International newspapers now available locally – same day edition |28 August 2007

Over 550 newspaper titles from 72 countries and representing 36 languages will be made available to the local market, a communiqué from iMedia said.

Using new high-speed digital printers, iMedia will print newspapers that will include the same content and layout as its original counterpart.

“Through the use of encrypted technology, digital versions of the newspaper are made available to Seychelles at the same time that the versions go to the printing presses in their respective countries. A subscriber in Seychelles therefore will have the luxury of reading a British or French-based newspaper even before it reaches the newsstands in London or Paris,” the communiqué said.

“We are delighted to launch this product in Seychelles,” said iMedia’s executive chairman Marc Houareau. “For too many years, international newspapers have been unavailable locally because of the prohibitive airfreight cost, logistics and foreign exchange element involved in importing small quantities of newspapers. Add the fact that consumers had a limited choice of titles that were usually 2 to 7 days old when they did manage to get hold of a paper, and one can understand why this business model never worked. So instead of reading old news, visitors and locals alike now have the option of hundreds of different newspaper titles that are printed locally on the same day of publication”.

Some of the world titles available include Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post from USA, the Sydney Morning Herald-Australia, Le Monde and Le Figaro of France, The Times of London, The Sun, News of the World, The Daily Mail and Telegraph from UK, the International Herald Tribune, The Straits Times of Singapore, The Citizen and Sunday Times of Johannesburg, The Nation from Kenya, Gulf News and Emirates from UAE, Al-Jazirah and Al-Watan of Saudi Arabia, Al Ahram of Egypt, Moscow Times, China Daily and Shanghai Daily, Times of India, The Hindu of India, Il Giornale, Il Mattino and Gazzetta dello Sport from Italy, the Manila Times from Philippines, El Pais from Spain and the famous Yomiuri Shimbun from Japan.

According to the iMedia communiqué, the newspaper direct service is also targeting the growing tourism industry, whereby visitors to Seychelles can continue to receive their favourite newspaper while they are away from their home country. 

One of the first hotels to take advantage of the product is the new 5-star Maia Luxury Resorts & Spa. “We wanted Maia to be the ‘home away from home’ for our guests”, general manager Mr Frederic Vidal said. “Now thanks to iMedia’s Newspaper Direct solution, our guests can keep up with their home town’s daily news whilst enjoying the exclusive luxury of one of the world’s most romantic and exotic resorts.”

Banyan Tree Hotel at Intendance Beach is another up-market hotel that has partnered with iMedia to offer international daily newspapers to their guests. “It was indeed a smooth, professional and swift relationship with iMedia’s very creative and diligent team that we worked closely with,” said Ms Nathalie Savy, the Banyan Tree (Seychelles) director of Sales. “The final product is of international standard and in line with what Seychelles should be aiming for in the next generation of communications and print media. A job well done.”

Apart from the hotels, iMedia will also be targeting the expatriate and diplomatic communities, offshore companies, visiting yachts and cruise ships, airlines, plus individual subscribers, especially those who enjoy British soccer and want to subscribe to the weekend or Monday newspapers in order to get the UK soccer news.  An agreement with the Antigone Shop in Victoria will ensure that favourite titles are made available for walk-in town customers, and in the future, coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets around Mahé will also be able to order papers that can be resold in their establishments. 

Outer island customers have not been forgotten and papers will be forwarded to Praslin and La Digue via Air Seychelles and Cat Cocos and delivered to specific outlets on these two major islands.  Papers for other islands including Alphonse, Bird, Cerf, Cousin, Denis, Desroches, Fregate, North, Silhouette and Ste. Anne will be delivered to their respective Mahé offices to be forwarded to the hotel guests. 

iMedia is currently offering a delivery service to subscribers in Victoria, Providence Industrial Estate, the Airport and to all the major hotels on Mahé. Subscriptions of 3, 6 and 12 months are available at discounted rates, while customers can opt for a one-off purchase or even a weekly subscription. Prices will range from SR35 to SR95 per paper depending on the average number of pages in a particular newspaper. 

To receive a list of titles or to subscribe to your favourite newspaper, contact iMedia on 676166 or pay a visit to their office at the VCS Building Le Chantier. You can also visit the company’s website at www.imedia.sc or simply send an email to info@imedia.sc.