Associated Media Publishing shutting down
Associated Media Publishing, which published Cosmopolitan, House & Leisure, Good Housekeeping, and Women on Wheels, will shut its doors on 1 May.
Associated Media Publishing is one of South Africa’s leading independent media houses and is well know as a publisher of women’s magazines.
The company was founded in 1982 by Jane Raphaely, who was succeeded by her daughter Julia Raphaely.
Julia Raphaely has run the company for the last decade.
On Thursday, Raphaely announced the company will cease trading and will stop publishing its magazine titles on Friday, 1 May.
Raphaely said they made every effort to continue operating, but the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic killed the company.
This major factors which negatively impacted the company were:
- The closure of printing and distribution channels.
- The global halt in advertising spend.
- The inability to host events in the foreseeable future.
Raphaely said these challenges have made it impossible to continue trading, even after investing large amounts of personal money into the business.
“This is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make,” Raphaely said. “It’s a big blow for magazine media brands in South Africa.”
She said they are working hard to minimize the impact of shutting down Associated Media Publishing on creditors and staff.
Letter from Julia Raphaely
The full statement from Raphaely on the closing of Associated Media Publishing is posted below.
Lockdown impact
The news comes after Flight Centre South Africa announced that it will close 40% of its network due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting financial struggles.
“While we deal with these unimaginable circumstances, we – and other businesses – are taking some very difficult decisions,” said managing director for Middle East and Africa, Andrew Stark, in a statement.
“Flight Centre Travel Group South Africa has, therefore, made the difficult decision to right-size its physical retail footprint to better reflect the current trading climate,” said Stark.
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