Plan to Purchase NZ Retirement Guide, seniors site

Telecom Directories Limited to Purchase New Zealand Retirement Guide and seniors website

Telecom Directories Limited has signed an agreement to purchase the New Zealand Retirement Guide and www.seniors.co.nz from Full Moon Publishing.

Telecom Directories will establish Full Moon Guides as a separate, stand-alone enterprise, publishing the New Zealand Retirement Guide and www.seniors.co.nz. Telecom Directories also publishes Yellow Pages®, White Pages® and Local Directories™.

The New Zealand Retirement Guide was first published in 1992, and was relaunched by Full Moon Publishing in 1999. It targets the 50+ age group and provides information on elder care provisions such as home-based support, retirement villages and rest homes, and private hospitals.

The aging population bubble is the biggest demographic change of current times, causing one of the most significant changes in consumer behaviour seen in New Zealand. Although it is widely understood that the local population is aging, the economic implications and behavioural characteristics of this aging population are less well understood.

“Telecom Directories’ purchase of the New Zealand Retirement Guide is an acknowledgement of this publication’s excellence,” says Dudley Enoka, General Manager of Telecom Directories. “It’s also our recognition that with the number of people over the age of 65 projected to increase from 460,000 in 2001 to nearly 800,000 by 2025, businesses serving this population group are well-placed to take a central part in New Zealand’s economy.”

“We know from independent research that directory usage is driven by a person’s experience or anticipation of a major life event such as moving house, changing jobs, retirement and so on,” says Dudley. “With our expertise in understanding how people make purchasing decisions during major life events, I believe we will help the New Zealand Retirement Guide provide even better service for New Zealand’s retiring population, and for the businesses which serve them.”

“For Telecom Directories, this marks the first step in delivering on its strategy for print and online directories, shifting to a more segmented approach for both users and advertisers,” says Dudley. “This strategy will see the organisation focus on additional niche publications over the next twelve months.”

“Since the relaunch six years ago, growing the publication to meet industry needs had 110 percent of my commitment, and I have developed a very real personal interest in ‘getting older well’,” says Frances Kinnaird, owner of Full Moon Publishing. “I decided to sell the publication as it has grown too big for a home-based business. I am looking forward to spending more time with my family.”

Telecom Directories has appointed Kiran Cordeiro as the new Business Manager for Full Moon Guides. It will reveal more about its plans for the publication later this month.

About Telecom Directories
Telecom Directories, publishers of Yellow Pages®, White Pages® and Local Directories™, was formed in 1988 as part of the Telecom Group. It is responsible for printing and distributing more than 2.7 million directories (Yellow Pages, White Pages and Local Directories) across the nation. Every year it produces 18 regional and 22 local directories and the online directories www.whitepages.co.nz and www.yellowpages.co.nz. These resources provide the information New Zealanders need to keep in touch and link people and businesses through telecommunication and classified directory information.

ENDS