‘Mooiloop’ gets stepping

The December 2008 issue of !_LT_EMMooiloop!_LT_/EM, the Afrikaans travel lifestyle magazine published by Ramsay, Son & Parker (RS&P), will be its last. RRSays Lahoud: “Due to the current economic climate the magazine is just not operating on the level that we would like. Our expectations for the title were reasonable but we weren’t able to secure consistent advertising, which put a lot of pressure on the magazine.”RRWhen asked if the closure was a result of competition from Media24’s !_LT_EMWeg!!_LT_/EM Lahoud says “We were never directly competing with !_LT_EMWeg!_LT_/EM! A number of titles are feeling the pinch and !_LT_EMMooiloop !_LT_/EMis one of them. The closure had nothing to do with !_LT_EMWeg!!_LT_/EM It is purely due to a lack of advertising.”RRThe title was launched as !_LT_EMWegbreek!_LT_/EM in July 2006 as a translation and flank to its English counterpart !_LT_EMGetaway!_LT_/EM. In May 2008 the magazine re-launched as !_LT_EMMooiloop!_LT_/EM. RRThe latest circulation figures according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) were 18,164 (April to June 2008), down from 19,037 (April to June 2007) . Lahoud says the title was hoping to achieve a circulation of 25,000, “but we weren’t disappointed with its performance”.RRThe are four editorial staff members working on the title. “We are currently in discussions to offer them alternative opportunities in RS&P. If we are not successful, we will have to enter a retrenchment process.”RRAdvertising, marketing and production staff will continue to work at !_LT_EMGetaway!_LT_/EM.