Associated Media to close its

Associated Media will close it’s doors on 1 May 2020 due to COVID-19 financial woes. Photo: Twitter/Jacaranda

Associated Media to close its doors after 38-years due to COVID-19

CEO Julia Raphaely said that she has had to make the most difficult decision of her life and close the company to avoid massive losses.

Associated Media to close its

Associated Media will close it’s doors on 1 May 2020 due to COVID-19 financial woes. Photo: Twitter/Jacaranda

The devastating financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has left one of South Africa’s most powerful independent media houses – Associated Media Publishing (AMP) – with no choice but to close their doors after 38 years in publishing. 

The media house is responsible for the publication of longstanding magazines like Cosmo, House & Leisure, Good Housekeeping and Women on Wheels, and has been left with no choice but to shut down on 1 May following untenable financial losses during the crisis. 

‘Impossible to continue’ 

In a statement released on Thursday, the media giant’s  CEO Julia Raphaely said that this was the hardest decision she had ever had to make. 

“The unexpected and devastating impact of COVID-19, causing the closure of printing and distribution channels, the global halt on advertising spend as well as the inability to host events for the foreseeable future, have made it impossible to continue trading, despite large amounts of personal funds having gone into AMP,” the statement read. 

“The future of many industries is uncertain. AMP is currently dealing exclusively with trying to minimise the negative financial implications this terrible outcome will cause to creditors and staff,” she said. 

Blow for magazine brands 

Julia, the daughter of Jane Raphaely who founded the brand in Cape Town in 1982, said that she had been left with no choice but to do what she never thought she would have to. 

“This is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make,” said Julia. “For the last 38 years, AMP has been one of South Africa’s leading publishers and our titles have been part of many people’s lives.” 

She said that her company’s closing would have a negative impact on the entire media landscape in South Africa.

“It’s a big blow for magazine media brands in South Africa as they hold a special place in our country. We never thought this day would come, but we are left with no choice.”