The Business of Magazines

[caioherrero]

What's also interesting is that their issues of Vogue are very large by today's standards (I believe Vogue Philippines had the second-largest September issue after Korea, with over 400 pages). I'm not sure if they have the same budget systems regarding advertising/editorial ratio as magazines in America, though (which determines the total page count at most American magazines).

Whats the budget system?

 

[NYLA22]

Whats the budget system?

The amount of advertising pages determines the amount of editorial pages (ad pages = budget), which is why American Vogue is so small these days (because print advertising has fallen off a cliff the past decade).

 

[crmsn]

What's also interesting is that their issues of Vogue are very large by today's standards

It's only their September issues that are thick. They usually have 148-160 pages every month (their October 2025 issue has 156 pages).

 

[Rigida]

What's also interesting is that their issues of Vogue are very large by today's standards (I believe Vogue Philippines had the second-largest September issue after Korea, with over 400 pages). I'm not sure if they have the same budget systems regarding advertising/editorial ratio as magazines in America, though (which determines the total page count at most American magazines).

Cmiiw, but I think Vogue Korea is the only one that is still very thick by today's standards month after month. Probably because they're doing a lot of advertorials inside disguised as fashion editorials, and because of Kpop stars inside their issue might help their sales..??

and I think US Vogue should relax their ad/editorial ratio. They're doing a lot of shared contents now so they prob don't have to spend more money to produce more contents / editorials. 60-70 pages of content per issue is abysmal..

 

[NYLA22]

Cmiiw, but I think Vogue Korea is the only one that is still very thick by today's standards month after month. Probably because they're doing a lot of advertorials inside disguised as fashion editorials, and because of Kpop stars inside their issue might help their sales..??

and I think US Vogue should relax their ad/editorial ratio. They're doing a lot of shared contents now so they prob don't have to spend more money to produce more contents / editorials. 60-70 pages of content per issue is abysmal..

Well, apparently that is the goal of Chloe Malle. To have fewer issues, but the same number of overall pages per year, so that each issue is thicker with more pages per issue. I believe American Vogue is going from 10 to 8 issues a year.

 

[tigerrouge]

I wonder how that will affect the cycle of reprints for any Vogue edition that will continue to put out 10 or 12 issues a year.

Also, UK Conde Nast are starting to introduce their promos about subscriptions for Christmas, and there's no mention of how many issues you'll be getting in your yearly subscription for Vanity Fair, but presumably it'll be operating on the same reduced schedule as the US version.

 

[MModa]

I wonder how that will affect the cycle of reprints for any Vogue edition that will continue to put out 10 or 12 issues a year.

Also, UK Conde Nast are starting to introduce their promos about subscriptions for Christmas, and there's no mention of how many issues you'll be getting in your yearly subscription for Vanity Fair, but presumably it'll be operating on the same reduced schedule as the US version.

Hopefully 2026 will bring an end to reprints.

 

[callmejaeden]

I'm not sure if this is an error, but the Condé Nast advertising website lists South Africa as a market for Vogue. Could Vogue South Africa be coming soon?!

 

[callmejaeden]

Harper's Bazaar France / 2025 circulation (Feb-Jun)
Alongside a comparison of the circulation in 2023 and 2024. All numbers from acpm.fr

Spoiler

2023
March: 46,013 (Eliza Dau, Loli Bahia, Rebecca Leigh Longendyke, Jeanne Cadieu)
April: 17,671 (Rianne Van Rompaey)
May: 18,291 (Imaan Hammam)
June/July: 22,055 (Awar Odhiang, Angelina Kendall, Eva Herzigova, Jill Kortleve)
August: 83,086 (Laetitia Casta)
September: 74,979 (Catherine Denevue)
October: 78,306 (Amelia Gray)
November: 90,302 (Vanessa Paradis)
December/January: 108,177 (Loli Bahia, Charlotte Gainsbourg)
Total: 538,880

2024
February: 72,685 (Karolina Spakowski)
March: 75,384 (Edie Campbell, Kate Moss, Iselin Steiro)
April: 71,647 (Kaia Gerber)
May: 76,960 (Mica Arganaraz, Naomi Campbell)
June/July: 83,365 (Devyn Garcia, Angelina Kendall, Ella McCutcheon, Awar Odhiang)
August: 71,715 (Zaho de Sagazan)
September: 42,354 (Layla Etengan, Mathilda Gvarliani)
October: 46,930 (Małgosia Bela, Irina Shayk)
November: 37,009 (Gigi Hadid)
December/January: 23,645 (Laetitia Casta)
Total: 601,694

2025
February: 35,600 (Charlotte Gainsbourg)
March: 41,699 (Rihanna, Lulu Tenney)
April: 58,381 (Rianne Van Rompaey)
May: 55,892 (Nastassia Legrand)
June/July: 114,556 (Rebecca Leigh Longendyke)

Note: I have no clue why Bazaar's numbers bounce around like a yo-yo; I couldn't find any noticeable pattern in the circulation documents. Subscriber numbers have risen somewhat steadily since 2023. However, print purchases and digital change wildly every month. Is Bazaar abnormal, or is French Vogue actually the outlier with stable and similar numbers every month?

 

[MModa]

December/January: 23,645 (Laetitia Casta)

I am not surprised that this issue ended up being on a negative in terms of sales. The cover by Teller was so luckluster. There needs to be a visual desire in order for a cover to sell.

 

[tigerrouge]

These days, I notice that newsstand copies of UK Vogue often come with a free gift, like a notebook, which never used to happen with Vogue ('free gift with purchase' used to be the remit of magazines like UK Elle or Glamour).

Then there's also Hearst's newsstand strategy of the multipack deal, where you get UK Elle and Bazaar packaged together for a reduced price.

Does French Bazaar come with any extras to entice newsstand buyers for certain months? Does it ever come in a multipack alongside a more popular title?

 

[MModa]

These days, I notice that newsstand copies of UK Vogue often come with a free gift, like a notebook, which never used to happen with Vogue ('free gift with purchase' used to be the remit of magazines like UK Elle or Glamour).

Then there's also Hearst's newsstand strategy of the multipack deal, where you get UK Elle and Bazaar packaged together for a reduced price.

Does French Bazaar come with any extras to entice newsstand buyers for certain months? Does it ever come in a multipack alongside a more popular title?

Yes, I do not remember the specific product inside (maybe a tote) but I have seen French Bazaar wrapped with an extra.

 

[Xone]

Yes, I do not remember the specific product inside (maybe a tote) but I have seen French Bazaar wrapped with an extra.

Here in Italy comes alone haha

 

[MModa]

Here in Italy comes alone haha

French Bazaar might be selling both individual issues and occasionally wrapping them with gifts in France.