2019 proved a challenging year for the women’s lifestyle market, with no title managing to record any notable year-on-year circulation growth.
Freebie Stylist, the flagship title of the Stylist Group, held steady at 403,900, as did Conde Nast’s Vogue (192,200), Tatler (79,100) and Hearst’s Harper’s Bazaar (116,400).
Meanwhile, market leader Good Housekeeping – another Hearst title – was down -4% YoY (though up 2.6% in the second half of the year) to 433,700.
TI Media’s popular Woman & Home magazine also saw its circulation drop, down -7.8% YoY and -5.7% PoP to 259,400, as did Bauer Media’s Yours (-9% YoY and -5.6% PoP to 220,500) and Hello! Ltd’s HELLO! magazine (-13% YoY and -0.9% PoP to 206,900).
However, the hardest hit title over both the year and the period was Hearst’s Elle, which plummeted -22.9% YoY and -18.1% PoP to a circulation of 125,100.
Hearst attributes the decline to the recent “strategic decision to enhance its luxury positioning in the market”, aiming at an “even more tightly-targeted audience”.
Elsewhere, Prima, Women’s Health, Grazia and HELLO! Fashion all recorded growth over H2, up 1.9%, 1.9%, 2.3% and 5.8%, respectively – though all remained in decline year-on-year.
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