Condé Nast Silent Over Plans For New Women’s Glossy
Condé Nast is believed to preparing to launch a new glossy magazine to go head-to-head with Hachette Filipacchi’s Red in the increasingly competitive market for affluent thirty something women.
A spokeswoman for company, which also publishes Glamour and Vogue, refused to comment on industry speculation, but confirmed that National Magazine Company’s Good Housekeeping publishing director, Chris Hughes, has been recruited to lead new projects.
Further information on the role Hughes will play within Condé Nast is expected in the next few days, along with a statement on whether or not the company is, in fact, planning a title for women in their middle youth.
Hughes will be replaced at Natmags by executive group publishing director Liz Kershaw. The company’s managing director, Duncan Edwards, said: “Chris has done a wonderful job for us in various roles over the last 11 years and we wish him every success.”
The latest ABC results show that Hachette Filipacchi’s Red is performing well with its mix of fashion, beauty and entertainment helping circulation to rise by 2.5% year on year to just under the 200,000 mark.
Other magazines for thirty-something women also strengthened their position in the sector with BBC Magazines’ Eve and Time Life Entertainment’s InStyle seeing circulation rise by 17.6% and 6.8% respectively in the six months to December 2003.
Condé Nast already has a strong hold on the women’s monthly market and its handbag-sized Glamour has gone from strength to strength since its launch in March 2001. The fledgling fashion and beauty title experienced a solid 8.4% year on year increase in circulation in the latest ABC results, helping further extend its lead over National Magazine Company’s Cosmopolitan.
Last week the National Magazine Company announced plans to launch a new celebrity-focused weekly to compete with Emap’s highly successful Closer. The publisher confirmed that it is currently developing a new weekly under the working title Reveal, in an attempt to cash in on the rapidly expanding sector (see Natmags To Take On Closer With New Celebrity Weekly).
Condé Nast: 020 7499 9080 www.condenast.co.uk
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