ABC Jul-Dec 2002: Home Interest Sector Hit By DIY Dismay

The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 13 February 2003. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database. For full notes on how NewsLine’s reports are compiled please see Important Notes: ABC July – December 2002

ABC results for the six-month period ending December 2002 reveal a mixed performance in the home interest sector, which appears to be suffering from DIY fatigue.

In fact, it was the market’s aspirational and lifestyle titles which provided the majority of good news in the sector, perhaps illustrating that the public’s enthusiasm for the concept behind programmes like Changing Rooms could be waning.

Natmags’ Your Home magazine, which focuses on affordable DIY and home makeovers, experienced the sector’s biggest decline in percentage terms, dropping 24.5% year on year. The title also experienced the biggest loss in real terms, shedding 37,446 from its July to December 2001 total.

Traditional decorating magazine and Natmags stablemate, House Beautiful, also experienced a sizeable decline in circulation.

On a brighter note, IPC’s foray into modern urban home planning, Living etc, which aims for a younger more cosmopolitan audience, recorded the biggest rise in the sector. The aesthetically focused title, saw circulation increase by 13.9% year on year.

Condé Nast’s classic World Of Interiors, confirmed its importance on every well descerning coffee table, with circulation up year on year. Hachette’s Elle Decoration also performed well, with a 2.5% year on year increase to 61,850.

However, traditional titles experienced something of a slump this period. BBC Homes & Antiques declined by 9% year on year to 150,454. Romsey Publishing’s English Home and Emap’s Period Living And Traditional Homes also recorded decreases in circulation.

Overall, the home interest sector saw circulation fall by 8% year on year. However, the broader market picture may have been distorted by the absence of Ikea’s Room, which is not reporting this period.

Subscribers can access the Press database by selecting “Press” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.