Special issues doing well for Chitralekha

Special issues have emerged as a strong line extension for the Mumbai-based Chitralekha group. The company, which publishes general interest magazine Chitralekha (in Gujarati and Marathi) and film magazine G (in English, Marathi and Gujarati), has two special issues Watch World and Chitralekha Travel in Gujarati that are published twice and thrice a year respectively.

The second volume of Watch World (2004) will be launched this month, while the third volume of Chitralekha Travel will hit the stands in November.

Both issues, since launch last year, have seen a steady growth, says Bharat Kapadia, editor and associate publisher, Chitralekha. "Per issue, we have sales of about 80,000 copies," he says.

One reason for this is the premium production quality of the special issues, which put them at par with international magazines. "The reason why we chose to launch these issues in Gujarati is because there are no such options in this language, while English has a number of options," says Kapadia.

Watch World, as the name suggests, is all about branded watches. Priced at Rs 50, the roughly 100-page issue also has a section on branded jewellery and accessories that are covered in volume 2.

"Volume 1 comes after the annual watch exhibition, Watch Fair, held in Basel and Zurich in Switzerland (this year's issue was launched in July). So that issue is packed with the coverage of the exhibition. Volume 2, on the other hand, gives us more scope in going beyond watches, so we have included branded jewellery and premium lifestyle products."

This year's Watch World (both 1 and 2) has certain portions in English coupled with detailed pricing and listings of highly expensive models. The number of brands that have advertised in Watch World this year has doubled in comparison to last year, says Kapadia. "The brand count last year was about 14-15, which has gone up to 30," he says.

Some of the prominent brands that have advertised in volume 1 of Watch World this year are Cartier, Rolex, Movado, Franck Muller, Christian Dior, Piaget, Titan, Omega and Tag Heuer.

Chitralekha Travel, on the other hand, has about 20 brands advertising this year in comparison to 12 last year.

Priced at Rs 50 again, each issue (of about 100 pages again) dwells on a certain theme, with volume 1 of 2004 (launched in February) focusing on the many facets of India including its culture, architecture, destinations and hill stations, while volume 2 (launched in May) was a summer special.

© 2004 agencyfaqs!