Hachette Filipacchi's Sugar's modest single-digit increase is its first in more than three years and follows a relaunch in March. The ABC figures are expected to show that it now outsells rival title Bliss by at least 30,000 copies.
In the first half of 2006, Bliss led the market with an ABC of 213,466, ahead of Sugar's 200,187, with circulations of both titles down at least 20 per cent. But sales of Bliss, which Emap sold to Panini last year, are thought to have fallen below 200,000 for the first time after shedding at least 40,000 sales in the period.
Panini took over Bliss last month and, in a departure for the title, its February issue carried no covermounted gift.
Teen titles Shout and Mizz are also set to show sales growth, but the combined increases will be insufficient to lift the sector as a whole. BBC Magazines' Top of the Pops, the fastest-growing teen magazine in the January to June period with growth of 21%, will post a fall.
Meanwhile, Conde Nast's Glamour continues to go from strength to strength after a static result in the last ABCs when it recorded a sales figure of 586,056.
In the celebrity weeklies sector, Hello!'s sales are predicted to be up almost 10% year on year. The weekly real-life sector may see some overall gain from the entry of new titles, but the established titles are expected to record declining or static sales.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
