Sainsbury’s has decided to conceal the sexy images on the front of lads magazines with special modesty covers after receiving a number of complaints from their customers about the titles.

The new display will allow the title to be seen but will conceal the rest of the cover. The covers will be put in front of the monthlies Loaded and Maxim, as well as the weekly lads’ magazines, Nuts and Zoo.

“Sainsbury’s has acted after listening to customers, a number of whom said they feel uncomfortable with the images, especially when shopping with children,” the company wrote in a statement.

The move by Sainsbury’s comes after another initiative last month to change the way lads’ titles are displayed. The National Federation of Retail Newsagents wrote voluntary guidelines suggesting that their members place the lads’ magazines high up on the shelves, above the eyeline of kids. 

Some market experts believe that the increasing number of complaints is in part due to the proliferation of titles on the newsstand in the last few years. Others also believe that the heavy competition has meant the weeklies have become more risqué since they were first launched just over two years ago.

Certainly, the initiatives come at a time of heavy competition in the men’s category, which has been shaken up by the arrival of the weeklies, Nuts and Zoo. 

As the number of weeklies sold has risen and the number of monthlies has fallen, the circulation for the category has shrunk, says Tony Evans, managing partner at Mindshare in London. But, he explains, this tells only part of the story.

He explains that because weeklies are on sale four times a month, and monthlies just once, the number of copies of men’s magazines sold each month has actually risen in the period.

“More money is being spent by consumers. More copies are being sold,” he says. “The sector is definitely growing.”

“The growth of the sector is the reason for this response,” believes Eric Fuller, who is group publishing director at IPC Ignite and is responsible for both Nuts and Loaded. “There are far more magazines being sold, and the whole category is more high profile than it was.”

Also a factor in some eyes is the increasing raciness of the weekly titles. While Fuller denies that the magazines have become racier, others think the weeklies have drifted that way.

“There is such a proliferation of titles for consumers that you need something that appeals quickly. The more flesh you put on the cover the better,” says Evans.

At this stage, Evans doesn’t believe the changes in product display will hit sales or drive away advertisers.

Nor does Fuller, who says: “The absolute truth is that we don’t know what impact it will have. However, I don’t think it will hit sales. Retailers don’t want to damage sales.”