The move, announced today (6 October), comes just nine issues after the 2001-launched magazine ditched the 'handbag-size' format it pioneered and returned to a 276x203mm format, the same as sister-title Vanity Fair.
Condé Nast said in a statement that, following the format change, demand in the UK for the printed magazine increased 7% year-on-year. It said the new biannual magazine would be “the ultimate beauty bible and style guide for the coming season”.
The magazine is printed at Prinovis in Nuremberg, Germany, with repro carried out by Williams Lea Tag. It switched to gravure in 2004, after its circulation climbed to more than 570,000. The monthly Glamour currently retails at £2, and had a monthly print circulation between January and June 2017 of 271,795.
“This move recognises the way in which the Glamour reader is living their life today, in a very different way to the reader who bought the magazine when it launched in 2001, with a faster, more focused, multi-platform relationship,” said the statement, which also confirmed that the changes not affect the brand's other global editions.
Condé Nast Britain managing director Albert Read said: “Today’s Glamour consumer moves to a different rhythm from the one who bought the magazine when it launched in 2001.
“The quality of ideas, vision and execution remain central, but the way in which it is delivered must change fundamentally with Glamour’s new mix of digital, social, video, live and print, and its focus on beauty."
Changing the magazine’s print run will lead to a number of redundancies in the Glamour editorial and commercial departments, as Condé Nast enters a “period of statutory consultation with the title’s team” for a minimum of 30 days. It also said its editorial and commercial departments will now be fully integrated.
“As we look ahead to the future, we are particularly sorry the December issue will be the last monthly issue for the British reader, as a result having to say goodbye to talented editorial and publishing staff,” continued the statement.
Glamour’s print streamline is the latest in a long line of changes as magazine publishers, especially in the beauty market, grapple with declining print sales. Last year, Time Inc UK, which has recently been put up for sale, switched its In Style publication to digital only, and a year prior Cosmopolitan changed to a ‘midi’ format.
