Britain’s first wedding magazine for men, Stag & Groom, has folded after nine issues due to financial difficulties.
The glossy bi-monthly, launched in January 2004, was on its third editor, Nick Hutchings, when it closed.
Hutchings,
formerly assistant editor at Ski and Board magazine, had been in the
hot seat for four issues. Ironically, his former boss, Arnie Wilson, is
among contributors who will not be paid for their work.
Hutchings,
27, said: “It’s been a pretty shattering experience. The worst thing
has been ringing contributors, many of them friends, telling them that
we were closing and there seemed little prospect of them getting paid.
I will leave with no severance pay myself.”
Hutchings left Ski
and Board to help set up Stag & Groom two years ago with Chris
Hanage, who launched the magazine after leaving his position as Ski and
Board’s ad manager.
Hanage left Stag & Groom two months ago,
leaving Hutchings, along with financial director Derek Phillips and
publisher Andy Sutcliffe, to try to keep the magazine afloat.
“I
still think a wedding magazine for men is a fantastic idea,” added
Hutchings, “but with every issue we were plunging further and further
into debt, even though we were getting positive feedback from readers
and the wedding industry.
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