Grazia launches in Thailand

The first issue went on sale on 29 September.

The Italian weekly fashion and lifestyle magazine will be published under licence by Inspire Entertainment. The Thai edition is the 12th local-language edition and sella for US$2.

Inspire aims to spend $1.3 million in the first year to establish the magazine and expects to break even within two or three years. It will target trendy upmarket women aged 24-45, and local content will make up 40 per cent of the magazine.

Goungkiet Vienravi, executive director, Inspire Entertainment Company, which also licenses Japanese SCawaii, Ray and IPC's Women and Home, said: "We had a window for 24 to 44-year-old readers in our portfolio of women's magazines. We were looking for a title to fill that. There is a lot of competition, but the audience is still very large and Grazia has a very different offering to its competition. This age group generally buy three to four magazines a month. We want Grazia to be one of these."

The magazine will be going head-to-head with other licensed magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, Madame Figaro, Cleo, In Style, as well as a plethora of local titles. The sector commands 25 to 30 per cent of all magazine advertising.

Grazia launched in China as a weekly earlier this year and in France as a fortnightly. It is understood that the title will also launch in Indonesia towards the end of the year. In May last year, Grazia launched in Australia.