Daily Front Row

2012 June 18

ELLE Accessories Returns

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Elle Accessories fall 2008 issue; a mock-up of the September 2012 issue
Mock-up, courtesy Hearst View Gallery

(NEW YORK) After a four-year hiatus, ELLE Accessories is gearing up for a relaunch come September. Retailing for $4.95, the title will be available for three months at select outlets, and will also be polybagged with Elle's October issue in prime areas. Expect a biannual publication schedule, with a rate base of 300,000 per issue. The first issue of the mag's return will have a distribution volume of 500,000 copies when it drops on September 18.

Why the redux? “Accessories are fundamental to how ELLE covers fashion,” said EIC Robbie Myers in a statement. The offshoot title debuted in 2005, and came out with seven issues before getting shelved circa 2008. Upon folding, there were talks of a potential reboot one year later, in fall 2009, that never came to fruition.

The ELLE Accessories 2.0 masthead will be exactly the same as the current ELLE masthead, a company spokesperson told The Daily. The first two issues of ELLE Accessories were edited by Kelly Bensimon, before the top title went to Anne Slowey in 2006. 

Besides being polybagged with ELLE proper for subscribers and sold on specific newsstands, 100,000 copies will be mailed to select Neiman Marcus customers. The Dallas-based department store will appear in the mag's pages as an advertiser, including a 12-page insert in the fall edition. Also on the distribution end, Barnes & Noble will do more than just stock the glossy on its shelves—the bookstore will hype the title's relaunch digitally via email blasts and in brick-and-mortar fashion via in-store signage. 

Online, accoutrement lovers will be able to shop out the selection via a comprehensive accessories database. “ELLE Accessories will benefit from ELLE’s existing digital multi-channel assets...Advertisers recognize that accessories are core to ELLE’s DNA and the great consumer demand, including e-commerce that is driving the fashion segment,” said Kevin O’Malley, ELLE's SVP, publisher, and chief revenue officer, in a statement. 
ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV