Bonnier Corp. Shutters Garden Design
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Ed. Note: It's sad when any good product or business reaches the end of the line. So it's with sadness that we read of the passing of Garden Design magazine, which brought beautiful photography and inspirational ideas to us seven times a year. It will be missed.
From AdWeek
Dave Freygang hasn't wasted time in taking a hard look at Bonnier Corp.'s financials since becoming its new CEO last month.
On Thursday, one of his first appointees, David Ritchie, notified the staff of Garden Design that the magazine would be folded after the April issue. The announcement was made by Ritchie, the newly appointed chief content officer at the company.
Garden Design, along with Saveur, was one of two high-end magazines that World Publications, Bonnier's predecessor company, bought from Meigher Communications in 2000, giving the then-niche publisher credibility on a bigger stage. Garden Design remained small, even by Bonnier's standards, publishing seven times a year with a total print circulation of 185,741 and just 189 ad pages in all of 2012, per Publishers Information Bureau. Five staffers were affected.
"The economic climate, compounded by the significant industry transition to digital, have limited the growth in advertising needed to make this brand viable for our future," the company said, in a statement.
Earlier this year, Bonnier closed Snow, another small title. With Bonnier's new CEO expected to give close scrutiny to underperforming titles, it's expected that Garden Design won't be the last to go. Garden Design subscribers will be offered another magazine to fulfill their orders.
