Emap lost the two magazines when its publishing joint venture with French firm Hachette Filipacchi ended. Hachette, which now has its own UK operation following its £40m acquisition of Attic Futura, won control of Elle, including Elle Girl and Elle Decoration, and Red.
The industry is watching closely for new launch activity from Emap in the women's sector. Despite a strong presence in the growing celebrity market with Heat, Closer and Sneak, Emap is left with just one women's monthly title in New Woman.
This morning a spokeswoman for the publisher said it has "no plans for 'me-too' Elle and Red replacements".
The spokeswoman said: "[Emap's] reputation is based on innovative launches and the reinvention of existing titles. We believe that there are gaps in the market to fill and we are working on a number of ideas that could turn into opportunities -- but only when we feel we have the right product for the right market."
However, the spokeswoman refused to comment on what the company's plans for Pop are. Pop was launched in 2000 by the same stable that publishes the troubled Arena and The Face magazines. It was launched with a radical sales strategy that involves advertisers in the editorial concept and maintains a high yield rate policy.
The magazine launched with no ads in the first section, and ads that were accepted had to mirror the style of the magazine's editorial content.
However, even if Pop did increase its frequency it would do little to help boost Emap's women's portfolio, which relies on its popular celebrity weeklies.
In a recent interview, Emap Consumer Media chief executive Paul Keenan said: "We will be competing vigorously with Hachette in this country -- as indeed we do in France. But the situation will take a bit of scrutiny because the market is in so much flux currently. And you shouldn't forget that we already have a number of magazines that continue to compete aggressively. The notion that we are out of this market is wide of the mark."
Emap's relationship with Hachette broke down soon after former Emap CEO Kevin Hand was appointed to run Hachette UK. Hand is understood to have declared war on his former company, which forced him out after he was blamed for leading the company on a disastrous foray into the US market, costing Emap millions of pounds.
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