End of an era as FHM and Zoo halt publication

It looks as though the lads' mag - a phenomenon that dominated the men's magazine market in the late 1990s - may finally have had its day, with Bauer Media's decision to stop publishing FHM and Zoo by the end of the year.

FHM, known for its ‘100 Sexiest women in the World’ poll, was first published in 1985 as ‘For Him Magazine’, while Zoo was launched in 2004 to compete with IPC Media’s Nuts magazine.

FHM claimed its annual poll helped propel the careers of well-known actresses, musicians and models. The first ever winner in 1999 was Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar, while British actress Michelle Keegan nabbed the top spot this year.

Although it did not attribute the demise of the print publications specifically to the rise of the online market, Bauer said in a statement: “Over time young men’s media habits have continually moved towards mobile and social and today FHM and ZOO have a combined digital audience of over 5m.”

FHM was selling around 700,000 copies per month at the turn of the millennium, but by 2014, the readership had fallen to below 100,000, with recent figures suggesting around 72,000 copies per month at the start of the year.

A message on Zoo's homepage read: "We've loved every minute of the near 12 years and 600-plus issues we've shared with you and would like to thank each and every one of you who've been there with us along the way."

The publishers of rival lads’ mag Nuts announced in March that the April edition would be the last after 21 years, while Loaded stopped publication in March amid declining circulation.