The Greymouth Evening Star Co

What The Greymouth Evening Star Co does

The Greymouth Evening Star Company Limited is a privately held regional media publisher headquartered at 5 Werita Street, Greymouth, New Zealand, operating since 1866 as New Zealand's sixth-oldest newspaper. The company publishes a multi-title portfolio anchored by the Greymouth Star (evening daily, Mon-Sat, audited circulation 4,300) and the Hokitika Guardian (morning daily, Mon-Fri, circulation 1,400), supplemented by the West Coast Messenger (weekly free delivery to 14,000 households from Karamea to Haast), the Kaikoura Star (1,200 issues weekly, Seddon to Cheviot), and the West Coast Grassroots community publication. It also operates James Print, a commercial graphic-design and printing service, and a digital e-editions subscription platform spanning all titles. Production is built around offset printing technology (in place since 1979) and a regional distribution network covering retail outlets (dairies, supermarkets, fuel stations), home delivery, and digital access.

The company makes money through three reinforcing streams: physical newspaper sales at NZ$1.80 retail or NZ$1.30 home delivery; display and classified print advertising sold direct by dedicated staff across all titles; and recurring digital subscriptions to e-editions (sold in 1/3/6/12-month plans with automatic renewal through Smedia and Eway payment processing). Customer segments split between West Coast general-public readers (primary, by geography), local SMB advertisers (primary, by business unit), and digital subscribers (secondary). Distribution is multi-channel — physical retail, home delivery, free weekly community delivery, self-serve digital — supported by organic social on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, plus email newsletters and the greystar.co.nz content site. The company is 51% owned by Dunedin-based Allied Press (publisher of the Otago Daily Times), with 49% held by West Coast local shareholders, and employs 61 full-time staff across offices in Greymouth and Hokitika.

Name

The Greymouth Evening Star Co

Legal name

The Greymouth Evening Star Company Limited

Website

https://greystar.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1866

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Greymouth Evening Star Company Limited is a privately held regional newspaper publisher operating the West Coast's principal daily and weekly print titles, free community delivery, digital e-editions, and a commercial printing arm from Greymouth, New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Daily newspaper printing
• Print advertising
• Digital newspaper subscriptions
• Commercial printing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Greymouth

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Newspaper Sales: Physical newspaper sales through retail outlets (dairies, supermarkets, fuel stations) and home delivery subscriptions for the Greymouth Star and Hokitika Guardian publications
2. Print Advertising: Display advertising in newspapers (Greymouth Star, Hokitika Guardian, West Coast Messenger, Kaikoura Star) and classified advertising across all publications
3. Digital Subscriptions: E-edition subscriptions for multiple publications (Greymouth Star, Hokitika Guardian, Kaikoura Star, West Coast Messenger, West Coast Grassroots) with automatic renewal

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Greymouth Evening Star Company Limited is a regional media publisher producing and distributing local newspapers and digital editions for the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Its portfolio includes the flagship Greymouth Star evening daily, the Hokitika Guardian morning daily, the West Coast Messenger weekly community paper, and the Kaikoura Star, supplemented by digital e-edition subscriptions and the James Print commercial printing service.

Product overview

The Greymouth Evening Star Company Ltd operates a multi-product regional media portfolio anchored by three core daily/weekly newspapers. The flagship Greymouth Star (evening daily, Mon-Sat, 4,300 circulation) and Hokitika Guardian (morning daily, Mon-Fri, 1,400 circulation) serve the West Coast as the principal media publishers. The West Coast Messenger (weekly free delivery, 14,000 households) provides community coverage. Additional products include the Kaikoura Star (1,200 circulation), the digital E-Editions platform for all publications, West Coast Grassroots community content, James Print commercial printing services, and video news content. The portfolio is unified under Allied Press ownership (51%) with 49% local West Coast shareholding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Greymouth Star Flagship evening daily newspaper (Monday-Saturday) circulating throughout the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island with an audited daily circulation of 4,300 and readership nearly three times that figure. It is the largest daily newspaper on the West Coast and is sold through dairies, supermarkets, fuel stations, and home delivery.
• Hokitika Guardian Morning daily newspaper (Monday-Friday) based in Hokitika with an audited daily circulation of 1,400, serving Hokitika and South Westland.
• West Coast Messenger

Quantifiable outcome

• Audited daily circulation of 4300 for Greymouth Star
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• The Southland Times: Long-running South Island regional daily newspaper in Invercargill, originally Allied Press-owned, now under Stuff. Comparable to Greymouth Star as a regional South Island daily with print circulation and digital subscriptions serving a similar small-market community.
• Ashburton Guardian: Independently owned regional daily newspaper in Mid Canterbury, New Zealand, with print + digital subscriptions. Closely comparable to Greymouth Star as a smaller independent/community-focused daily serving a rural region.
• Wairarapa Times-Age: Independent regional newspaper in the Wairarapa region serving a small rural community in the lower North Island. Directly comparable as a small-scale independent regional newspaper with print + digital operations similar to Greymouth's portfolio.
• Nelson Mail: Regional daily newspaper serving the Nelson region on New Zealand's South Island. Operates the same print + digital subscription model targeting a small regional community comparable to the West Coast market.

Broad incumbents

• NZME (New Zealand Media and Entertainment): One of New Zealand's largest media companies, publishing the New Zealand Herald and multiple regional dailies (Bay of Plenty Times, Waikato Times, Rotorua Daily Post). Operates a national multi-title newspaper portfolio with the same print + digital subscription model as Greymouth, but at much larger scale.
• Stuff (Stuff Limited): New Zealand's largest news publisher, formerly Fairfax NZ, operating the Dominion Post, Sunday Star-Times, and Stuff.co.nz alongside regional titles such as the Taranaki Daily News, Manawatu Standard, and Nelson Mail. Directly comparable as a multi-title newspaper publisher with national reach.

Direct peers

• Otago Daily Times: The flagship daily newspaper of Allied Press, the same parent that owns 51% of Greymouth Evening Star. Both publications are South Island daily newspapers with print + digital subscription models serving regional New Zealand communities.
• Allied Press: Majority shareholder of Greymouth Evening Star and publisher of the Otago Daily Times. Operates an overlapping regional newspaper portfolio in New Zealand's South Island with similar print + digital subscription business model and is the most directly comparable peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/greymouthstar
• Facebookfacebook.com/Greymouth-Star-242269589146590
• Instagraminstagram.com/greymouthstar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-greymouth-evening-star-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Greymouth Evening Star Co