Sunday Times to relaunch Style

The Sunday Times is revamping its Style magazine supplement for a relaunch at the end of July, in a bid to attract more display advertising.

Insiders say the supplement is to drop its classified advertising pages, move to higher-quality paper stock and increase its pagination from an average of 56 pages. There is no suggestion that the supplement is to change its customised page-size.

Observers say that the changes are not necessarily an attempt to compete directly with The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine. One insider says that The Sunday Times is positioned too far upmarket for the publications to be chasing the same advertising clients.

The Sunday Times last relaunched the Style section in March 1997, when it added a 12-page lifestyle section and improved the print and paper quality. The tabloid Style supplement was demerged from The Sunday Times’ broadsheet Style and Travel section in March 1993.

In September last year, Moët & Chandon signed a sponsorship deal backing Style magazine’s first standalone fashion supplement.

The Sunday Times’ average net circulation dropped by 1.83 per cent month on month in May, to 1,339,754 (Audit Bureau of Circulations). Average net circulation for the six months from December 2001 to May 2002 was up by 1.58 per cent year on year, to 1,401,101.