• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 1, 2011

There are few magazines that can actively benefit from economic woes, but All You -- which targets thrifty female consumers with cost-cutting advice and coupons -- is one of these happy few. The Time Inc. title, which has an exclusive newsstand distribution agreement with Wal-Mart, recently revealed that it will raise its rate base 15.4% -- from 1.3 million to 1.5 million -- beginning this January.  

This announcement comes close on the heels of two earlier rate base hikes, in January and July. After the next planned increase, All You will have increased its rate base 50% from about 1 million to the new total of 1.5 million.

To all appearances, this will not be much of a reach, as single-copy sales jumped 8.9% from 408,413 in the first half of 2010 to 444,815 in the first half of 2011, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Total paid subscriptions soared 28.8% from 643,112 to 828,065 over the same period.

While All You does not give take editorial direction from Wal-Mart or give editorial consideration to products carried by Wal-Mart, as a publication focused on household economy, it naturally covers endemic categories ranging from household goods to food and recreation, and advertisers seek to capitalize on this. In the second quarter, total ad pages rose 5.1% to 263, according to the Publishers Information Bureau, compared to an overall increase of just 0.3% for other consumer magazines tracked by PIB.

By the same token, the success of All You does not necessarily reflect rising fortunes for Wal-Mart, which seems like a natural favorite to benefit from widespread economic uncertainty among consumers, but faces its own financial pressures from rising production, transportation and labor costs. Wal-Mart's same-store sales in the U.S. fell 0.9% in the second quarter, marking the ninth straight quarterly decline for the retail giant.

Page Views Boom at Big Mag Sites

The consumer magazine business face continuing circulation declines on the print side, but some magazine Web sites are going great guns, according to MIN Online, which noted major increases in page views at several big players. MIN Online's figures show page views at Vogue. com increasing more than fivefold to 42 million; SportingNews.com sprinting ahead with a 265% increase in page views; Self.com jumping 141% in page views; and page views at Kiplinger's Personal Finance 's Kiplinger.com jumping 192%.

New York Media Ad Sales Agent For Rookie.com

The New York Media, parent of New York, is the exclusive ad sales agent for new teen site Rookie.com, which is launching Sept. 5. Created by Tavi Gevinson for and by teenage girls, Style Rookie blogger Gevinson, 15, will become editor in chief. NYM expects strong interest from fashion, beauty and retail advertisers. Joe's Jeans is the launch advertiser.

Fenner Heads To Chicago As EIC

Elizabeth Fenner, who previously served as assistant managing editor at Money, is moving to a new position as editor in chief of Chicago magazine, effective Sept. 19. Fenner previously worked at People, Fortune and Women's Health before joining Money in May 2008. She takes over the spot vacated by Richard Babcock in April.

Ziff Davis Buys Focus Research

Ziff Davis has acquired Focus Research, Inc., which specializes in IT research and lead generation. It will be branded as Ziff Davis B2b Focus. As part of Ziff Davis, the company will focus on lead-generation, content syndication and webinars, with responsibilities covering ITManagement.com, ITSecurity.com, VOIPNews.com and InsideCRM.com, drawing on its database of IT resources and library of white papers and buying guides for IT.