MAGAZINE ABCs: Company plummets as IPC's Essentials continues to grow

Company, the fashion, advice and celebrity gossip title, had an average circulation of 180,162 for Jan to Jun this year, marking a 17.2% drop period on period.

Hearst's Psychologies magazine, formerly a Hachette Filipacchi title, also posted a circulation drop of 9.6% period on period and 8.7% year on year.

Fashion title Cosmopolitan, whose sister magazine Cosmo Bride was closed as part of the Hearst UK merger, also plummeted 3.4% period on period and 3.7% year on year. The drop marks the first time Cosmopolitan has dropped below the 400,000 mark, pulling in a circulation of 386,852.

But Hachette Filipacchi titles Red, Elle, and NatMag’s Harpers Bazaar maintained their positions overall, posting small increases year-on-year.

Sharon Douglas, circulation and marketing director for Hearst UK, said: "Company has been a challenge for us it’s fair to say. We have reduced our retail marketing of it and put more resources into its editorial.

"But Harpers Bazaar was absolutely wonderful for us and had its 11th consecutive increase year-on-year."

Following on from the closure of NatMag’s She magazine, Douglas said that Hearst was continually revising its portfolio, but was not looking to close any further titles at the moment.

Tess Mcleod-Smith, publishing director of Harpers Bazaar, said that a bumper fashion issue in March coupled with Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer gracing the title’s cover had helped to boost its circulation 0.2% year-on-year.

Mcleod-Smith said that the luxury sector of women’s magazines would continue to grow, and claimed that advertising revenue for this year’s September and October issues was up significantly.

But elsewhere in the women's lifestyle sector, Essentials magazine is once again the fastest growing magazine, posting a 9.9% year-on-year circulation increase.

The IPC monthly claimed an average distribution of 126,904 for the Jan to Jun 2011 period, a 0.4% increase period on period.

Meanwhile Conde Nast's ever-popular weekly magazine Glamour ramains the biggest women's lifestyle title, with an average circulation of 530,060, up 5.9% period on period and 0.7% yoy.

Simon Kippin, publisher of Glamour, said the fact Glamour had not changed its product or offered more gifts to boost its figures was testament to its editorial strength.

He said: "We have got the biggest gap between us and Cosmopolitan ever and are clearly right on top.

"I would be the last person to offer advice to Hearst, but I think that middle market in terms of the glossy young people’s magazines is really squeezing Company out. I think it’s part of a long decline. But overall it wasn’t a particularly buoyant period."

Fashion titles Vogue and Vanity Fair dropped slightly period on period, posting 0.2% and 1.9% falls respectively.

Free women's weekly Stylist boasted a 1.2% year-on-year and 0.5% period-on-period rise, with an average circulation figure of 426,396, the third consecutive rise since the title's launch in October 2009.

Mike Soutar, chief executive of ShortList Media, the publisher of Stylist, said: "No longer just an innovative launch, Stylist is a fully-formed, market-transforming phenomenon. We have exciting plans to continue to grow its scale and influence."

European Magazines Ltd's Marie Claire posted the second highest drop year on year behind Company, at 10.4%.

Top 23 women's lifestyle magazines
Title	Publisher	Jan - Jul	Prd/prd	Yr/yr
		2011	change	change
Glamour	Conde Nast Publications	530,060	5.9%	0.7%
Good Housekeeping	Hearst Magazines	430,878	-2.9%	2.0%
Stylist	Shortlist Media	426,396	0.5%	1.2%
Cosmopolitan	Hearst Magazines	386,852	-3.4%	-3.7%
Woman & Home	IPC Media	370,284	-4.0%	0.3%
Look	IPC Media	300,161	-3.6%	-4.2%
Yours	Bauer Consumer Media	285,890	-2.4%	-3.8%
Prima	Hearst Magazines	280,207	4.4%	-3.1%
Marie Claire	European Magazines	250,785	-5.4%	-10.4%
Candis	Newhall Publications	236,075	-4.8%	-7.2%
Red	Hearst Magazines	231,160	0.1%	0.5%
Grazia	Bauer Consumer Media	219,741	-2.1%	-3.9%
Vogue	Conde Nast Publications	210,766	-0.2%	0.1%
Elle (U.K.)	Hearst Magazines	197,136	-1.7%	0.8%
Company	Hearst Magazines	180,162	-17.2%	-17.1%
Instyle (UK)	IPC Media	175,113	-3.0%	-6.0%
More!	Bauer Consumer Media	170,033	-9.7%	-9.2%
Easy Living	Conde Nast Publications	158,038	-1.3%	-7.1%
Essentials	IPC Media	126,904	0.4%	9.9%
Harpers Bazaar	Hearst Magazines	118,740	-0.8%	0.2%
Psychologies	Hearst Magazines	108,631	-9.6%	-8.7%
Vanity Fair	Conde Nast Publications	100,560	-1.9%	-1.8%
Tatler	Conde Nast Publications	87,616	0.4%	1.4%

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk