This year has seen a rather mixed performance within the men’s lifestyle sector, with some winners and some losers.
The ‘new lad’ magazines Loaded, FHM and Maxim saw impressive increases. All three titles have been in the news this year.
Maxim saw the biggest increase of 62.96%, and this month saw the relaunch of its website.
FHM’s impressive increase was reflected in its editor, Ed Needham, being accredited with the John Menzies Editor of the Year (Consumer) title back in May. Surfing on the wave of its success, the title is planning to launch a bi-annual men’s fashion magazine called FHM Collections. Research carried out by EMAP revealed it to be the magazine most widely associated with ‘quality fashion’.
Loaded’s managing editor, Adam Porter, left the publication to go over, freelance, to GQ late last month. GQ’s figures dropped by nearly 4% this year, maybe its plan to carry front cover CD ROMs and the same magic which Porter worked at Loaded will have a positive effect on its circulation trends.
Despite an upsurge in circulation, Men’s Health editor Phil Hinton left to join IPC Magazines, to contribute to the planned launch of a number of new titles.
Titles Sky and The Face lost circulation this year, as did half the other men’s titles. Yet despite this there were a number of magazine launches in the men’s lifestyle sector. Petrolhead, a motoring/lifestyle mag, launched early in the year only to close this month after sinking into debt. Other titles launched this year included Deluxe and Untold – still going strong – and Zest For Men is due to launch in October.
Cabal Communications, the new publications company set up by Sally O’Sullivan, formerly editor-in-chief at IPC Magazines is also reputedly planning to launch a number of titles – one of them a men’s lifestyle title – possibly before christmas.
Lastly, Max Power saw a decline in its circulation this year. Despite this, a pilot of a masthead programme based on the magazine, aired in early July on the Granada Men and Motors Channel, was a success, and Granada were very pleased with the viewing figures.
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