Meredith Corp. is shutting down women's lifestyle magazine More, effective following the April 2016 issue, the company confirmed today.
Launched in 1997, More attracted a loyal audience of high-household income women and became profitable in the early 2000s, but suffered declines during the recession of the late 2000s from which its advertising revenues never recovered, a Meredith spokesperson tells Folio: in a written statement.
"Despite a significant investment in More in 2015—including an increased trim size and higher quality paper stock that aligned with its upscale and affluent audience—More continued to face advertising challenges in the luxury marketplace," the spokesperson continues.
Since topping 1.1 million paid and verified subscribers in 2005, More's circulation fell nearly 40 percent to just 673,000 in 2015, according to data from the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM). Newsstand sales for the 10x annual frequency title fell 25 percent over the same period, from nearly 143,000 in 2005 to 107,000 last year. But the company suggests that the more serious issue was with marketers in the luxury category—its advertising bread and butter—who have been pulling back due to financial challenges in the European market.
Interestingly, a high-profile sign of More's enduring brand presence came just weeks ago, when editor-in-chief Lesley Jane Seymour was chosen to interview First Lady Michelle Obama at the AMMC conference in New York. Obama served as guest editor of the magazine's July/August 2015 issue, in which her husband, President Barack Obama, penned a column.
"Meredith wishes to thank the entire More team for the creative energy and passion they have had for the magazine," the statement concludes. "They have been consummate professionals, and we appreciate everything they have done with the title over the past several years."
