Men’s Lifestyle Market Makes A Comeback

Rumours of a demise in the men’s lifestyle sector have been exaggerated judging from the latest circulation figures released by ABC. Speculation was rife that sales had peaked following the spectacular upsurge in the mid-nineties. However, it would appear that millennium man is not quite ready to give up his glossies.

FHM continues to account for over a quarter of all sales in this sphere and has seen its circulation stabilise at just over 700,000 copies. The other success story is the Dennis publication, Maxim, which saw its circulation rise by 5.2% year on year. It is rapidly closing the gap on the faltering lad’s mag, Loaded, whose sales dropped by 8.9%. Men’s Health recorded a rise of nearly 8% despite new competition in the shape of Mollin Publishing’s Men’s Fitness.

The past year has seen new launches from IPC and Emap which accounts for the overall rise in total sales. However, a number of established titles are being left on the shelf in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Esquire saw it’s circulation fall by 30% while Sky has seen sales decline by almost two-thirds in the space of three years.

Emap remains the leading player in this sector and the launch of the offshoot publication, FHM Bionic, has enabled the company to increase its share to above 40% for the first time. IPC and Dennis are the other major players but can expect a challenge from Cabal who are targeting 25+ readers with their new title, Mondo, this autumn (see Cabal Offers A “World Of Pleasure” For Older Lads).

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