Women’s Monthly Sector Continues Decline, As Two Thirds Of Titles See Falls

The women’s monthly magazine sector dropped once again during the six month period to December 2000, but at 2% the fall was less severe than the preceding period. Around two-thirds of titles saw year on year decreases in circulation. The worst hit was Attic Futura’s health title Shine which saw its second severe drop in a year, falling 17.4%. In the older women’s market, which saw Aura no sooner appear than disappear (see Fate Of Aura Still In Balance As Buyer Yet To Be Found) Woman’s Journal fell 14.8% and Red 14%.

During the last reporting period Candis stole a reach on Cosmopolitan for the lead position in the sector (see Women’s Monthly Titles Take Another Tumble). This time, although both dropped- Cosmopolitan by 10,000 or 2.2% to 460,086 and Candis by 2,000 to 448,331, the Natmags young women’s title was back in the top spot.

The best increase in terms of actual change was seen at another Natmags title, Company, which added just under 18,500 or 7.6% to reach 260,646. It was a title with a smaller circulation, Vanity Fair, which showed the largest increase in terms of percentage change, however, jumping 8% in a year on year analysis. Vanity Fair’s actual circulation remains at the lower end of the scale at 82,185. The lowest position of all in terms of actual circulation is currently occupied by IPC Media’s new fashion title Nova (see First Issue Review: Nova: The Fashion Magazine Reborn?) whose first reporting period revealed a figure of 75,142, placing it among the niche high society titles including Vanity Fair, with Harpers & Queen and Tatler.

This six month period saw Natmags consolidate its leading position in terms of market share of the sector, with the completed acquisition of Gruner + Jahr (see NatMags Grabs Gruner and Jahr). The integration of Prima into the Natmags portfolio brought the publisher’s share to just over 38%, well ahead of closet rival IPC Media with 24%.

At the end of the last reporting period, Natmags was all set to extend its print success into the online arena with the launch of a women’s portal. The marked confidence slide in all things web-related which occurred in the months following has prompted hasty back-pedalling by Natmags. The project has now been put “on ice” in favour of more concentration on “old” media (see Natmags Gets Cold Feet, Puts Women’s Website On Ice).

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