Grazia rumours good for business

If rumours floating around the internet are true, a new women’s weekly could hit the shelves next year aimed at the upmarket older female.

The glossy magazine is said to be in the planning stages at Bauer Media, the publisher behind Grazia, and will target fashion-conscious and stylish women aged over 35.

It has been more than three years since the last weekly, Look, launched, and at this stage, Bauer Media is, of course, denying any plans to launch an upmarket women’s weekly, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if it does have such a title in the pipeline.

Grazia has done well since its launch in February 2005 and in the second half of last year, sold 187,502 copies a week. It may not compare with the cheaper women’s weeklies for sales, but with a cover price just 5p less than the market leading women’s monthly, Glamour, the only high-class glossy weekly generates an estimated £18.3m annually – nearly double that of Glamour.

And with the new title’s proposed target audience likely to have more cash to spare than younger women, it could be a welcome boost to the women’s weekly sector.