Hachette Filipacchi's Sugar and Panini's Bliss, despite being first and third in the teen pack in terms of circulation, both suffered double-digit year-on-year decreases of 15.1% and 11.1% respectively. Panini's Mizz, by contrast, posted a 6.2% year-on-year increase.
Rebecca Smith, circulation controller at Panini, said the best way to reach media-savvy teens is to offer additional web content, consistently linking print and online products.
For established titles such as Bliss - which Panini bought from Emap in late 2006 - and Sugar, the challenge is to prevent readers from switching to glossy weeklies.
Bliss recently moved to a larger A4 format, allowing for more content and better gift showcasing.
"Summer is our strongest season and I am confident that Bliss will increase its period-on-period figure," said Smith, adding that the High School Musical movie release in October will positively impact on sales.
Meanwhile, BBC Worldwide's Top of the Pops reported a healthy 26.4% year-on-year increase. According to Duncan Gray, publisher, teenage magazines, BBC Worldwide, this can be largely attributed to "getting the news-stand package bang on".
Knowing what the demanding teen audience wants is key to grabbing its attention.
