Essential Publishing has closed women's magazine Real, just weeks after swapping it from fortnightly to monthly.
Real made the change to monthly in January, retailing at £1.40, and undercutting its monthly rivals by at least 60p. Its last ABC figure, for the six months to June last year, was 143,849 — a drop of around 60,000 year on year.
Real was set to target a wider, more mature audience, and, according to its editor Dave Claridge, was being aimed at 25- to 45-year-olds who were seeking a sophisticated and aspirational title, without the bulkiness of the heavyweight monthly magazines.
Claridge, a former executive editor on Closer, joined Real last November. The title was launched by Bauer in 2001 and sold in 2004.
Related
The relaunched monthly Real had an extra 32 pages and improved paper quality. Staff were told that the magazine was to close last Monday.
Real management were not available for comment.
Content from our partners
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
