Market leader FHM, published by Emap, has shed more than a quarter of its readers year on year, while IPC's Loaded has declined by almost 30%.
Eric Fuller, managing director of IPC ignite!, claimed the market is in the middle of a long-term shift of readers from monthlies to weeklies. 'If you look at volume sales in the men's market, sales are twice as high as they were three years ago,' he said.
Carat press director Dominic Williams added that the monthlies have to learn to adapt better to the digital environment. 'Agencies and clients will not be satisfied with 20% and 30% declines in circulations,' he warned.
In the men's weekly market, Emap's Zoo posted a 10.3% period-on-period decline, and a 21.5% year-on-year fall in circulation to 204,564. Industry insiders claimed City pressure had forced Emap to cut its investment in promoting the title. Zoo has not run any cover-price discounts or TV ads in the past six months.
IPC's Nuts maintained its market lead with ease, despite recording a 3.2% period-on-period decline to 295,002.
One bright spot was provided by Conde Nast monthly GQ, which posted a 0.6% increase in circulation to 127,505.
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