New Zealand’s own ‘global fashion magazine’ plans to take 10 per cent of
its first print market
Wellington, June 26 (JY&A Media) – LAWFUEL – Is it possible for a web site not only to
become a print magazine, but to take 10 per cent of that market? It’s what
fashion title Lucire (www.lucire.com) aims to do, after seven years online.
Last week in Women’s Wear Daily, the New York fashion trade bible, Sara
James called Lucire, ‘another Kiwi invasion,’ equating it to ‘the New
Zealand onslaught at the Oscars’.
Lucire publisher Jack Yan admits that it’s a gamble. Come October 4,
2004, Lucire’s international team will find out for sure, with a
monthly—New Zealand’s first—that Mr Yan estimates could take nine to ten
per cent of the women’s interest market.
He believes that it’s time New Zealand has a global entrant in fashion
publishing. In 2005, Lucire plans roll-outs in other countries, potentially
with licensing publishers.
It’s also the first Carbon Neutral fashion magazine: Lucire will plant
trees in association with Future Forests to neutralize the carbon dioxide
generated in production.
Already, the magazine claims more people type in its URL than vogue.com.
Lucire is banking on its experience, its global network, and what it
believes to be a growing phenomenon of readers who have become accustomed
to the global coverage on the internet. The same flavour, promises Mr Yan,
will be retained in the print edition.
To silence the doubters, the Lucire editorial team has already released
a prototype, downloadable by the public, at its web site. The prototype is,
in Mr Yan’s words, ‘what Lucire would have been like if we had published in
print on April 15.’ It is a full 108-page ‘May 2004 edition’ that had been
designed to identify bottlenecks and whether the company had the requisite
expertise.
It has so far received mostly positive comments, both from industry and
existing readers.
An August prototype will be released to address concerns that arose in
May. By October, Lucire ‘hits the ground running,’ says Mr Yan. ‘We will do
this country proud.’
Nicola Brockie, the magazine’s Beauty Editor for Australasia, will helm
the début issue. Mr Yan promises credibility and honesty from his team,
hence the appointment of ‘real women, not celebrity editors’.
The web team is retained for the print edition, while additional
members have been brought on board, including Wendy Henderson as Style
Editor, Amanda Dorcil as Chief Photographer and Lisa Tardrew as Director of
Advertising.
Lucire started in 1997, initially as an Asia-Pacific-focused title,
before expanding its coverage to a global one in 1998. In 2003, it received
a Webby Award nomination, the second New Zealand-headquartered site to be
so honoured. It was also named as the United Nations Environment
Programme’s first fashion industry partner that year.
Images
Images for this release may be downloaded at
About Lucire
Lucire, the global fashion magazine, is one of the world’s leading fashion
titles online. Founded in 1997, it covers fashion, beauty, travel and
lifestyle, with a global perspective for today’s woman. It is known for
providing in-depth, quality journalism. The magazine is targeted at the
woman who is tired of the offerings from established fashion players, and
chooses to be herself. Lucire is available at
In 2003, Lucire received a Webby Award nomination—the only New Zealand
site to do so that year—and became the first fashion industry partner of
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP,
was Official Internet Partner of L’Oréal New Zealand Fashion Week for
2002–3, and is a media sponsor of the inaugural San Francisco Fashion Week
and Official Media Partner of Stockholm FashionDays for 2004–5. A print
edition launches in the New Zealand market in October 2004.
According to Alexa, Lucire is one of the top-ranked pure-play fashion
titles in the world.
About Future Forests
Future Forests is a small, vibrant business that helps companies and
individuals take positive action on climate change through the
CarbonNeutral brand. Clients range from O2 to MTV and the United Nations to
Avis and Coldplay. The proposition is simple—Future Forests measures carbon
dioxide emissions of clients, and balances them through investing into
tree-planting and renewable energy projects, thus making companies,
individuals, bands, etc. CarbonNeutral. Importantly, it then works to
design communications campaigns that deliver value and business benefits to
clients.
Note to editors
Lucire is a registered trademark of Jack Yan & Associates and subject to
protection in certain jurisdictions. Carbon Neutral is a registered
trademark of Future Forests. All other trademarks are the properties of
their respective owners and are only used in a descriptive fashion without
any intention to infringe.
This press release includes forward-looking information and statements
that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially. These statements are only effective as of the date of
this release and we undertake no duty to publicly update these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise.
