Shortlist to launch free women’s weekly

Shortlist Media is set to launch a free weekly magazine aimed at affluent 20 to 40 year-old female commuters with content “written with a zip and style that will make it stand out in the market”.

Shortlist plans to launch Stylist, which will be headed up by former More! editor Lisa Smosarski, by early autumn with an initial circulation of around 400,000.

The new title will be handed out via a network of street vendors every Wednesday in six cities around the UK, including London, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Shortlist’s founder and chief executive, Mike Soutar, said: “The content will span a broad range of content from fashion and beauty through to newsy features and travel, careers and relationships.

“As well as short, snappy information and entertainment throughout its pages the magazine will have longer and more substantial pieces of journalism in its features.

“Just as importantly as what the magazine will do, there are some important things it will never do: it will never publish unflattering paparazzi shots of celebrities looking their worst, never invent spurious stories about stars’ relationships and never cynically exploit women’s body anxieties.”

Stylist is the second launch from Shortlist, whose backers include the Beano publisher DC Thomson, French Connection founder Stephen Marks and the film director Matthew Vaughan.

Soutar said it’s the right time to launch their next big project because of the success of Shortlist, which is on track to break even by the end of August, a year ahead of schedule, despite reporting a pre-tax loss of £2.7 million for the year ending July 2008.

“We’re looking to reach that community of hard-to-reach upscale, commuting professional women, ABC1 20-to-40-year-olds, with a free weekly magazine that will provide a mix of intelligent, witty and stimulating content,” he said.

Shortlist is understood to be in discussions about joint ventures for its magazines in the Middle East, Europe and the US.

However, Soutar confirmed that talks are still in very early stages.