Men's lifestyle magazines only have a big future if they specialise, according to the editor-in-chief of Stuff, Tom Dunmore.
Niche men's titles were the few risers in a men's lifestyle market that dropped 14.4 per cent overall. Stuff, Haymarket's gadget magazine, saw the biggest increase this period — with sales up 10.5 per cent to 100,265. Fellow technology title, BBC's Focus, also saw a rise, up 3.5 per cent to 59,318.
Dunmore told Press Gazette: "As far as I can see, men's lifestyle magazines really only have a big future if they specialise more than they have done in the past. Clearly mature lads' mags are going to struggle to reinvent themselves, so they have to utilise the strength of their brands, as we're seeing with the likes of FHM.
"The fact that both ourselves and Men's Health have done very well shows that if you can get the right hook you can get lifestyle-type follows, by actually dealing with something that is important to people rather than just jokes."
Natmags' Men's Health saw an increase of 2.2 per cent to 238,568.
Future's gizmo offering, T3, had an increase of 1.7 per cent to 55,393.
BBC Magazines said the increase in sales of Top Gear Magazine of 8.5 per cent to 190,032 meant the top-selling motoring title was now the number three best selling men's monthly. The title posted its strongest ever ABC figure.
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