• by Michael Shields , August 8, 2004

One magazine is dedicated entirely to shopping, with page after page of product-related blurbs and lots of pictures of clothes. The other magazine--well, it's focused on shopping, and it features lots of clothes. Is there any difference?

In the first issue of Hearst's Shop Etc., a letter from Editor Mandi Norwood calls the magazine "the only one-stop shopping magazine for fashion, home, and beauty."

Norwood goes on to say that "we've fallen in love with shopping all over again." That may be true, but Conde Nast's Lucky might argue that the love has never gone away, and that it has been doing a pretty good job of providing women with a guide to shopping for fashion and beauty products for four years.

In fact, Lucky has been more than lucky of late. It just raised its rate base to 1 million, a 100 percent increase since the magazine's launch in December 2000. In Audit Bureau of Circulation reports, Lucky regularly beats its rate base, and its newsstand (+18.1 percent in 2004) and subscriptions (+15.6 percent), have each grown consistently.

Of course, any launch from Hearst cannot be underestimated. The company's president, Cathleen Black, has said that Shop Etc., which debuts on newsstands nationwide on August 17, will use "a sophisticated and stylish approach that is fresh and innovative."

"The whole reader-to-retail genre has really taken off with consumers, and we felt the time was right to launch a magazine at Hearst entirely dedicated to shopping," said Black.

There is no doubt that this relatively new magazine concept--the pure consumerist play--has proven to be a hot one for advertisers. And Shop Etc.is being marketed wisely.

But editorially, is there any real difference?

Shop Etc.--which will be published three times in 2004 before increasing its frequency to 10 issues in 2005 (its rate base is 400,000 to start)--appears to be going after a slightly older and well-off target audience. The magazine isn't afraid to showcase some pricey stuff. In its Personal Shopper section, a model shows off a $10,200 Cartier watch and a $1,600 jacket (there are less expensive options on subsequent pages).

Lucky appears to feature more youthful brands and less expensive apparel (although MediaDailyNews' analysis is hardly scientific).

One point of differentiation for Shop Etc. is that it has a section on home furnishings, something that Lucky really doesn't offer. Included in Shop Etc.'s debut issue are flat panel TVs and couches, and kitchen gadgets (such as espresso makers).

Of course, Lucky's cover always features a celebrity and a brief feature that covers subjects' shopping passions (September has Milla Jovovich). In contrast, Shop Etc.'s first cover shows an unknown woman from the shoulders down, while callouts point out the prices of her dress, handbag, shoes, and something called "body shimmer," while alerting readers to the page on which they can find these items.

The prospect of another Lucky-like success--as well as Conde's marketing clout--has clearly convinced advertisers that Shop Etc. is worth a try. The premiere issue features 97 ad pages from companies including Estee Lauder, L'Oréal, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Prada, and even non-endemic brands like Visa and Home Depot.

Certainly, there are many examples of readers and advertisers supporting similarly themed women's magazines. Us Weekly and In Touch both mine essentially the same concept, and both have been on fire of late. In the men's magazine world, think Maxim, Stuff, and FHM.

Perhaps an even better comparison example can be found online, as each of these books seems more closely modeled after the online shopping experience, rather than print magazines. There, Yahoo! Shopping, MSN's eShop, and AOL's Shop@AOL each provide pretty much the same thing, and each has business relationships with major retailers that are thriving.