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Egmont Publishing celebrates strong ABC performance for children’s titles

By John Freeman on February 11, 2017

Following up on our report on the latest ABC sales figures for British comics, longtime comics publisher Egmont Publishing UK – which last year sold its classic comics archive to 2000AD publisher Rebellion – is celebrating strong ABC performance, just like Beano publisher DC Thomson.

The London-based company reports impressive debut figures for new launches, PAW Patrol (49,024) and Finding Dory (33,002), and that Thomas & Friends up 2.3% period on period (these latest figures cover June to December 2016).

LEGO Star Wars was up 25.7% year on year, while girls title Disney Frozen remains the Number One children’s magazine title, reinforcing faith in print among younger readers over digital alternatives – despite the rush to that delivery platform in recent years.

Both PAW Patrol and Finding Dory launched in the summer and continue to make their mark in the children’s sector.

Laura Adnitt, Publishing Director, said: ‘We are delighted with the success of PAW Patrol magazine. Standing out in the fiercely competitive pre-school sector is a challenge, but PAW Patrol has made it look easy.

“The magazine deepens the engagement with the brand for young fans, allowing them to connect with their favourite pawsome pals through entertaining interactive content and on brand covermounts.”

As well as new titles, LEGO Star Wars continues its strong performance with 25.7% year on year growth, and Disney Frozen continues to have the highest ABC figure in the children’s market at 82,009.

Egmont’s evergreen title, Thomas & Friends continues to delight Thomas fans and maintain its prominence in the pre-school sector, and We Love Pop has cemented its position in the teen market with positive period-on-period growth.

Cally Poplak, Managing Director of Egmont Publishing UK said: “Egmont is the Number One Children’s Magazine publisher thanks to an outstanding portfolio of magazines like Disney Frozen, LEGO Star Wars and TOXIC.

“We know from our research that parents value the physicality and the package printed magazines offer – they appreciate how they offer time away from screens and enable them to spend time doing activities and reading with their children.”

There are more details of the Audit Bureau Of Circulations on its website

• You can view our British Comic Sales Figures spreadsheet – going back to 2006 – here

Note: Not every UK comic is ABC rated

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.