IPC shrinks Marie Claire

IPC Media is set to reduce the size of Marie Claire in the next few weeks in response to its flagging circulation. The glossy magazine has seen its readers defect to rivals Glamour and Cosmopolitan over the past few years.

The new American A4-size, which is smaller than its rival glossies, but still larger than the handbag-sized Condé Nast-owned Glamour, will be rolled out nationally in an attempt to give Marie Claire a makeover.

The title’s circulation declined by 9.8 per cent year on year and 4.2 per cent period on period to 360,789 according to the July to December 2003 Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures.

In the past, the publisher has trialled travel-sized Marie Claire in WH Smith retail outlets and also discounts of £1 and 50p to its £3 cover price in a number of regions to stem the continuing decline in sales. The new size is aimed at rejuvenating the 16-year-old title. IPC Southbank managing director Sandy Whetton was unavailable for comment.

Following the launch of handbag sized Glamour in 2001, rival National Magazine Company-owned Cosmo also rolled out a similar sized mag.

NatMags was recently forced to reissue its ABC figures for the title, after it had overstated the number of full-price issues of Cosmo sold on newsstands. More than 14,000 copies had to be reclassified and put into a discounted bracket.