Is the assumption that BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) lacks substance correct?

“BRIC Magazine is seen by brands as a strong and targeted platform to reach this new highly lucrative, high spending demographic and, of course, we do feature editorials on expensive $300 million yachts and watches that sell for half a million. However, new money is not the only thing that is happening in BRIC,” says Charlotte Bergman, business development manager at BRIC Magazine. “These emerging superpowers are also a hot bed of cultural and artistic activities with remarkable stories of remarkable people who triumph against the odds, and these stories can inspire and excite the entire world.”

According to James Massoud, the managing editor of London based BRIC Magazine, the first established publication to describe prominent peoples and cultures of the BRIC nations, “These countries are the richest in not only the resources of oil and gas but also of art, science and culture. There are many amazing self-made people who come from these countries and who are happy to share their stories, which are not always easy and rosy. For example, in our next issue we have a feature on Zhang Xin, a woman who grew up homeless on the streets in China, working in sweatshops, who rose to become the CEO of the largest commercial real estate developer in Beijing. It’s those sorts of inspirational stories the West doesn’t yet know about, that we will be bringing to light. We’ll also have a big variety of art reviews directly from the auctions houses of Christie’s and Sotheby's, where we are invited as part of a very few select members of the media. Of course there is a big element of luxury and spending amongst the international BRIC community, however this is definitely not the only feature or focus of our publication.”

Anthony Wenyon is the Principal of UK Corporate Advisory for the Santander Group that holds a leading position in Brazil and Latin America. He personally feels that the media coverage in the West in regards to arts, culture and business in the BRIC countries is too limited. “More practical insights on how things work in these markets would be very helpful.”  With BRIC magazine he affirms , “arts, culture - yes, very interesting.” The term BRIC was first coined by an analyst at leading investment bank Goldman Sachs. The BRIC countries are now growing at an astounding rate and have become voracious consumers of quality goods, with their appetite only set to keep on growing. Brazilian business magnate Carlos Jereissati tells us that the new middle class in his country almost doubles the entire population of the UK, a report from the US Geological Society cited Russia as one the world’s biggest providers of mineral resources, India is well known as home to the world’s biggest film industry and China not only has the world’s largest population but data from TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht shows it also became the world’s biggest fine art consumer in 2012.

Further, according to CNN Business, this year alone the combined GDP of all the BRIC countries was $15.7 trillion, dwarfing the combined total of all of the big EU players, at $10.8 trillion, and was only marginally behind the world’s traditional economic powerhouse, the USA at $16.2 trillion. Exclusive web brand, London Luxury Quarters, tells us that a massive 25% of our local London luxury market consumption is due to Chinese buyers, followed by Russians at 16%.

Lydia Vladimirskaya, founder of the magazine and managing director of the publishing group, Hanzi Media, is very optimistic about her new publication: “We aim to reflect the growing prosperity of the BRIC countries by publishing exciting and well written articles which get under the skin of cultural and economic movements. It’s a very exciting time for me and I’m really looking forward to the future growth of this unique title.”

“We work hard to uncover the great cases of humanity in BRIC countries, as their fast paced economic and social climates contain so much expression, aspiration and possibility,” says co-founder and editor-at-large, Ankit Love, who in 2011 was the first Indian born recording artist featured on VH1 and MTV USA.

The magazine is available at most of the prestigious locations in London, Paris, Milan, Geneva, St Moritz, New Delhi and New York, with new distribution channels opening up in Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Moscow. To make sure it has the impact of an industry leading title the magazine is printed in large format, 320x245mm, on 130gsm gloss paper to best showcase the high quality photography, features and products that will become its hallmark. Distributed by COMAG and Gold Key Media, it is also available at select retailers for a cover price of £12.