The Independent’s decision to roll out its tabloid version in the North West and South East follows its sales success within the M25, reflected in the latest ABC figures.
These show that in October, sales of The Independent were up by 7.7 per cent on September. The move into the Granada TV region took place last week and the compact version was made available in the Meridian area from 11 November.
Ivan Fallon, chief executive officer of Independent News & Media UK, said: “The launch of the compact version of The Independent has beaten all our expectations. Within the Greater London area, where we first launched, total sales – all at full price – are more than 50 per cent higher, and the launch in the Granada area has repeated the pattern.
“We now believe that, as we progress the roll-out, we will increase our net sale by at least 50,000 copies.”
Apart from the Financial Times, The Independent was the only quality daily to show a month-on-month increase.
The Business, now being distributed with The Mail on Sunday, showed a rise on September of 18.6 per cent and is selling close to 250,000 copies.
The Daily Mirror was the only popular daily to show an increase on October, boosted by the serialisation of former royal butler Paul Burrell’s book.
The Sunday popular market is the best performing sector with a year-onyear rise of 1.2 per cent. Last month Daily Star Sunday was up by 16.3 per cent on September, with the Irish Daily Star Sunday recording its first monthly ABC of 102,083. There were also month-on-month rises for the News of the World, Sunday Mirror, The People and Sunday Sport.
By Jon Slattery
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