Parenting website launches paid-for magazine with Mothercare distribution

Gurgle, the baby and parenting website owned by Mothercare, is launching a £2 bi-monthly magazine this week through the retailer's stores with plans to ultimately put it on the newsstand.

Mothercare: Gurgle magazine for young mums launches next week
Mothercare: Gurgle magazine for young mums launches next week

Gurgle magazine includes fashion content and parenting issues, as well as celebrity and ordinary mums.

The print spin-off will be sold exclusively in Mothercare Group stores, Mothercare and Early Learning Centre, and via subscription on .

The launch issue has 35% advertising and 65% editorial content. Launch advertisers include baby products such as Actimel, Milton and Obaby buggies, as well as Mothercare.

Andrew Tyler, managing director of Gurgle, stressed the magazine was not a customer magazine for Mothercare and would be editorially independent, like Gurgle.com.

Gurgle, which was established as a joint venture with Mothercare in 2007 and then absorbed in 2009, operates as a separate company within Mothercare Group.

Tyler claimed the distribution agreement gave the magazine a strong advantage compared to launching through the newstrade. "We know that the wastage is absolutely minimal and it's a strong proposition in terms of distribution," he said.

Tyler said he eventually aimed to get the title on the newsstand, though he was reluctant to commit to a timescale.

Gurgle has engaged publishing company Media 10 to produce the magazine and its editor is Scarlet Brady, a former editorial director at Publicis Blueprint and journalist at Elle.

Lee Newton, managing director at Media 10, added: "We’ve discovered a gap in the market for a modern mother and baby magazine that looks and reads like a stylish glossy."

Tyler added: "It will provide a new opportunity for Mothercare and ELC to engage with their customers, as well as offering something genuinely new in the parenting magazine market."

Of the launch issue, 175,000 copies will be available through stores and 25,000 online.

Mothercare does not currently have a customer magazine, according to Tyler. Back in 2008 it was using a biannual magazine which had a circulation of 210,000.

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