In a counterintuitive move given the sorry state of newsstand sales, Bauer Publishing, the company behind single-copy staples like Woman’s World, In Touch and Life & Style Weekly, is launching three new newsstand magazines: women’s weekly Closer, tween title Girl’s World, and Celebrate with Woman’s World. All three are set to launch in the second half of the year.
Closer, the biggest of the three, will be a weekly lifestyle, celebrity and fashion title aimed at Gen-X women—a group that, according to Bauer, outspends baby boomers in categories like beauty, fashion accessories and luxury goods. Annabel Vered, a Bauer editorial consultant with experience at Life & Style, In Touch and Star, will serve as editor in chief, while Marc Richards, the vp, group publisher of Bauer’s Entertainment and Teen divisions, will be Closer’s publisher.
According to Ian Scott, president of advertising sales at Bauer, “Closer is really talking to that Gen-X-er in her mid-30s to late-40s”—a demographic that none of the publisher’s current titles specifically address. “They account for nearly 50 million adults in the U.S., and the have huge spending power, which, from an advertising perspective, is something we really want to tap into.”
In targeting a slightly older age group than Bauer’s other celeb weeklies, the tone of Closer will also change. Rather than the usual picking-apart of Kardashians and Teen Moms, Closer will feature celebrities in the same age group as its Gen-X readers “in a very positive way,” said Scott.
To build buzz around the launch, Bauer is planning to flood newsstands with 2 million copies of Closer’s first issue at deeply discounted price of 25 cents. After that, the price will go up to $3.99. Bauer used the same strategy to entice women to try out InTouch and Life & Style, said Scott.
Also launching later this year is Girl’s World, an “introductory celebrity lifestyle magazine” aimed at girls ages 7 to 11 that will come out seven times annually. Richards will serve as its publisher (in addition to Closer’s) and Marisa Sandora will be editor in chief. Celebrate with Woman's World, a companion to Bauer’s Woman’s World, will publish six times a year around seasonal events and holidays. Both magazines will retail for $4.99 at the newsstand.
