In March earlier this year, there was a Channel 4 TV documentary on new editor Rachel Johnson taking over at the helm of The Lady magazine. This is an attempt to boost its circulation.
The owner’s logic, based on the documentary, that in bringing a high profile journalist and novelist, whose brother is Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London would improve the circulation of the money losing magazine.
The documentary was called “The Lady and the Revamp” and described the magazine as “Once the Grazia of its day, The Lady was a highly respected and influential magazine featuring on its pages anything from the correct length of hem for a Sunday Service to a cure for baldness.”
To understand whether this bold move will work, I looked at the building.
Observations and Analysis: The building is at the end of a block; Tiger side (Right side) larger – a predominantly feminine environment in the buildings. Not surprisingly, publishing “The Lady” and it is owned by a woman,
There is a road directly in front of the building (from where this image was taken). The energy flows away from the main door of the building. Therefore, there isn’t much energy getting into the building. With very little energy coming into the building, the business will struggle to survive.
Conclusions: From the analysis of the building, the business will continue to lose money as long as they are in that building. They have employed a high profile person as editor, but that might improve the circulation numbers in the immediate term but it is not the long term solution.
My suggestion: For the business to improve over the long term, it is best to move out of this building.
The second question, is the current magazine format suitable? It has moved a long way since Rachel started her job as editor. It has a more current feel to it that the older editions. The main question is – is this magazine relevant to this day and age?
Dr Michael Oon
