 1. Lucire has been online for over 7 years now. Why is the
print edition so late in coming?
It was a matter of credibility and finding the right
opportunity. If we had done it earlier, we could have still been
viewed as a "new" dot com, when faith in the internet market
reached a low. There were a lot of business failures around
then. Now, the internet has become more ubiquitous and Lucire, I
believe, is a brand that stands apart from merely one web site.
Therefore, in 2003, we began looking far more actively to
launching Lucire as a print title, and approached a few
companies globally on financing. Ultimately, we decided we would
do it ourselves. The clincher was our 52 pp. L'Oréal New Zealand
Fashion Week supplement PDF in November 2003: that proved we had
the capability and the people. Indeed, in 2004, there is demand
from an advertising perspective for Lucire as a print title
which did not exist before.
2. The Fashion Print Magazine market is full of big and
small players. Some are good and some really bad. How will
Lucire differentiate itself from the crowd?
No one has really done a global fashion magazine before, at
least not for consumers. Sure, Vogue and Elle are global brands
but they are collections of regional magazines. We wish to
create a single fashion title with only small adaptations for
national and regional markets. Secondly, Lucire is not the
mouthpiece of the PR companies: it isn't online, and it won't be
in print. Our competitors seemed filled with "special
promotions" and I think consumers are far cleverer than that.
Thirdly, Lucire aims for the highest common denominator: an
intelligent woman. For too long, this industry has treated women
as "not good enough unless you buy Product X"; we are saying
women are smart and good enough as they are, and "Product X"
might help them, if they choose, express themselves. Finally,
our environmental commitment as the United Nations Environment
Programme's first fashion industry partner means that we are
looking at environmentally friendly practices that we will hold
ourselves and our licensees to—without breaking the bank.
3. Will the print version be a clone of the online version
or can we expect something fresh and new?
You will see some cross-media articles, but in no way will
the two have identical copy. The print edition may have
shortened articles from the web one; equally, the reverse may
happen. We aren't going to sacrifice our online readership on
whose loyalty we are riding.
4. Lucire.com, being online, has worldwide reach. Based in
New Zealand, do you plan to tap the Fashion Literati all over
the world?
Absolutely. We happen to be headquartered in New Zealand but
it is a global title. Lucire, as a print magazine, will not be a
single-nation title.
5. Most Designer Collections are a bit impractical for the
working women and moms. Dot Com Women would like to know if you
will address the Fashion needs of Moms, Working Women and
Housewives.
Just by being honest. All women are smart, and they will be
able to find something that suits them, regardless of whether
they are single, mothers, working women or housewives. We have
some strong market pages in the front of the magazine that keep
readers informed of trends and we suggest practical, everyday
clothes that you can buy off the racks right now.
In addition, we publish stories based on the Lucire StyleTalk
forum, where readers congregate and share their thoughts, and
this 'Report from the Real World' section keeps us very
grounded.
Since we are here for our readers, not the PR departments, we
choose to be "of the people, by the people and for the people".
If it works for a democracy, it can work for a magazine.
6. Besides Fashion, Volante and Living are popular
sections at Lucire.com. Can we expect more on Travel and
Lifestyle in the print version as well?
Absolutely: these are very important parts of the print title
and will be retained. We will have them, and travelers can book
online with the site.
7. Your last word on the Lucire Print Edition.
For too long women have been short-changed. It's time for
Lucire. Let there be light!
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