User:Francesdumlao/testentry

Lucky is a shopping and style magazine which calls itself the " Ultimate Shopping Guide " and " The Magazine About Shopping ." Lucky "showcases what to wear and how to wear it, making fashion and beauty fun and accessible." Available by subscription, issues are published once a month and offer shopping tips, fashion advice, and articles detailing current trends. The magazine also runs a website with many similar features.

Since its launch in December 2000, Lucky has been one of Condé Nast's biggest successes, with circulation going from 500,000 to over 1.1 million. Claiming to be a "voice of a friend in the know," the magazine provides suggestions in a writing style that mimics a conversation with the reader's best, and most likely female, friend. Unlike other magazines that advise their readers on a broad spectrum of issues, Lucky's consumerist tendencies are not confined to the advertising pages (of which there are many), but fill each issue in articles with titles such as: " What I Want Now ", " Trend in the Making ", " My Foolproof Outfit ", and " Do Good While You Shop ". Every issue features a spread on some of the cover girl's favorite clothes and trends.

Reception From Magazine Industry
When Lucky was first released, it received criticism for its content that bordered between editorial and advertising. Lucky epitomized a trend for magazines to seem more like catalogues. Additionally, the magazine received negative response to its short and product-centric editorial content. The American Society of Magazine Editors has also been skeptical of Lucky’s business practices in featuring products. “Susan Ungaro, editor in chief of Family Circle and a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Magazine Editors, worries that these ‘magalogs’ will erode reader trust-Lucky is all picks, no pans-and she fears that inevitably magazines will try to share in the profits from the sale of goods in their pages.”

Lucky’s reputation has grown to a more positive one as time progressed. Simon Dumenco, columnist of New York Magazine initially gives a negative assessment of Lucky, but later praises the magazine for focusing on the merits of a product rather than advertising it through celebrity endorsements like other women’s magazines. David Carr and Jeremy W. Peters in an article published in the New York Times stated, “It was, in retrospect, ahead of its time, a print rendering of a shopping portal on the Web. It was well received by both the news media and advertisers, in part because it was a well executed magazine that did not take itself too seriously…”

Reception From Advertising Industry
Lucky was Advertising Age’s Magazine of the Year in 2003. Advertising Age highlights Lucky’s success with marketers and consumers. Because of its consumer friendly environment Lucky has no problem filling up advertising space in their magazine. Featuring shorter articles that are less than a page long, Lucky’s editorials are to-the-point to accentuate the products making profitable for PR agents to pitch to Lucky. Lucky is also well-liked among advertiser since products are written within the editorial, not as an advertisement.

Lucky Stickers
“Yes” and “maybe” stickers, an innovation of Lucky, is included in each issue to allow readers to mark their favorite items. Stickers enhance the reading experience by pulling in readers into an activity that appeals to instant gratification

Editor in Chief
Kim France was founder and the first editor in chief of Lucky magazine. In the past, she had worked at Sassy, Elle, New York, 7 Days and Spin. However as the recession weakened Lucky, readers reduced their shopping habits, thus diminishing their need for a shopping magazine. The Publishers Information Bureau also reported a dwindling amount of advertising pages in Lucky from April to June in 2009 while other magazines marketed towards women recovered.

Brandon Holley replaced Kim France as editor in chief in 2010 and has remained the editor in chief of Lucky to this day. Prior to becoming editor in chief of Lucky, Holley had been editor in chief of Shine, Yahoo’s site for women. Her employment marks a refocusing of Lucky’s vision towards the Web and it is expected that she will give Lucky the jumpstart it needs to bounce back from the recession.