Magazines find a new and competitive market among modern, trendy Chinese men

The first thing you notice about Tian Xun is his smell. It is sophisticated - and expensive. Dunhill's London eau de toilette to be precise, apparently representing modern, masculine, elegance. Rich, dark and surprisingly fruity, according to the advertising. Down to his 1,300 yuan leather Red Wing shoes, this man reeks of style.

But it has not always been so.

Readers viewing fashion magzines at an art salon in Shanghai. Nearly all the main fashion publications have launched men’s magazines. [Asianewsphoto]

Three years ago Tian was just another regular guy, a product of an ordinary family from Jiangxi province, lucky and smart enough to graduate with a business degree.

From an early age he showed an interest in the media, editing a student newspaper before moving into mainstream journalism. Then he got the break many dream of but few receive.

At 26, he is now editor of Trends Esquire, a fashion bible for young men about town. And he embodies all that it stands for.

He is an icon for a new generation, one that never experienced the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) like his parents' generation.

Instead, he is at the forefront of an entirely different social metamorphosis with millions of young male followers.

Trends Esquire has been the top men's magazine by reputation in China since 1999. It is part of Trends Group, one of the biggest fashion corporations in the Chinese mainland and copyright partner with the world famous Esquire magazine.

But life at the top is not easy. There is always someone trying to knock you off your pedestal. Tian is under constant pressure to maintain his publication's position in the face of aggressive marketing by rivals.

"Now captions and articles will be revised several times before they are published," he said, with a rueful smile.

"All magazines are constantly revising their strategies to better meet the needs of their readers and please their advertisers. The game is getting fiercer and fiercer."

Lucrative market

Since 2008, nearly all the main fashion publication groups on the mainland have launched men's magazines in a desperate search for a slice of the lucrative action.

Bazaar Man's Style of Trends, Mr Modern from Hachette Filipacchi, L'officiel Hommes by L'officiel, HisLife, published by SEEC Media, Leon from Rayli - all came out early last year. Last October, the Chinese version of GQ, the most successful men's magazine in the Conde Nast stable, also landed in Beijing.

And they all have one aim in common - to tap into the growing interest in style and fashion among young, ambitious metropolitan men.

Last year, Trends Esquire, known for a more serious, socially and culturally concerned editorial line in comparison with its rivals, increased its fashion section from about 20 pages to more than 30.

This "big shoot" features the latest chic clothes and accessories worn by top models.

In March, 2009, the magazine invited Jia Zhangke, one of the most famous film directors in China, to direct a "big shoot" in his hometown in Shanxi province in the middle of North China.

"It was the first time a huge star like him directed fashion photography for a men's magazine," said Tian.

"Even in women's magazines it's very rare. You can imagine how much attention we paid to it."

As part of the waxing interest, four new fashion columns were commissioned to address the latest trends and advise Chinese men how to dress in a modern way. Writers wrote about the latest seasonal designs and how the elite businessmen disported themselves.

Editors recommended "best single items". An element of fun was injected with articles on how to "rescue" embarrassing sartorial faux pas.

"Fashion is now indispensable core for these magazines and a key criterion upon which to judge the publication's quality and taste," said Tian. The section also attracts the most advertising, not a small consideration in a tough, competitive market.

When Trends Esquire changed its tough "Daddy" look to become more fashionable and light, another famous man's magazine under the umbrella of Trends Group also changed tack and went for a big revamp.

For Him Magazine, based on the UK's lads' mag FHM, and the best selling one of its kind across China, moved its iconic sexy content to the back of the magazine and put more respectable material up front to attract more advertising.

"In the first half of 2008 we started to put sexy content at the back, making it more interesting, and practical upfront. That really worked. Since then our advertisement revenue has grown steadily and our clients are very satisfied," said Geng Lei, equipment editor of the magazine, who once put a Cadillac sedan next to an old ox cart in a luxury brands photographic shoot to contrast the old and the new, a perhaps crude way of signifying change.

Geng said each issue had now become more focused, building closer ties with readers. "We are their brother - and this brother shares amusing experiences," he said.

"We don't want a serious reputation. We are totally different from 'Daddy' Esquire."

According to data from the Opening Strategy Consultation, in the third quarter of 2009, For Him Magazine topped the sales list, occupying 22.09 percent of total market share, followed by Trends Esquire and Men's Health, also owned by Trends Group, which had 13 percent and 11.27 percent respectively.

Bazaar Man's Style ranked fourth with 7.71 percent, 0.57 percent higher than Leon of Rayli Group.

While former market leaders rethink their competition strategy, newcomers from overseas are sizing up the market.

"Men's magazines in China are rather similar to women's," China Business News quoted Wang Feng, chief editor of GQ China, which was launched in October, as saying.

"The market orientation of the Chinese version of GQ is a little general and wide. We don't target a special niche market."

The magazine targets young male readers with salaries of more than 70,000 yuan ($10,248) per year. It tries to be a "cool uncle" figure to its readers while trying to stand by its original international high-end taste.

Chinese readers' taste

"The Chinese readers are very interested in practical things, very concrete usable ideas which apply to their lives," said Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Conde Nast International Ltd, which owns GQ. "Probably they are more interested in this aspect than in the lives of people in other cultures or countries. We try to meet the requirements of readers in this country and at the same time to maintain high standards. That is the magic and art of editing and publishing a magazine.

"That's where we have to apply our experience and talent. I can't say in one sentence how to do it but that's really what we are trying to do all the time."

"The very first issue of GQ sold even more than For Him Magazine.

"That's a very strong performance," said Zou Wu, senior research manager of Opening Strategy Consultation. More up-to-date circulation figures were not available.

Zou estimated that the near-monopoly position of Trends Group in men's fashion magazines could be broken by powerful challengers such as Conde Nast, Hachette Filipacchi and even Rayli in the next two or three years.

"Definitely the competition will become fiercer. In October, the suspension of publication of the former popular Prestige demonstrates what a tough business this is."

He added that despite the arrival of other big players in the market, it was still far from saturated and there was enough room for small- and medium-sized magazines to survive if they focused on specific niche areas.

Wu Xiao, advertisement manager of Trends Esquire, said the Chinese market men's magazines was still full of opportunities.

"Although at the beginning of last year the advertising budget of first tier brands all shrank, by the end of the year it went up a lot. The budget for some luxury brands even increased by 100 percent," he said.

But Zhou Zhou, director of the editorial department at Trends Esquire, said the market for men's magazines had become overheated, given the limited number of readers and insufficient development of the fashion industry.

"We are eating into future profits in this highly competitive game," he said.

Newhouse said in emerging markets such as China and Russia, the magazine business and its development continue to be very strong, unlike in America, where it has been difficult for all publishers and some magazines have closed.

"The success of Vogue (launched in China in 2005) and Self (launched 2007) has had a significant impact on the group," he said.

"China now ranks among the top five markets outside the US. When I say in the top five, I must point out that Conde Nast has been in Britain since 1916, France since 1920, and in China only the last five to six years."

In April this year, the group shut down the US business magazine Portfolio. On Oct 5, the group closed four of its other US magazines: Gourmet, Cookie, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride.

Only four days later, the Chinese version of GQ appeared in stalls across first tier cities on the Chinese mainland.

"Most global luxury brands need China to make up for the huge loss from the economic crisis, so the advertisement outlay in the Chinese market has actually been growing, which accelerates the growth of fashion magazines in China and attracts more global players here where the money is," said Tian Xun from Trends Esquire.

In 2009, China overtook the US as the second largest market for luxury consumer goods behind Japan.

A report from Ernst & Young predicted the market would continue to grow at a speed of 10 percent a year from 2009 to 2015. Access to the latest fashion news for young men shows no signs of abating.