Consumer ABCs: Men’s Lifestyle

Following a reasonably buoyant 2016, the men’s lifestyle market – despite a series of declines between January and June 2017 – is still fairly stable and most titles have healthy circulations.

Freebie Shortlist sits at the top of the rankings with a (print-only) circulation of more than 503,000 and was only down -0.3% period-on-period and almost -0.6% year-on-year, proving that the hand-me-out distribution model has legs.

In second place is Hearst-Rodale’s Men’s Health, down -4% PoP and -3% YoY with a print and digital circulation of 174,700, followed by Conde Nast’s GQ which was only down -1.3% PoP and -2.6% over the year. The publication now has a print and digital circulation of just over 114,000.

Esquire, which was the only title in the second half of 2016 to increase its circulation, could not maintain the upward trend this year and was down almost -4.7% PoP to 62,000. Year-on-year, the title was down -4.1%.

Print-only magazine Square Mile was the only title to record a boost in circulation between January and June, but only by 0.24%. The title has a circulation of 59,400.

Wired – still uselessly lumped in the Men’s Lifestyle category – was down -3.8% PoP and -5.7% YoY to a combined print and digital circulation of 51,000.