Tuesday 10 September 2019 1:51 pm

Marie Claire ends print publication in the UK as readers shift to digital

Strong sales in the first half of the year was thanks to magazines under the Future brand, including Marie Claire.

Marie Claire will cease publication of its UK edition after more than 30 years as the women’s monthly becomes the latest victim of declining demand for print magazines.

The title, which is owned by Country Life and Horse & Hound publisher TI Media, will continue online and overseas print editions will be unaffected.

However, the publisher has entered into consultation with the roughly 35 members of staff affected by the closure, according to the Guardian, which first reported the move.

“For more than three decades, Marie Claire UK has led the conversation on the issues that really matter to women – from campaigning for women’s empowerment to climate change – while providing a premium fashion and beauty positioning that reflects their everyday lives,” said TI Media chief executive Marcus Rich.

The most recent figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed Marie Claire had an average circulation of 120,000 copies. However, more than a third of these were given away free.

TI Media will now shift its focus to other areas of the magazine’s business such as fashion aggregator platform Marie Claire Edit and Fabled, a joint venture with Ocado snapped up by retailer Next earlier this year.

“The success of Marie Claire Edit and Fabled by Marie Claire are good examples of how, at TI Media, we can extend our unrivalled content and expertise into the digital space,” Rich said.

“There is enormous potential for us to drive our ongoing transformation through growing our digital business quickly and it will continue to be a key focus for us.”

The closure comes as TI Media, which rebranded from Time Inc last year following its takeover by private equity firm Epiris, plots a shake-up of its consumer magazine portfolio.

In May TI sold NME and Uncut to Singapore-based social media content platform Bandlab Technologies and appointed media veteran Tim Weller as its new chairman.

Weller is expected to pursue a number of acquisition opportunities for the firm, but the latest closure highlights the continued shift towards digital formats as readers shun print publications.

Last year NME ended production of its print edition after 66 years, while men’s weekly magazine Shortlist, which is published by Stylist Group, also closed.

Main image credit: Getty