Gibbons Stamp Monthly Defies Publishing Downturn

Online, July 18, 2011 (Newswire.com) - When an average of 12 titles a month are reported to be folding ("74 Titles Fold in First Half 2011" - Folio Magazine 30 June) the niche magazine for stamp collectors and philatelists, Gibbons Stamp Monthly (GSM), has grabbed market share from competitors to own more than 50% of the philatelic magazine market.

The performance report delivered by distributor Comag in June shows that despite a dip in 2009, experienced by both GSM and its competitors, the 120 year old magazine has recovered strongly, increasing sales by 6.5% and moving up 28 places in the WHSmith UK rankings February 2010- June 2011.

First published as 'Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal' in July 1890, Gibbons Stamp Monthly is the top performer of the seven collecting titles distributed by Comag, ranking second overall in the sector.

The company digitised the magazines assets during 2010 to form, 'The Gibbons Stamp Monthly Digital Archive', providing a fully searchable database of articles, heralded as a 'Monumental piece of publishing' by the trade. The company is also in the process of digitising its philatelic catalogue data to enable the production of catalogues 'on-demand' covering only those areas of interest to the specific collector.

Stocked by nearly 2000 UK retail outlets including WHSmith, Tesco, Sainsbury, Londis and Co-op, the magazine can now report estimated average annual sales of more than the combined total of its two main rivals, Stamp & Coin Mart and Stamp Magazine, despite increasing its cover price from £3.40 to £3.50 from the September 2010 issue.

Stanley Gibbons Magazine and Catalogue Editor, Hugh Jefferies, said, 'As the only source of the supplement for the universally recognised Stanley Gibbons catalogues and being consistently larger than the competition, GSM has a unique selling point and gives much better value in the present economic climate. These results also show that the redesign last September has been well received."