Zoo’s sales boost off the back of the closure of rival Nuts has been short-lived, with the ailing lads’ weekly reporting a 20% sales drop in the first half of the year.
Zoo had seen a surprise circulation boost of 10% in the last six months of last year, after Time Inc shut Nuts and told readers to buy its once bitter rival.
The Bauer Media-owned title reported a 19.8% circulation decline to 24,430 period on period in the first six months, a 12.5% year-on-year decline, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on Thursday.
It was tough for most magazines in the men’s lifestyle market, with Bauer’s FHM once again taking a battering.
Sales of the monthly lads’ magazine fell 12.5% period on period and 19.8% year on year to 66,694.
Even Hearst-Rodale’s mighty Men’s Health, the biggest paid for title in the sector, reported period-on-period and year-on-year declines, 3.1% and 6.1% respectively, to 184,788.
It was a different story at stablemate Women’s Health which beefed up sales by 5.8% period on period and 9% year on year to 119,479.
While Men’s Health may have been a bit out of shape, its woes were nothing compared to rival Dennis Publishing’s less muscular rival Men’s Fitness.
The title reported a period-on-period decline of 17.5% and a year-on-year fall of 21.8% to 37,803.
Conde Nast’s GQ, the second biggest paid-for title in the men’s lifestyle sector, saw circulation decline 2.5% period on period and 3.4% year on year to 109,785.
Hearst’s Esquire fell 3.1% period on period and 2.9% year on year to 51,304.
Wired, which gives away a significant portion of its 37,400 circulation, saw a 3.2% year-on-year decline and a 1.4% period-on-period boost.
The giants of the men’s sector remain the free titles, Mike Soutar’s Shortlist, with a distribution of 502,267, down 6.2% year on year and up 0.4% period on period.
And UTV Media’s Sport magazine, which saw a 0.1% year-on-year rise and 1% period-on-period increase in distribution to 304,401.
Listings and events magazine Time Out, also handed out for free although not classified as a men’s general lifestyle title, saw year-on-year circulation rise 0.1% but fall 0.2% period-on-period to 308,041.
The free market in London is becoming increasingly crowded – Soutar also publishes Stylist which has a circulation of 403,000 – with Time Inc’s venerable NME to join the ranks from Friday 18 September with a 300,000 distribution.
