Marie Claire readership set to dip in latest ABC figures

IPC Media’s glossy women’s title Marie Claire is expected to suffer another dip in the six-monthly Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures due on February 12. Launched in 1988, Marie Claire has been trailing behind the likes of National Magazine Company’s Cosmopolitan and Condé Nast’s Glamour.

The January to June 2003 ABC figures showed a decline of 5.9 per cent period-on-period and 4.4 per cent year on year to a circulation of 376,476. Glamour, which has a circulation of 576,832, is expected to show a slight increase in its circulation, though Cosmo is thought to be static.

One insider says: “The dip in Marie Claire is hardly surprising, because, even though it is an established product, there is just too much noise in the women’s monthly market. Too many new launches and an increasing use of cover-mounts has taken away some of the more fickle readers from the older titles such as Marie Claire.”

An IPC Media spokesman says that Marie Claire has made a strategic decision to cut back on cover-mounts and adds: “The decision has hit the sales of the magazine, but will eventually build the value of the brand.”

IPC’s celebrity-driven title Now and men’s magazine Loaded are both expected to show an increase in circulation. Now will continue to lead the celebrity market, even though EMAP’s Heat is believed to post another significant circulation growth.