Guys' mags beef up

Does the Thai launch of French magazine L’Optimum last month and Elle Men Thailand’s upcoming debut mean that guys here are getting more fashionable, in need of more lifestyle advice, reading more – or just being trendy?

Esquire from the US remains the only imported men’s magazine on the newsstand, but GM – our homegrown lifestyle magazine for professionals and young executives – is still staple reading material for blokes. They’ve been around for almost 20 years. 

Another US title, Men’s Health, which claims to be the world’s best-read men’s magazine, reached Thai shores in 2010 and quickly became one of best-selling magazines of its kind, recently coaxing its sister Women’s Health over for the female audience.

You’d think that these publications would collectively be covering every possible angle of manliness – grooming, fitness, romance, boy toys, remarkable underwear, enviable other guys and as many curvy cars and women as they can handle per month. But evidently demand for fresh sources of information hasn’t diminished.

L’Optimum is the men’s edition of French powerhouse magazine L’Officiel, and it’s been greeted here with a phenomenal response, says Saton Tantraporn, its local editor-in-chief.

“L’Optimum has been around for 16 years in France, and it’s time Thai readers experienced this magazine,” he enthuses. “No one saw the opportunity before for this kind of magazine because no one tried. But we knew it instantly when we brought out L’Officiel Hommes, a quarterly men’s issue, last year. It sold out almost instantly. We were confident right away that L’Optimum would be just what the male readers in Thailand wanted. There was no hesitation at all.”

Positioning itself as a “style magazine” for “smart, cool, stylish men who celebrate choices in life”, L’Optimum carries product reviews and articles on men’s general interests, tailored to Thais.

“We’re not the Bible, telling men what to do, what to wear or how to act – we give them the best choices there are, and it’s completely up to them what to choose and adopt,” Saton says. 

“Gone are the days when readers – men and women alike – resorted to a magazine to give the absolute, right answers. In this day and age, with access to all the information in the world, no one is faster than anyone else. Hence, we’re offering exclusivity. You’ll get interviews with international icons like Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp that you can’t find anywhere else.”

Elle Men, the guys’ edition of best-selling French fashion magazine Elle, is to be launched next month. “When a women’s fashion magazine starts a men’s edition, most people think it’s the male version of the same magazine, but that’s not true at all,” says editor-in-chief Narin Palanuraksa. 

“This is a completely new monthly magazine, not just a supplement. We’re not offering just fashion and beauty for men, but everything they possibly need to live a stylish, sophisticated and fulfilled life in a metropolitan setting. We’re targeting 25- to 35-year-old men who dare to think and look differently.”

Elle Men appeared in China last year and soon controlled the biggest market share in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Why are guys in heat about magazines?

“The concept of lifestyle changes everything,” suggests Panu Burusratanapant, editor-in-chief of Esquire Thailand. “Before that you had passion – passion for food, for cars, for fashion and what not – and now it’s lifestyle. Women adopted it first and now the men are. 

“Men used to go for specific-subject magazines, about movies, golf, cars or soccer to fulfil their thirst of information. Now that everything is rolled into one, plus the fact that men have to look fashionable, cure-all magazines for men have started to emerge, as a companion, a guide and a community for men of similar tastes and styles.”

Esquire debuted in the US in October 1933, during the Great Depression, seeking to “become the common denominator of masculine interests, to be all things to all men”. The publication now has 26 foreign editions, with Vietnam becoming the latest market in April. 

“Fashionable clothes have meanwhile become more accessible and affordable,” Panu points out. “Men used to pay hundreds of thousands of baht for top-brand clothes and accessories to be fashionable, but now it’s easy. You have fast-fashion brands like Topshop and H&M, as well as local designers, which produce medium-priced but stylish clothes for men. This encourages a lot of men to shop more regularly, spend more time grooming – and therefore read more magazines.” 

What the magazine chiefs don’t volunteer is that, men’s magazines or not, the Thai market in men’s clothes would still be booming, right in step with the fashion market in general. The clothing sector is expected to expand by another 50 per cent by the end of this year, with more luxury malls springing up full of multinational brands and upstart European and Asian brands. When it comes to grooming products and specialised beauty treatments, men have more choices than ever, readily available at often quite affordable. 

Still, the jump in dude magazines accompanying this boom isn’t about to end anytime soon either. The evidence is in the continuous appearance of fresh titles in women’s magazines.

“No one can really say if men’s magazines will be as big and extensive as the women’s magazine market,” says Panu. “It’s a new market to explore, not only for Thailand but all over the world. 

“Right now there’s a great competitive vibe among us. It’s refreshing, stimulating and, most important of all, the readers benefit the most.”