Wednesday, January 12, 2000
Kroger to put 'Cosmo' under wrap
Reason isn't breasts; it's risque headlines
BY LISA BIANK FASIG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Goodbye checkout cleavage. The Kroger Co. is throwing a robe on the Cosmo Girl.
The Cincinnati-based grocery store chain, the country's largest, will by Feb. 1 put “blinders” on Cosmopolitan displays at its 2,200 grocery and multidepartment stores that carry the magazine. After the coverup, only the Cosmopolitan masthead will be visible at displays fronting the store's checkout lines.
But it is not the provocative cover girl who's caught Kroger's discretionary eye, compa ny spokesman Gary Rhodes said Tuesday. Rather, it is the language in some Cosmo cover headlines.
“We made this decision in response to complaints we had received from consumers that the language in some of the headlines was questionable,” he said.
Cosmopolitan runs headlines such as “His Secret Sex Spots” and “Introducing Cosmo's ... Hot New Sex Position.”
Cosmo spokeswoman Andrea Kaplan said she didn't know whether Kroger's decision would influence headline content. But she said half of the magazine's 2 million issues are bought at newsstands and checkout counters.
“Each of those purchases represents a consumer who's satisfied with the magazine's content,” she said. “It's one of the strongest brands in magazine publishing, so women know exactly what they're buying.”
Tristate shoppers had mixed thoughts about Kroger's move.
“I don't think it's necessary,” said Monroe resident Kelly Neufarth, a shopper at Kroger's West Chester store on Tylersville Road. “It's not too racy.”
Ken Feldhaus of West Chester disagreed: “Some of the magazines, not just Cosmopolitan, are getting a little bit out of hand. I agree with Kroger.”
Mike Justice of West Chester also applauded Kroger's move: “It's better to err conservatively.”
Cosmopolitan,which established itself in 1970s as the women's guidebook to the sexual revolution, has often relied on sex as a content staple. Every month, the lead headline on the top left corner refers to a story about improving one's sex life.
In June, those headlines caught the attention of Morality in Media. Robert Peters, president of the New York organization, said he sent letters of complaint to five chief executives heading 350 grocery store chains. Several regional chains responded, but Kroger, he said, represents the largest single reaction.
“If you read the content of these articles, my God, they are as explicit as porn articles,” Mr. Peters said. “All we are asking them to do is, if you're going to display these magazines at the checkout, cover up the junk.”
This is not the first publication about which Kroger has made a display decision. The company has recently stopped carrying Cincinnati's free alternative weekly, City Beat, because of complaints about some of its columns and personal ads.
Kroger also does not sell sexually explicit magazines such as Hustler, Penthouse or Playboy.
Kroger to put 'Cosmo' under wrap
AOL stock slide cuts value of Time Warner deal
Critics say merger will stifle diversity
Media getting feet wet on Net
Office Suites Plus geared to flexibility, convenience
Ameritech lowers telephone rates
Bank One earnings drop likely may drop
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
INDUSTRY NOTES: RETAIL
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Bayer must back off aspirin claims
TRISTATE MARKET SPOTLIGHT
