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Time closes print edition of InStyle 15 years after UK launch – but website will remain

By Freddy Mayhew

Women’s lifestyle magazine InStyle UK, published by Time Inc, will become a digital-only publication before the year is out in a move understood to have put jobs at risk.

The company is relaunching the monthly title as “digital first” with the December issue set to be the final printed edition in the UK.

It has an average circulation of 123,076 copies, according to the latest ABC figures, but sells only 33,000 of those at the full £3.99 cover price while distributing 35,000 for free.

A spokesperson said InStyle UK is looking to triple online growth next year across all digital platforms and that the UK team would be working with the US team to achieve this.

InStyle US increased its digital reach by 96 per cent last year to 10.5m unique users, according to Comscore data cited by Time. The US-UK link up is also intended to offer readers 24-hour content globally.

Time said the print  closure was part of a new strategy to “directly address the changing needs of its fashion-obsessed audience”.

A spokesperson told Press Gazette that the company was in consultation with affected staff, adding: “It would not be appropriate to comment on numbers at this time.”

Editor Charlotte Moore said: “What we have achieved with InStyle over the last few years has been hugely rewarding and the team has, rightly, won numerous awards and nominations for their work across print and digital.

“But the fashion world is changing dramatically, the way our audience interacts with it is changing and we have to change to meet that challenge.

“With a focus on delivering the InStyle experience across all digital platforms, we can really give our audience 24-hour access to all the fashion and beauty looks, trends and brands they clearly have such a huge appetite for.”

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