exclusive negotiation agreement, that was announced on 25 June, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. has today formalised the sale to Sofimav of two specialised titles published by Mondadori France.

The operation is part of ongoing activities aimed at focusing the company’s portfolio of titles in France in the up-scale and mass market segments.

The magazines involved in this transaction, for which a price of €1.3 million has been agreed, are La Pêche et les Poissons and Pêche Mouche.

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. has defined an agreement for exclusive negotiations, with the French publisher Sofimav, for the sale of the specialist titles La Pêche et les Poissons and Pêche Mouche (2007 revenues: circa €2 million). In France and in Spain Sofimav is the publisher of magazine titles in the leisure sector (Plongée Magazine, Apnéa, Balades, la pêche de la truite, la pêche des carnassiers, Sanglier Passion, Bécasse Passion, Buceadores).

This is a continuation of the widely announced rationalisation of the Mondadori France portfolio which will increasingly focus on upscale and mass market titles.

Implementation of the negotiation agreement is subject to the completion of the consultation procedure with the works council foreseen by French legislation.