Bauer pulls plug on In The Know

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 02-May-07, 12:30

LONDON - H Bauer has suspended In The Know, the women's weekly it launched in August last year, admitting it has failed in its mission to capture a new niche in the sector.

The company has warned editorial staff there are likely to be redundancies although it is trying to find them other jobs within its structure.

David Goodchild, managing director of Bauer, said: "In The Know was an innovative launch ... The market needs constant innovation to continue to grow but this will always carry with it a greater degree of risk."

Bauer launched the £1 magazine with the intention of providing an alternative to the current range of celebrity, real-life and classic lifestyle women's weeklies.

With a proposition based on topicality and practicality, it proved unable to inspire sufficient interest and was selling 107,000 copies per week months after its launch.

Emap also developed a more serious, news-driven women's weekly last year, launching First in May with a £1.30 cover price.

It aimed to achieve a circulation of 150,000 by its first anniversary -- this month. Its debut ABC figure, covering the June to December 2006 period, was 100,439.

Bauer's last launch was the ill-fated attempt to compete in the new men's weekly sector, Cut, which was launched in August 2004 and closed in November that year.