INBOUND ASIA DROPS PRINT FOR DIGITAL

Thailand-based Inbound Asia magazine is to move entirely online from its January edition.
In a statement the publisher of the magazine which made its debut in April 2009 explained the three main reasons behind the decision to abandon print.
"The huge use of paper and ink required to print over 10,000 magazines every issue is no longer appropriate or necessary, neither are the resources used to distribute & deliver hard copy magazines. In this electronic age, especially with the recent advent of iPad, Android, and numerous online magazine software packages, we can deliver our news, articles and advertising to a much larger, more diverse audience, whilst retaining our specifically targeted HNW readers through PDF delivery as well."
The statement concluded: "By redirecting funds previously used for printing & distribution we will free-up funds for more quality articles & photography, attending & hosting more events, and at the same time pass on the savings to advertisers who will benefit enormously from this new initiative. We will also be able to direct more funds to our adopted charity which investigates & combats human trafficking in Asia – SISHA www.sisha.org."
The magazine, which is hailed as the official magazine of the The Luxury Network Asia, has seen monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly frequencies during its short life. It also collected a runners-up prize for excellence in content generation at the Asia Publishing Awards earlier this year.
In my opinion this is a brave decision. Printing upwards of 10,000 copies of what is/was a well-produced magazine will reduce monthly expenses by 250,000 baht alone, but it remains to be seen whether advertisers will support this move. I wish the publishers well with this endeavour.

h/t to Bill at Radio Bangkok.

ADD: I now understand that at least one senior member of staff has recently lost their job, perhaps suggesting the decision to abandon print might be part of a wider cost-cutting plan?