ShortList’s new Mode hits the streets

ShortList’s latest venture Mode hit the streets for the first time last night in London, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester.

With a target launch distribution of 250,000 copies, the bi-annual men’s ‘style bible’ was mainly handed out to to rush-hour commuters.

The men’s magazine, which will aim to mirror the success of fellow freebies under the ShortList Media umbrella – ShortList and Stylist –  features advertising from a number of high-end brands including Hugo  Boss, Calvin Klein, French Connection, Ugg, Lacoste and Clinque.

The first edition also features a four-page advertorial for Selfridges. In total, the 76-page glossy magazine contains 34 pages of ads.

Mode Spring/Summer 2011 was edited by ShortList’s style director Adrian Clark. The title also has its own digital presence on shortlist.com/mode.

Mode has been in the pipeline for two years following a call from advertisers to launch a ‘fashion version’ of the successful weekly ShortList, according to Karl Marsden, managing director of ShortList Media.

The next issue will appear in September and will also be put together by ShortList’s existing team, alongside a number of contributors. The bulk of copies will be handed out at key commuter spots, including Canary Wharf, while one fifth of the print run will be distributed at BA business class and Virgin Atlantic lounges.

The launch comes at a challenging time for consumer magazines, particularly men’s titles. Well known brands including FHM, Nuts, Zoo and Loaded posted significant year on year declines in the latest ABC release for July to December 2010. Overall, the Men’s Lifestyle market was down 6% on last year.

However, the free model seems to be bucking the trend, with Shortlist and Sport claiming poll positions in the men’s market. In the Women’s Weekly sector, the outlook is much the same, with free title Stylist also among very few titles seeing an increase in circulation (up 3.3% year on year).

These figures bode well for the future of Mode, though it is a fairly different offering to ShortList and Stylist. First impressions around the office were mixed – while some enjoyed the glossy feel and the ad content (particularly the pretty men), others wondered who the target audience is and whether there is any editorial substance to fuel its popularity.