Boots to relaunch its magazine as give-away

Boots the Chemist is to relaunch its in-store magazine as a give-away, to increase its circulation.

Boots is hoping to achieve a circulation of 1.5 million for the title compared with the 100,000 it achieved when it was on sale at 95p last year.

It will move from being a quarterly to publishing twice yearly, to coincide with the store’s principal sales periods, summer and Christmas. It will remain a perfect-bound glossy, modelled on women’s monthlies, with beauty and health editorial.

“People aren’t used to buying magazines in Boots,” says Sally Osman, publisher of the title. “But it researched well, so Boots decided to make a greater investment.” Redwood will be looking for advertisers to help finance the 100-page title.

The title was pulled in September (MW September 22 1995) because of disappointing circulation and concern over the content. The title was perceived by many to be too interested in promoting Boots at the expense of quality editorial. This was considered a poor policy for a paid-for magazine.

Sainsbury’s The Magazine has posted an eight per cent year-on-year circulation increase in the July to December ABCs. Its circulation was 337,056.