UK Marie Claire editor and publisher axed as title moves online

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 20, 2019

UK Marie Claire’s conversion from a print magazine to a digital one is more than just the next stage in the title’s evolution and could mark a much bigger change of focus from content to retail.

It has emerged that editor-in-chief Trish Halpin and managing director Justine Southall, the magazine’s two most senior staff, are leaving, cutting the link with the magazine’s editorial leadership of the past decade. 

Halpin has been in her role for 10 years and will leave by the end of this month and Southall, who has been there for eight years, will exit in late October.

This leaves a question mark over just how much of the reborn online edition will be about editorial content and how much it will focus on acting as a commercial gateway to product sales.

No replacements have been announced yet and the publisher, TI Media, said new digital business leadership will be unveiled "in due course."

CEO Marcus Rich said that Halpin and Southall’s legacy “will continue to inform this famous brand’s digital-first strategy.” And there’s no arguing with that as the brand’s shopping platform, Marie Claire Edit, was launched under their guidance with consumers able to buy thousands of brands featured by the magazine.

The Edit will be the key revenue driver in future and its success will allow the company to invest further in the title. But it also means we’ll be thinking of Marie Claire a lot more in terms of its impact on fashion and beauty retail in the future.