Newsagents have two sizes of Girlfriend magazine this month: regular and compact. I think they are the same – the regular size is sealed and I am not about to open the pack to check. But they do have the same number of pages so I suspect the content is the same. The compact version is cheaper.
Having two versions of Girlfriend means newsagents allocate more retail space, another title to manage, additional stock cost and additional returns processing. I suspect that these additional costs will not drive sufficient additional sales – but I’m open to seeing how this goes. We are promoting the compact edition next to the regular size.
Not that I want to see Girlfriend promoted outside newsagencies any more than it is, my sense is that the compact edition is more suited to non traditional retail situations where it would work as an impulse purchase – a cosmetic bar or clothing shop maybe. Having it next to the regular edition where regulars shop for the title seems odd to me – but I’m just the retailer.