Free regional lifestyle title YQ has been forced to make staff redundant in a bid “to keep operating costs down.” However, with reduced local competition, and a move into contract and book publishing, bosses told How-Do that the business is looking healthy moving forwards.
Owner Peter Lever, who re-launched the firm as YQ Northwest Ltd in March, confirmed to How-Do that the outfit had shed some of its payroll, but stated that this amounted to just one member of design staff and another on the editorial side.
“It was purely a cost issue,” he stated. “We didn’t need the staff so, after assessing the business, we had to let them go.”
Lever described the month leading up to the publication of the August magazine as “difficult”, but added that the September issue of the magazine was “looking good from a revenue point of view” and was set to out perform last year’s set of figures.
He noted that the firm was one of the few titles in the sector that had managed to keep its rates steady in the current financial climate, and was well placed to take advantage of a market that was shedding titles (Lever specifically mentioned The Magazine) yet still interesting advertisers.
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“We’re a well established title,” he commented. “We’ve been around longer than most and we have the trust of our clients. That’s a good position to be in.”
Lever also noted that new names such as Trevor Sorbie and Quintessentially were helping to bolster revenues.
Away from the YQ title itself, he also stressed that the media sales side of the business was booming – with new clients on board such as the High Life Diners Club – and that plans to start contract publishing and book publishing were advanced.
The contract publishing, he revealed, would see a new title coming into the fold at the start of next year. He would not be drawn specifically on the book front, although he did reveal that the firm was in contact with “a well-known brand” about producing consumer-focused titles.
“The positive thing is that we’re not just relying on the magazine at the end of the day,” Lever concluded.
“There are other opportunities and when they come online, particularly with regard to the contract publishing, we’ll be looking to bring people back on board.”
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