Cut Could Face The Chop After Thirty-Day Review

H Bauer is reviewing the future of its fledgling weekly men’s magazine, Cut, in a move that could see the title close just three months after its launch.

The German publishing giant has entered into a thirty-day period of consultation with staff regarding the future of Cut, which was the third men’s weekly to enter the market following the launch of IPC’s Nuts and Emap’s Zoo earlier this year.

Reports suggest that sales of Cut, which positioned itself as a cut-down version of 54 papers and 185 magazines, have fallen to just 10,000 copies a week, someway below Bauer’s target of 700,000. However, the company has denied speculation that the title will close immediately.

H Bauer managing director, David Goodchild, said: “We currently have no comment to make on the future of Cut. The due process of consultation is internal and not for discussion. Only when a consensus is reached will there be further comment from the company.”

Cut launched back in August with the support of an extensive television advertising campaign heralding its ability to provide male readers with ‘all the stuff that is worth knowing’ by dissecting the most amusing and interesting articles from the week’s media (see H Bauer Launches Cut With Extensive Advertising Campaign).

However, the magazine has faced tough competition from Nuts and Zoo, which sent shockwaves through the men’s magazine market after rocketing almost instantly to success. IPC’s Nuts entered the sector with an average weekly circulation of 290,337, putting it someway ahead of Emap’s Zoo, which recorded sales of 200,125 in the six months to June 2004 (see ABC Results Jan-Jun 2004: Men’s Weeklies Make Their Mark).

H Bauer Publishing: 020 7241 8000 www.bauer.co.uk

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