There's one exception, Figure, founded three years ago. But as much as anything the title owes its survival to the largesse of a corporate parent, as a subsidzed publication of Charming Shoppes, parent of Lane Bryant, Catherine's and Fashion Bug. And as such, it has remained in the shadows.

Now Figure is facing its first real test. It's been relaunched by Meredith, publisher of Ladies' Home Journal, among a stable of titles aimed at women in the home. Figure now has a new staff, overhauled editorial, and even a curvy new logo. The revamped title, a bimonthly, is now on newsstands.

For sure, Figure faces a daunting challenge, but the one thing the title does have going for it is Meredith, which in addition to being the nation's second-largest magazine publisher, is publisher of More, the magazine for 40-plus women. It was only few years ago that one after another title targeting women over 40 failed. Then Meredith launched More out of Ladies' Home Journal and showed it could be done.

Tagged "Celebrating the Plus-Size Woman," Figure seeks to gain from the mistakes of plus-size titles past. One was presenting models who were anything less than plus-size, or sneaking in a dieting article among the health content.

"We looked very critically at the magazine and tried to identify what readers wanted, based on our research and what they were currently getting," says Figure's new editor, BJ Towe. "What came out of that is a celebration of the plus-size woman."

Says Towe: "It's very uplifting, very empowering We're creating a place where plus-size women can go and know they are among friends."

The re-launch is unusual in that the magazine is now published and edited by Meredith but still owned by Charming. Charming's apparel are the only brands featured in fashion spreads—and the content is 60 percent to 70 percent fashion. For now, the bulk of the distribution is still at Charming Shoppes.

In the new Figure, Towe says Charming fashions will still be featured, but so will beauty products and accessories from other manufacturers. A major element of the redesign was geared toward separating advertising from editorial and banishing the semblance of a catalog.

"We have completely restructured the magazine from beginning to end," says Towe. "The [other plus-size] magazines in the past have not been as relevant and targeted to the consumers' interests as they should have been. A lot of fashion magazines are not very attainable. But this is filled with attainable beauty and health tips, and fashions."

Alongside the editorial overhaul, Meredith is building up the title's newsstand presence and pushing to build subscriptions. Dana Adams, group director of Meredith Integrated Marketing, says
when Meredith took over Figure it had only 15-16,000 paid subscribers and a general newsstand sell-through of 12,000 to 13,000, with the rest going at Charming Stores. He says, "The magazine essentially has never really been given a chance to stand on its own as a newstand vehicle."

Meredith has also revamped Figure's web site and begun holding in-store events to build awareness. It's also signed on to be audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The goal is to boost Figure's current 467,000 rate base by 100,000 to 150,000 by next year.

It's also working to bring in new advertisers, such as Hanes and ShoeTrader.com, which signed on for the July/August re-launch issue.
"Our objective is to bring in the Krafts and the Unilevers oif the world. The more third party advertising we can bring into it, the more credibility it has with readers and advertsers." says Adams.

Advertising director Chris Dolan sees potential growth in beauty and health, in addition to packaged goods and pharmaceuticals. Says he: "It's a nice niche. There's really nothing like it in the marketplace."

For advertisers, Meredith is packaging Figure with More and other titles with similar appeal. The Figure reader is 40 with a household income of $66,000 to $70,000.

As with previous plus-size titles, the real challenge will be to attract enough dedicated readers to make it that much more attractive to advertisers, and that challenge comes down to one thing: Getting women to overcome what fears they may have about being identified as plus sized to pick up the magazine.

And here for Figure it comes down to numbers. Are there enough of them out there who will cross that emotional barrier for what comfort they can find in the title's pages?

The reality, says Towe, is that the numbers are now on their side. The majority of American women now wear plus sizes, while the lion's share of magazine models do not.

And these plus-sized women now accept who they are, she says.

"Before we re-launched the magazine, we did a cover test, with one cover that said plus-size on it, and another that did not. Hands down, the plus-size reference beat the other one. I do think it is changing and there's a clear need for a magazine like this. We're talking to an audience that feels a bit neglected."