The Face may face the axe, warn publishers
The Face, the style magazine which defined a generation, could be axed, it publishers confirmed today.
The magazine, which tapped into the 80s and 90s zeitgeist, is facing closure under a review of titles by Emap.
Just 17, a teen bible when it was launched 21 years ago, is also under threat.
Sales of the The Face, which helped kickstart the career of supermodel Kate Moss, have nosedived in recent years.
Launched as a counterpoint to Margaret Thatcher’s Eighties, the once pioneering magazine has suffered from the rise of celebrity culture.
Today its sales average 24,500 copies a month, compared to 71,000 in 1999, in the UK and Ireland.
The figures mean that the magazine, which celebrated urban music and clubbing when it was launched, has reached crisis point.
An Emap spokeswoman said: “These are big brands but even big brands have a shelf life.
“Emap is conducting a review and weighing up the different options in terms of what the future holds for the two titles.
“The success of The Face and Just 17 has slipped in recent years and Emap is certainly weighing up a number of different options.
“We can’t rule out selling, reinventing or closing them.”
