Condé Nast announced Tuesday that it plans to shut down print operations for one of its glossy publications. The 80-year-old Glamour magazine will publish its last print issue in January, before shifting to a digital-only operation, the New York Times reported.
“This is my plan, because it makes sense,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Samantha Barry, said. “[Digital is] where the audiences are, and it’s where our growth is. That monthly schedule, for a Glamour audience, doesn’t make sense anymore.”
Last year, Condé Nast scaled back Glamour‘s publication frequency from once every month, to just 11 issues a year. Condé Nast last year lost a reported $120 million, which prompted its decision to cut the magazine’s monthly publishing schedule, and also sell three of its other titles: Brides, Golf Digest, and W.
Despite the decision to cut its print magazine, Glamour has maintained a stable 2.2 million paid subscriber base over the last three years, according to the Times. Barry added that the magazine might continue to publish special issues moving forward, including its annual Women of the Year award, and topical issues about money and power. The web magazine will remain free until further notice.
Since joining Glamour, Barry has grown the digital audience by 12% to 6.3 million monthly unique viewers, and has helped boost YouTube subscribers by more than 110%, to about 1.6 million.
In a statement to the Times, Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue and artistic director of Condé Nast, called Barry a “change-maker,” and added that she is “the embodiment of the modern Glamour woman.”
“I am thrilled with her plan for Glamour’s future,” Wintour told the Times of Barry. “She’ll be reaching the title’s loyal readers on the digital and social platforms they use most, while using the power of print to highlight tentpole moments like Women of the Year.”
