issue 54 - AsiaLIFE Magazine

This month the AsiaLIFE family adds a third member
with the launch of AsiaLIFE Thailand. We talk to the
people behind the venture, asking why the time is
right for a blitz on Bangkok.
It has been almost six years
since Jonny Edbrooke and Mark
Bibby Jackson launched AsiaL-
IFE — first here in Ho Chi Minh
City, then in Phnom Penh. Much
has happened in that time. The
world has been shaken by a
global recession that decimated
advertising revenue and the
internet revolution has transformed
the way the publishing
industry works.
Throughout this, the two
40-something Brits have shared
the same belief they held all
those years ago — there is space
for a strong, regional lifestyle
publication and AsiaLIFE has
the right brand to fill it.
More than 120 issues later,
and with three partners who
share their vision, the pair
have decided the time is ripe to
launch a Thailand edition, along
with a new website — Asialife.
asia — and an iPad app.
“We always did intend to roll
out the AsiaLIFE brand across the
region,” says Edbrooke. “Unfortunately
the global economic downturn
put our plans back a bit.”
Bibby Jackson has no doubts
the new venture will be successful.
“When I launched AsiaLIFE
in Cambodia everyone thought
12 asialife HCMC