Catalogues in vogue

LONDON - Nicholas Coleridge, the managing director of Condé Nast, is an unlikely fan of home shopping magazines. "I think what they sell is fantastic," the old Etonian enthuses about the traditionally downmarket retail sector."I didn't realise how quickly you could get these things delivered. They are terribly good value."

But Coleridge isn't buying stuff. He's selling it. In one of the least likely partnerships in publishing, Condé Nast, the distinctly upmarket home of Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ, has teamed up with retail giant Littlewoods to produce its home shopping titles. A "magalogue", a mixture of traditional catalogue and glossy consumer magazine, is born.

"Traditional catalogues are expensively produced, unfeasibly heavy and with so much stock they are quite confusing for the customer," says Sue Douglas, who heads Condé Nast's contract publishing division. "People haven't got time to look through all that stuff. They want something that's a bit more discerning and someone to tell them what's cool and what's best. Littlewoods have hired us to translate their marketing objectives into reader speak. We are 'magazining' their relationship with their customers."

Magalogues? Magazining? Thankfully, the first issue of Littlewoods new-look LX, distributed to nearly a million customers this week, is rather more straightforward. Targeted at Littlewoods' younger, more brand-conscious buyers, LX wears its Condé Nast branding on its sleeve. Or rather, on its cover, with references to Glamour magazine, Condé Nast's market-leading women's glossy, along with numerous "top 10 best Glamour buys".

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