MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
August 15-31, 2004 Edition
Meredith to Boost
Title Output
For 2005
The Meredith Corporation, which publishes 170 special interest publications and 17 subscription magazines, will boost its title output in 2005, following a 27% increase in sales for fiscal 2003 (ended June 30 2004). The book group showed an increase for the first nine months of the year, but was hurt by higher than expected returns, which contributed to sagging earnings.
A bright spot in company sales included 1.6 million copies of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and Trading Spaces: Behind the Scenes. But fiscal 2004 did not have the benefit of those two top-selling titles, so the company had to sell more books to garner more sales, according to Doug Guendel, vice president and general manager..
The increase in 2005 titles is partly due to Meredith’s entry into the children’s book market, including titles like Spider-Man 2, Strawberry Shortcake, and Care Bear titles being released this fall.
The Meredith Publishing Group publishes magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, Country Home, Traditional Home, MORE, Midwest Living, and American Baby.
Meredith publishes more than 170 special interest publications, focusing on decorating, gardening, crafting, remodeling, cooking and other subjects. The book division has nearly 300 titles in print, sold primarily through retail distribution channels.
