Exchange & Mart migrates to digital-only format

Weekly classified car magazine Exchange & Mart is set to close the doors on its print publication next month to concentrate on its online site, exchangeandmart.co.uk.

The closure could result in up to 80 redundancies at regional publisher Newsquest, which bought the title in 2005 from United Business Media as part of a £50.25 million deal that also included Auto Exchange.

The last printed edition of the Poole, Dorset Exchange & Mart, where a number of staff have been put into consultation, will appear in February.

Exchange & Mart‘s website is ranked as the tenth most popular automotive classified site in the UK, while Auto Trader tops the chart and remains market leader, according to Hitwise.

Newsquest hopes to focus its efforts on improving the website in order to compete with its rising online competitors such as eBay and Craigslist.

MSN Cars UK, Parker’s, Car and Classic UK and Trovit Cars also feature in the top 10 ahead of exchangeandmart.co.uk.

Exchange & Mart’s digital director, Debra Healy, said: “The future is very exciting for Exchange & Mart, which is very much a loved and iconic brand.

“Buyers have the flexibility to pinpoint what they want, where they want to look throughout the UK and how much they want to spend – all without having to pay for a magazine.

“Private advertisers can reach an audience of nearly one million potential buyers for just £5,” she added.

Exchangeandmart.co.uk has enjoyed strong online growth, recording around one million visitors every month, a year on year increase of 21%, according to reports.

Frank McCaffrey, managing director of Exchange & Mart, said: “This move is a natural evolution for Exchange & Mart and marks the beginning of a new era for the brand. It is also very much a trend being followed by the publishing world as a whole.”

JWT, the global advertising agency, recently forecast that a number newspaper and magazine titles will migrate to digital this year in order to overcome financial difficulties and move forward in the current economic climate (see JWT’s “90 Things to Watch in 2009”).

Newsquest: 01932 821 212 www.newsquest.co.uk