IPC Closes Options After Long-Term Sales Decline

Adding to the company-wide redundancies announced last week (see 200 Jobs To Go In IPC Restructure), IPC Magazines has just announced the closure of its monthly women’s title, Options. Despite a makeover last year (see IPC Gives Options A Makeover), the magazine for 20-30 year old ABC1 women has failed to reverse a long-term decline in sales.

Over the last ten years, Options has lost half its circulation, down from 235,000 to 119,000 sales per issue. The March edition, out next month, will be the last. Publishing director Rita Lewis says: “The closure of Options is sad news for a title that has been a key part of the fashion titles group for more than 16 years. However, it’s crucial we recognise when the market has changed and take appropriate action”.

IPC’s other women’s magazines are not faring a great better than Options in terms of circulation: Woman, Woman’s Own and Woman’s Journal all reported circulation declines in the latest ABC figures.

However, the publisher has also unveiled plans for a new fashion title, currently operating under the name Project B. Deborah Bee, former editor of Scene magazine, has joined IPC’s SouthBank Publishing to spearhead the project. Lewis says that Project B, which she describes as a truly contemporary magazine, will ‘surprise and excite’ the market.

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