View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Publishers
  2. Magazines
December 8, 2016

Six redundancies as Essentials magazine closes amid declining sales

By Jasper Cox

Women’s lifestyle magazine Essentials is to fold with six jobs made redundant as publisher Time focuses efforts on “digital growth”.

The monthly title launched in 1988 with the final edition out this month.

Sales of the magazine were down 24 per cent year-on-year, according to ABC figures for the six months to June. Essential’s average total monthly circulation is at 78,073 copies in the UK.

Content from Essentials magazine is available online at lifestyle website goodtoknow.co.uk, also owned by Time.

Time said the decision to stop publishing Essentials is part of a strategy to “further invest in the highly-sought-after audiences of momentum mums and 40-plus – generationYnot! – women”.

This involves growing the Good To Know website, aimed at 18-45 year old women, and its monthly lifestyle magazine Woman and Home, aimed at 40-pluswomen.

As a result of the closure eight roles were at risk, all editorial, with two freelance and four staffers made redundant. The role of group editor of Essentials and Good To Know was not affected by the redundancies.

Managing director Roger Cummings said: “Good To Know continues to deliver double-digit growth, while woman&home goes from strength-to-strength in both print and digital.

“Through focusing on these two key brands, while at the same time incorporating some of the best bits from Essentials into Woman and Home, we can better serve these key audiences while growing our portfolio.”

Topics in this article :

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly dose of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network