It’s official! Condé Nast is throwing in the towel and shuttering Glamour‘s print edition. Although the brand may still publish occasional print issues around its annual Women of the Year Awards (and other special topics), the magazine’s final print issue — January 2019 — is scheduled to arrive on newsstands November 27.
Glamour, which was founded in 1939, was once Condé Nast’s most profitable title. As the publisher’s answer to Cosmopolitan (still among the top-performing brands at Hearst), Glamour appealed to younger readers than Vogue or Vanity Fair and once drew the kind of luxury advertising and high-fashion clout that drew the envy of those in its competitive set.
Rumors of Glamour‘s (print) demise have been circulating for months, if not years, especially following the appointment of Samantha Barry to the role of editor in chief earlier this year. Barry, a former executive producer for social and emerging media at CNN Worldwide, will continue to lead the brand in its new digital-first incarnation. “This is my plan, because it makes sense,” Barry told The New York Times. “It’s where the audiences are, and it’s where our growth is. That monthly schedule, for a Glamour audience, doesn’t make sense anymore.”
“When Samantha Barry joined Condé Nast, she had a vision for where she wanted to take Glamour, and today, after the most successful Women of the Year Summit and Awards, she’s leading the title into a new phase,” said Condé Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg in an emailed statement. “I would like to personally add that we believe in her leadership and we are investing in the future of the brand.”
Glamour has seen a some growth in the digital space under Barry’s leadership. The brand’s monthly uniques are up 12 percent, to 6.3 million, and engagement is up five percent. That’s not huge growth by industry standards, especially considering Condé Nast’s focus on the title in 2018, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
Under Barry, Glamour has also increased its YouTube following by 111 percent, to about 1.6 million. With the ever-increasing importance of video in the digital space, this is easily the brand’s biggest achievement of the year, and one Barry and Condé Nast plan to capitalize upon by “expanding video and social storytelling” with increased financial investment and a slate of “new and ambitious series and projects,” according to Barry.
“Across every platform, Glamour is the ultimate authority for the next generation of change-makers; leading the conversations, informing, and entertaining, ” said Barry in an email to Glamour‘s staff this morning. “As we head into our 80th year, I believe this to be true more than ever before!”
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