Isolezwe sale reaches over 100,000

"With Isolezwe's average sale consistently over 80,000 in the past few months, achieving this six-digit milestone has been in our sights for a while," says Editor, Thulani Mbatha. "I suppose we can thank the outburst from Kaiser Chiefs's coach for getting us to this new record!"

"Isolezwe's average sale is growing with regular consistency. Our sale tends to spike when there is a strong local news or big soccer story but, a gratifying trend is that after a record sale, we see a portion of these new buyers converting to buying Isolezwe regularly - ensuring an increasing average sale," says Mbatha.

Written for and by the Zulu literate market living in today's modern society, Isolezwe resonates with its readership. It is a broad-based newspaper covering everything from hard news, sport, entertainment, women's issues, local community, national and international issues, opinion, motoring, classifieds and special features.

A large portion of Isolezwe readers are able to read English but prefer Isolezwe's interpretation and coverage of issues.

In addition to its editorial appeal, Isolezwe's sales growth can be attributed to its extensive and timeous distribution.

"Since launching in April 2002, we have worked hard at expanding our distribution infrastructure," says Circulation Director, Lorne Maclaine. "Delivering to a highly dispersed market has thrown us some logistical challenges," says Maclaine. "But, we make sure that Isolezwe is on sale all the way up to Kosi Bay in time for the morning commuter. We are also continually adding to our extensive network of agents and street sellers which vary from national retailers to local spazas."

There is no doubt that making Isolezwe as widely available as it is as early as it is, is contributing to the sales growth of the title.

Within the KwaZulu-Natal market, and specifically the Zulu-literate sector, Isolezwe is becoming a highly influential medium. "As a daily, we're out there every weekday morning and being bought and read by an increasing number of people," says Mbatha, "so our advertisers are sharing in the title's success."

According to ABC figures and based on the total number of Zulu language newspapers purchased weekly, Isolezwe enjoys a market share in excess of 66%.