In the United States, unit sales were down nearly 8% overall.

In Canada, unit sales were down nearly 6%

The big publishers felt the most pain, according to the MagNet data:

• In the U.S., the Top 50 titles were down 8%, while the Top 100 were down 5.5%, the Top 200 were down 2.9% , the Top 1,000 just 2.6%.
• The same held true in Canada, with the Top 50 down nearly 7%, the Top 100 down 4.4%, the Top 200 down 1.7% and the Top 1,000 down just .5%.

Click to magnify chart below:

Good to be niche, good to be high-quality, good to be a Canadian title: 

Canadian Real Estate Wealth is up 18% in the 1st Quarter of 2012 (Jan, Feb, Mar 2012)

Canada’s History is up 54% on the last two closed issues (Oct/Nov, Dec/Jan), and is forecasting a record-breaking result on their Titanic issue

Legion is up 68% on their last 3 issues (Nov/Dec, SIP, Jan/Feb)

Canadian Yachting is up 128% on their last 2 issues (Nov/Dec, Jan/Feb)

4WDrive is up 25% since re-launching recently

Canadian Business Franchise Directory is up 33%

GardenMaking has launched a brand new SIP, retailing for $9.99 that is selling briskly

Fly Fusion is coming off their best year ever, with record breaking issues.  Sales in Canada were up 11% in 2011, and sell-through efficiency increased by 12.8pts.  In the U.S., sales were up 17%.