Tracey McKinley was on stage yesterday at the annual Canadian PBAA event to share the success of the launch of a new Food Magazine into the English Canadian marketplace…Ricardo.
The magazine has been sizzling on Quebec’s newsstands for years now…recently selling 52,000 copies on the last two issues at a blistering 69.3% sell-through. In June, they raised the cover price on the French edition by $1 or 14% to $7.99, and sales still increased by 10%. The magazine has reached sales of over 90,000 copies on the Holiday issue, which this year they plan to mark up to $8.99.
According to Tracey, Ricardo is a media celebrity in Quebec, not only because he is passionate about food and publishing, but he is a well-known TV personality too. Tracey attributes the success of the magazine in part to the fact that it is more than a magazine, that it is a “brand” that is part of a larger “ecosystem” that includes print, digital, television, branded products and more.
The first issue of Ricardo appeared on newsstands September 15th, 2014. The debut issue had a draw of 80,835 copies…which is an amazing achievement for any magazine, particularly when that doesn’t even include French Quebec. Tracey was quick to share the success with their distributor (CTC, Bernie Menchise) and the wholesale community, who got behind the ambitious launch in a big way. The issue sold 23,881 copies for a 30% sell-through, and was in an astounding 5,491 dealers in English Canada…a fantastic result of 4.4 copies sold per store. The magazine was premium priced at $6.99. The cover, as you can see below, is quite mouth-watering.
Subsequent covers are equally well-made:
And they have already produced two SIPs. The first, which debuted on May 4th 2015, focused on BBQ Recipes and sold for $9.99. The second which debuted on October 5th 2015 focuses on Cookies and sells for $12.99.
Since the premium-priced magazine has sold so well, the cover price for the regular issues of Ricardo has already been raised from $6.99 to $7.99, in English Canada, effective with the October 2015 issue. Quality sells!
