For those unfortunate souls who have more money than ideas on how to spend it, help is on the way. A lot of help.
Just hitting the newsstands is SHOP Etc., a new Hearst Corp. magazine that aims to help consumers be “smarter, slicker and more demanding” about buying everything from eye shadow to poster beds. It joins a growing field of glossy magazines all focused on the same goal of making you the ultimate shopper.
So-called “magalogs”–a cross between magazines and catalogs–are crowding newsstand shelves offering to guide you through the maze of consumerism. This new hybrid of magazines will not only create a new look and lifestyle for you, but also tell you where you should buy it and how much you should spend on it.
“We’ve become a nation of shopaholics, and these magazines are catering to us,” said magazine expert Samir Husni, a professor at the University of Mississippi, where he heads the magazine journalism program. “Whether we’re buying this stuff or just fantasizing about buying this stuff, it makes us feel good to look at it.”
Industry experts say a healthier economy and the accompanying resurgence in advertising has given shopping magazines a boost this year.
Lucky, the Conde Nast magazine about shopping that started it all, recently told advertisers its circulation will hit at least 1 million by January, a rapid climb for a title that was launched in December 2000. Crossing that threshold would put Lucky in the same league, circulationwise, of much more established fashion magazines such as Allure, Elle and even Vogue, the fashion bible that sells in the 1.3 million range.
Lucky’s jam-packed pages of clothing, cosmetics and shoes, and its signature stickers labeled “YES!” and “MAYBE?” to mark your favorite products, proved to be a surprising hit with consumers.
Lucky is so successful it won Advertising Age’s Magazine of the Year Award in October, an honor that raised more than a few eyebrows among traditionalists who view it as an affront to magazine journalism.
“I find the whole concept deplorable,” said Martin Walker, a longtime magazine consultant in New York. “It’s like they say, you can never go wrong by underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”
But such denunciations exasperate Kim France, Lucky’s editor in chief.
“There’s this attitude that every time someone picks up a copy of Lucky, an Atlantic Monthly reader is going to drop dead somewhere,” France said.
“People think we’re killing off ‘real’ magazines. Well, I read traditional magazines too. Lucky is not meant to replace other magazines. Lucky is its own thing.”
France says her magazine isn’t trying to compete with more traditional ones. Lucky merely connects consumers to products and brands with a quick caption and phone number, without the lengthy articles on such topics.
Steven Cohn, editor in chief of Media Industry Newsletter in New York, said, “Personally, I didn’t think it would be that successful. If I were a focus group, I would have thought Lucky was a magazine for my dog. But what do I know?”
Catalogs join craze
As magazines become more like catalogs, so catalogs become more like magazines. Williams-Sonoma runs chicken recipes alongside a terra-cotta cooking press that wouldn’t be out of place in Gourmet magazine. Same goes for Territory Ahead, a catalog of clothing for “life’s adventures,” whose photos and captions could run in Travel & Leisure.
“In a way, it’s insanely brilliant,” said Geoff Lewis, editorial director of Folio, the magazine about magazines. “Magazines are a cultural phenomenon. Whether you like it or not, a big part of society is consuming and shopping.”
–THE BALTIMORE SUN.
Copycats
If imitation is the best form of flattery, then Lucky should be feeling pretty good about itself. The original shopping magazine spawned a male sibling, Cargo, which was launched in March and is also produced by Conde Nast. And early next year, the company will launch Domino, a magazine about home furnishings.
Coming at the end of this month is Vitals, described as a “men’s luxury lifestyle service magazine,” by Fairchild Publications, a sister division to Conde Nast.
For those discerning shoppers who have even more money to spend, WLuxe, a shopping insert targeting the fashion-conscious elite, will appear in Fairchild’s W magazine in the fall.
Gadget lovers already have their own magazine too. Ziff Davis Media Inc. debuted Sync this summer for techno-buffs.
But is this a trend that will last? The odds are not likely, said Samir Husni, a professor known as Mr. Magazine. In the first six months of this year, more than 400 new magazine titles were launched. Husni said 60 percent of those will die before the year is over, and only one will last for more than 10 years.
–THE BALTIMORE SUN.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
