Bauer Media secures new multi-year deal to publish Elle Australia

Bauer Media has signed a multi-year licensing deal with Lagardére to continue publishing fashion and beauty brand Elle Australia across all channels.

Bauer Media chief executive officer Brendon Hill said the seven-year agreement is a testament to the strength of the Elle Australia and an example of Bauer’s commitment to bolstering its luxury portfolio.

“We are delighted to continue to bring Elle Australia, one of the world’s most recognisable brands, to its loyal and rapidly growing audience. Elle is an extremely high performing brand in Australia with growth across print and online readership, social media platforms and retail performance. This success demonstrates that the brand is a market-leader that Australians resonate with, and is a reflection of the exceptionally talented Elle team.”

First licensed by Bauer in Australia in 2013, Elle has achieved significant growth, particularly in the past 12 months; 15.5% growth in print readership YOY; 123% increase in online page views YOY to reach 3.9 million in July and a jump from 120,000 Instagram video views to 3.7 million views. Additionally, Elle is the only title in the luxury women’s category to experience growth in supermarket sales in the last year.

Following the sell-out success of its Elle Inspires panel event series this year, Bauer is planning to build on the events next year.

Elle editor-in-chief Genevra Leek (pictured) said: “We’ve had an amazing year with our brilliant team who remain committed to inspiring imagery and great story-telling across all of our Elle products. We’ve celebrated incredible highlights including our August Sustainability issue, our series of digital covers celebrating game-changing talent in the inaugural Elle list, and our launch onto IGTV, which has contributed to exponential growth in Instagram views. With big plans already in play for 2020, the future for ELLE Australia is bright.”

Hill added: “Bauer is committed to evolving our brands, the way we connect with audiences to better reflect our readers and provide the best content and brand experiences in the market.”

The November issue of Elle, featuring Hollywood star Elle Fanning on the cover, photographed by Kai Z Feng for Elle Australia in Los Angeles, is on sale Monday, October 21.