Having initially thought it would only run for the month following the Referendum, sales of the paper, which retails for £2, have been consistent enough to keep it on the shelves for what has now been 30 weeks, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
It is currently selling around 15,000 copies a week on average, with a fluctuating print run of around 70,000, and it hit the shelves of WH Smiths for the first time this week.
The 48-page title, which is published by Archant, has no staff but relies on a free allocation of Archant's staff's time and on a network of freelance contributors.
The 70,000 run is printed at the Guardian Print Centre (GPC) in Manchester, using its Manroland Colorman on 40g newsprint paper in full colour.
Archant chief marketing officer Will Hattam said: “We went for four weeks then decided to carry on and are now in a position where we are ongoing indefinitely. It is still a situation where I can’t tell you whether we’ll be here this time next year but we’re really enjoying it.
“It seems to be going down well with readers, we’ve got a strong, stable circulation base and a growing subscription base, which is growing week-in-week-out, and the signs are really good. So we’re going to be vigilant and see what happens."
Hattam added that he enjoys the “upmarket, reasonably intellectual yet highly irreverent” style of The New European, whose contributors include Alastair Campbell, Howard Jacobson and Jonathan Freedland.
In recent months a small number of papers also have been distributed to countries outside the UK, including France, Germany and Switzerland.
“It’s attracted a disproportionate amount of interest from other countries in Europe,” added Hattam.
“Having a loose distribution is probably one of our most effective marketing techniques, making sure we are out there and can be seen and sold.”
Upon its launch, The New European was claimed by Archant to have had the fastest newspaper launch in UK history, having been turned around from concept to shelf in nine days.
Norwich-headquartered Archant prints a vast number of local newspaper titles and magazines.
