Gadget magazine Stuff provided a note of cheer in the men's magazine sector with sales up almost 9% in the second half of last year, while titles including Wired, Esquire and fitness titles all enjoyed circulation increases.
Stuff, which is part of Michael Heseltine's Haymarket empire, reported an 8.9% circulation increase in the last six months of 2010 compared to the previous period. But the title reported a year-on-year fall of 2.9% to 92,959, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures out today.
Natmag Rodale's Men's Health continued its reign as the biggest men's paid for consumer magazine with sales up very slightly, by 0.1%, period on period to 245,923. Sales fell year on year by 1.9%.
Condé Nast will be pleased with the performance of GQ, which managed to hold sales steady at 120,087, as will National Magazine Company with Esquire, up 0.4% year on year and 2.1% period on period to 59,382.
Wired, another Condé Nast title, was also 0.1% up period on period and up 3.7% year on year. Wired's circulation came in at 50,044, although 10,000 copies are classified as "modified free distribution".
Men's Health rival Men's Fitness, owned by Dennis Publishing, produced a double sales uplift, with circulation up 1.1% period-on-period and up 1.2% year on year to 68,843.
The market leader's nearest paid-for competitor, Bauer Media's FHM, saw its circulation fall by 23.3% year on year to 177,261. However the precipitous falls appear to be slowing, with the period-on-period decline more than halving to 8%.
Loaded, sold by IPC to Vitality Publishing in October, reported falls of 30.6% year on year and 7.7% period on period to 49,448.
IPC's weekly Nuts, the third biggest paid-for title in the sector, reported a 19.6% year-on-year fall to 142,212. Period-on-period this was a 3.3% decline.
Bauer's rival weekly Zoo appears to be faring relatively worse, with sales down 32.8% year on -year to 68,810, a 14.3% period-on-period fall.
The sector's two free titles, Shortlist and Sport, remained the two biggest men's magazines, with distribution of 521,713 and 306,540 respectively.
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