History
Marie Claire was founded by Jean Prouvost[2] and Marcelle Auclair.[3] Its first issue appeared in 1937,[4] and it was distributed each Wednesday until 1941 when it handed out its shares to open in London, going international for the first time.[5][failed verification] In 1976, Prouvost retired and his daughter Évelyne took over the magazine and added L'Oréal Group to the company.[6]
Marie Claire was born a second time in October 1954 with the same founder, Jean Prouvost, the same editor, Marcelle Auclair, and the same mission: “to open up the future for women, help them make their own way through changing times. Inform them about subjects that are rocking their world, give them a voice to share the challenges they face and those of the changing society they live in”.
Marie Claire’s originality was also accredited to its high-end production. The magazine was produced on luxury paper, with a fresh, modern and airy layout. The magazine was filled with beautiful illustrations and fashion sketches that balanced luxury and affordable ideas.
When Jean Prouvost left Marie Claire’s helm in 1976, Evelyne Prouvost, one of his granddaughters created Groupe Marie Claire. Evelyne became Chairman of the company, regrouping feminine titles of the Prouvost empire. Evelyne loved magazines, had an insatiable curiosity about culture and was committed to journalistic excellence. She was a giant of the publishing world and a great champion of women. In 1989 Evelyne Prouvost was named “Business Women of the Year,” winning the Veuve Cliquot prize.
Arnaud de Contades became CEO of Groupe Marie Claire in 2004. Since becoming CEO, Arnaud focused on driving diversification and amplifying the digital transformation of the group. With successful launches including Stylist and magicmaman (the leading parenting media brand in France) and a premium portfolio of women’s, parenting and lifestyle brands, Groupe Marie Claire now reaches an influential and connected audience of over 12 million.
Arnaud de Contades continued to accelerate the international development of Marie Claire, launching Marie Claire in Czech Rep., Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Indonesia, and the Middle East. Through fashion-focused magazine brands, extensive digital platforms, social media platforms and by meeting readers face to face, Marie Claire now connects with an audience of over 90 million internationally.
Today Marie Claire is present in 29 markets around the world including Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, South Africa, and the Middle East, making Marie Claire one of the most widely recognized women’s fashion media brands in the world.
Worldwide
Currently, Marie Claire publishes editions in more than 35 countries on five continents.[7]
United States
The U.S. edition of the magazine was started by the Hearst Corporation, based in New York City, in 1994. Hearst has branch offices in France, Italy, and several locations in the United States including Detroit, the West Coast, New England, the Midwest, the Southwest, and the Southeast. The Esquire Network reality television series Running In Heels follows three interns working in the NYC office of the magazine. The editor-in-chief from 2012 to 2020 was Anne Fulenwider. On 9 December 2019, Hearst Magazines announced that Fulenwider would be leaving her post at the end of the year.[8] Aya Kanai, then chief fashion director of Hearst, was named the new editor of the women's magazine, and started in January 2020. Sally Holmes[9] took the helm in September from Aya Kanai, who surprised Hearst execs when she jumped ship to Pinterest after just nine months as editor in chief.
During the pandemic, Hearst quietly reduced the title’s print frequency from 11 issues to just seven in 2020 and instead launched its first digital issue with cover face Janet Mock. It also made Power Trip virtual. Power Trip[9] is Marie Claire’s annual 36-hour, invite-only, all-expenses-paid networking conference for successful women across all industries that Fulenwider launched in 2016 as a way to make the magazine stand out in the event space.[8] In May 2021, Future US acquired the American edition of Marie Claire magazine from Hearst and has published it since June 2021. In September 2021, it was announced that the Summer 2021 issue of Marie Claire would be its last print edition, and remaining subscribers would receive issues of Harper's Bazaar.[10]
United Kingdom
Marie Claire launched a UK print edition in 1988,[11] with a website launched in 2006 featuring segments on daily news, catwalk shows, photographs and reports, fashion and beauty, buys of the day, daily horoscopes, and competitions.
Its cover price was increased in February 2018 from £3.99 to £4.20, but this did not compensate for a decline in sales and advertising revenue, with print display advertising down 25% in 2018 and 30% in 2019.[11] In September 2019, the magazine's then owner, TI Media, announced that the final print edition would be published in November and the brand would become digital only, under licence with Groupe Marie Claire. The UK website currently has two million monthly users.[11]
Combined print and digital circulation from July to December 2018 was 120,133 per issue – almost a third of which were free copies, and 4,729 of which were for the digital edition. This was down on the same period in 2017, when the average circulation was 157,412, with 4,012 digital edition readers.[11]
Currently, Marie Claire UK is published by Future Publishing, which acquired TI Media.
Australia
Marie Claire magazine is run by magazine and digital publisher Are Media, which acquired Pacific Magazines in 2020.[12]
MarieClaire.com.au launched in 2016 after the digital rights were returned to Pacific Magazines from Yahoo and provides daily fashion, beauty, and lifestyle news. In March 2019, Marie Claire partnered with Salesforce.com to survey Australian women to analyse how attitudes have changed in the workplace.[13]
Japan
The Japanese-language edition of Marie Claire, first published in 1982,[14] was the first international edition published in a non-French speaking territory, as well as the first non-European edition, although it ceased publication after the 9 September issue went on sale in July 2009, due partly to the economic downturn.[15]
Following a relaunch, since 2012, Marie Claire has been published in Japan under the name Marie Claire Style. This new format is offered as a free supplement in the Yomiuri Shimbun and distributed in wealthier suburbs of Japan. The magazine has now been made available at subway kiosks for a ¥200 cover price.[16]
Rest of the world
Marie Claire has Arabic editions which are published in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria.[17] In 2010, an Indonesian edition was launched. The magazine was published in Mexico by Editorial Televisa since 1990 but ceased its publication due to the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020[18][19] and is published again by Fashion Group in June 2021 and started publishing in Argentina under Editorial Perfil in March 2019.[20]
International editions of Marie Claire have been discontinued in Venezuela (published since 1990 until 2018), Colombia (published from 1990 to 2019), Estonia (published between 2007 and 2010), Germany (published from 1990 to 2003),[21] India,[22][23] Philippines (published between 2005 and 2009),[24] and Poland.[25]
