ABC: Cosmopolitan Beaten By Glamour
ABC consumer magazine figures for the January-June 2002 period have brought the news which must have been dreaded at the National Magazine Company ever since Condé Nast’s Glamour made its spectacular entrance to the market. Cosmopolitan, top dog among the women’s glossies for much of its thirty year history, has been toppled by its diminutive rival.
The rumours had been circulating in the last week, but today’s figures have confirmed it: Cosmopolitan managed a 4% year on year increase to reach a more than respectable 470,180, but Glamour, which despite a price rise remains considerably cheaper than most women’s monthly titles, saw a 15.2% year on year increase, taking it to 520,193 and a more than comfortable lead.
There was some comfort elsewhere for Natmag, as Company saw a 39.9% year on year increase in circulation, while brand spin-off Cosmopolitan Hair & Beauty rose 26.4%. IPC/European Magazines’ Marie Claire also saw a modest year on year rise of 6.4%, having struggled in recent audits. Certainly the launch of Glamour has done little harm to the women’s glossy sector, seen as stagnated a short time ago. Despite closures, circulation as a whole for the sector was up.
Other success stories were seen in the same titles to the July-December 2001 audit. Emap’s Heat continues to hold the magic formula, with another spectacular year on year increase of 103.4%, taking the circulation of the celebrity gossip and listings title to 478,924. Another Emap title, Kerrang! continues to ride the wave of renewed enthusiasm for heavy rock music, with a 60.2% increase to 83,988.
However, it is not all smiles for Emap, as mens market leading FHM once again saw a loss, of 17.1%, although the men’s market looks to be stablising after several worrying audit periods.
The full concurrently released figures will be available in MediaTel’s Press database after the embargo time of 5pm today. Analysis of the figures by major sector will appear on MediaTel NewsLine tomorrow. Please note that all figures listed in the NewsLine reports are those reported by ABC as at Thursday 15 August 2002. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date and will be added to MediaTel’s Press database. Further information on how NewsLine reports are compiled is available by Important Notes: ABC Jan-Jun 2002.
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