Stylist is intended to be a distinctive, premium editorial product for discerning readers who want more than just the latest photos of Victoria Beckham and Angelina Jolie. It will be a blend of short and entertaining articles mixed with longer, more substantial feature journalism, together with weekly fashion and beauty coverage. Stylist aims to combine good quality journalism with a high circulation of 400,000 copies every week from launch. It will, says the publisher, give its advertisers frequency, reach and the right editorial environment for their messages.
Stylist – which has been through a "rigorous programme" of development and research for the last nine months – is scheduled to launch this autumn, with a huge on-street marketing and distribution presence in key UK cities.
The Publisher of Stylist is Glenda Marchant. Glenda recently left the same role at the UK edition of global fashion magazine brand InStyle. ShortList Media Managing Director Karl Marsden says: “Glenda is a world-class operator and we are delighted that she is joining the launch as Publisher. Her career has been built in the quality women’s market and she has an instinctive understanding of the fashion and beauty industries. She is a real asset and we can’t wait to start working with her.”
The Editor of Stylist is Lisa Smosarski. Lisa is currently the award-winning editor of More, one of the the only magazines in Britain to post circulation gains in the last six months. Phil Hilton, Editorial Director of ShortList Media says: “Lisa has an intuitive insight into the needs of ambitious, urban women in their twenties and thirties. As her track record shows, she is a highly skilled editor - one of the true rising stars of her generation. We are thrilled to welcome her on board and I know how excited she is to be taking on this new challenge.”
The new launch comes from the publishers of the “freemium” men’s title ShortList, which itself has an audited ABC of 506,000 every week. Stylist will be hand-distributed to the target audience at key travel points in six cities up and down Britain at launch, through a nationwide distribution network. The website – stylist.co.uk – will also launch this autumn.
ShortList Media CEO Mike Soutar (pictured) says: “It’s a tribute to the whole team at ShortList Media that we are able to announce this new launch just two years on from our first magazine. Our business has consistently tracked ahead of expectations despite one of the worst recessions in history. That’s thanks to the dedication of everyone in the business and I am grateful for their hard work. Stylist marks another critical step in our mission to become the leading quality free magazine publisher in the UK.”
