DC Thomson launches new monthly magazine for women over 55

A new monthly magazine aimed at women over 55 has hit newsstands today to “fill a gap in the women’s market that has existed for some time”.

DC Thomson said the arrival of Platinum today was the biggest UK women’s magazine launch in over a decade.

The launch comes at a time when women’s print titles are closing. Marie Claire, Now, Reveal, Glamour, InStyle UK, Look and Brides have all closed or greatly reduced their print output in the past three years.

Platinum is launching with an introductory price of £2, but will normally be priced at £4.50, and an initial circulation of 250,000. It will be available in more than 20,000 retailers across the UK.

The magazine will cover health, style, travel, financial advice and homes with regular columnists including technology journalist Maggie Philbin, Sun columnist and Loose Women panellist Jane Moore, and Embarrassing Bodies medic Dr Dawn Harper.

It will rival Saga Magazine, which aimed at the over-50s and puts out 233,700 copies a month, according to ABC.

Platinum editor Ali Kirker said: “Our research has consistently shown women who are over 55, the majority of whom are entering a new life phase, feel there isn’t a magazine that informs and reflects their life.

“Platinum is for women who are up-to-date in both style and attitude, confident, engaged and interested in exploring the world around them.

“In the pages of Platinum women will find everything from in-depth reads to the latest from the world of wellbeing.

“With the confidence to tackle contemporary, challenging issues too, especially relevant to this demographic, Platinum will be both an upbeat treat and an essential every month.”

Kirker has been leading the team developing Platinum for the past year, before which she worked on the DC Thomson-owned Sunday Post’s magazine supplement.

Earlier in her career Kirker worked for DC Thomson on its now-defunct woman’s weekly magazine Jackie, where she was deputy editor. She left the business to go freelance in PR and publishing but returned ten years ago.

Kirker will lead a team of seven full-time members of staff, five drawn from existing DC Thomson staff and two new hires.

DC Thomson chief revenue officer Andy Williams said advertisers had shown a “real appetite” for a magazine allowing them to reach Platinum’s demographic.

“Platinum fills a gap in the women’s market that has existed for some time now and advertising agencies are delighted to now have a mechanism to reach these women,” he said.

DC Thomson’s head of magazines, Maria Welch, added that women over 55 are “both committed magazine readers and powerful consumers and no-one understands them better” than her team.

The publisher has more than 25 magazine brands including a number of children’s titles and The People’s Friend, a weekly magazine aimed at the over 60s women’s market.

It also publishes some of Scotland’s biggest newspapers including The Press and Journal, the Courier, and the Evening Express.