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With so many magazines folding, this might seem like a strange time to go ahead and start three new ones.Especially when you have an enormous debt load that is rated as junk by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. But Reader's Digest is launching three new magazines. Back in January I wrote about the launch of Pastor Rick Warren's new magazine, and now Reader's Digest is adding another two to the line-up.
Fresh Home debuted on Monday with 300,000 copies and a focus on lower-end decorating ideas for women and families. The idea is apparently that Ikea-based decorating ideas will be more recession-friendly than Veranda but in truth there hasn't been a shortage of budget decorating magazines in a long time. Add in the recent collapses of Country Home and Domino and it's hard to see any good omens for this one. Best You is a health magazine and will debut next month.
Both have already had success in international markets, but it's unclear what advantage that will give them in grocery stores full of people unfamiliar with low-budget overseas periodicals. The magazines will only be available in the U.S. at newsstands on a quarterly basis.
With $2.1 billion in high-interest, high-risk debt, it's a safe bet that Reader's Digest will quickly regret not plowing these resources into paying its own debt.
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