EMAP Elan to launch Cosmo rival Elle Girl

EMAP Elan is set to launch Elle Girl, a spin-off of Elle, in September to go head-on against The National Magazine Company’s Cosmo Girl, due out in the same month.

But EMAP refuses to confirm the date of the second issue of Elle’s glossy “little sister” title. The publisher will only say it will come out “early next year” and will subsequently appear quarterly. It will not comment on the reasons for its decision to roll out the second issue on an unspecified date next year.

Elle Girl, published by HachetteEMAP Magazines, will be an international brand. The US edition will be rolled out in September by Hachette Filipacchi (USA). Plans for other international editions, published by Hachette Filipacchi, are in place, according to EMAP Elan.

EMAP Elan chief executive Barry McIlheney says: “The youth market has never been more ripe for innovation.”

Hachette Filipacchi Média chief executive international Jean-Paul Denfert-Rochereau adds: “After Elle Decoration and Elle A Table, Elle Girl enriches our Elle brand portfolio, which is developed in 34 countries. Combining the power of the Elle brand with EMAP’s youth expertise is an obvious step.”