The Leaders in Business to Business Publishing since 1981

Lema Publishing Ltd. was established in 1981 when Malcolm Naish decided to launch Toys ‘n’ Playthings on a monthly basis. Almost 29 years later that title is still going strong and is a brand leader in its sector. Fast forward to 2009 and the company has nine b2b titles in its portfolio and Malcolm remains head of the company. Whilst Lema’s growth can hardly be described as meteoric, the steady addition of new titles has placed the company at the forefront of the b2b market. In 1989 ‘Gifts Today ‘ was launched against the then two established gift titles and within two years had seen the demise of those titles. This year celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the title. As regular exhibitors at the Harrogate Christmas & Gift show each January, Lema spotted a niche for Christmas decorations and outdoor lighting and in 1990 launched ‘Christmas in January’. Published just twice a year it is the only magazine for this specialist market.

In 1992 Lema were given the opportunity to publish the Greeting Card & Calendar Association’s title – thus began our link with the Greeting Card industry. In 1998 the Association decided to switch to a rival publisher and ‘Greetings Today’ was born. In May 1997 ‘Nursery Today’ was launched as a specialist read for the baby and infant markets. It has grown to become a leader in its field or should we say nursery. Following a special one-off party title in 1999 to celebrate the turn of the century, such was the response from advertisers that we decided to launch ‘Party Party’ as a specialist magazine for the party and dress up industry. Now a brand leader in this niche market the title continues to lead the way in all that’s good in the party market and is published bi-monthly.

2007 saw Lema Publishing acquire three new titles. The first to come under the Lema banner was ‘Tableware International’ – a title with a history of over 130 years, first published in 1877 as the ‘Pottery Gazette’. ‘Licensing Today Worldwide’ was acquired from the Galleon Group Plc. and covers the world of character and brand licensing. Published four times a year it is an international title that keeps readers up-to-date with the fast moving world of licensing. Also acquired with LTW was the annual publication ‘Art Buyer’ – read by both providers and buyers of licensed artwork for all manner of products. ‘Picture Business’ was the last title to be acquired by the company from emap plc and is read by art galleries and art framing shops primarily within the UK. Published six times a year.
All of our titles have a certain synergy with their sister publications and circulate primarily to retail shops and stores and of course, the Major buyers within those industries. The majority of our titles are members of the Audit Bureau of Circulation.