Country Home Magazine to Cease Publishing

A sign of the struggling economy is the news that Country Home Magazine will cease publication in March of this year. The magazine typically promoted antique shows and antiquing, so it was a positive for the fine and decorative arts trade, at least for those involved in traditional antiques and decorating. Advertising Age reports ads fell by 25% in 2008. Country Home is one of many shelter magazines to fold in the recent past. Can we connect the demise of Country Home to the antique trade and appraising, it might be a bit of stretch, but any way you look at it, it is not a positive sign to the trade.

According to Advertising Age The latest casualty in the shrinking shelter category is Meredith’s Country Home. The magazine’s March 2009 issue will be its last.

The company, which is also slashing its workforce by 250 people, cited a soft economy for the demise of the book, according to Mediaweek.

Meredith also reported that it is taking a special chart of about $16 million in fiscal 2009 Q2, related to poor advertising brought on by the weak economy, writes Reuters.

Country Home ad pages fell 25% in 2008, and dropped its frequency from 10 to 8 issues a year. Circulation was essentially flat in 2008; single-copy sales tanked by 17.8%.

Other shelter mags to bite the dust in the last year or so include Cottage Living (Time Inc.), O at Home (Hearst), House & Garden (Conde Nast), and Home (Hachette Filipacchi).