WINN-DIXIE, WAL-MART DROP MARCH COSMO AT CHECKOUTS

JOEL ELSON

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Winn-Dixie Stores here, and Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., banned this month's Cosmopolitan from checkstand racks because of editorial matter the retailers found offensive.

Winn-Dixie pulled copies of the March publication from checklanes at all 1,180 stores in 14 states "because we felt the magazine contained material that we thought would be objectionable to our customers," said Mickey G.C. Clerc Jr., vice president and director of public relations.

While the March Cosmopolitan cover model was clothed, the lead cover lines at the top of the magazine highlighted in heavy bold type an article about "His & Her Orgasms. How to Slow Him Down and Speed You Up." Another cover line read: "How to Make the Sex So Good He'll Be Groveling." This is the first issue under Cosmopolitan's new editor in chief, Bonnie Fuller, who took over from Helen Gurley Brown at the Hearst Corp. publication.

In the case of Wal-Mart, the mass retailer voluntarily barred the March Cosmopolitan from checkout magazine fixtures at its 2,200 stores, but it is displaying copies at the mainline reading racks. Officials at Wal-Mart declined comment.

Wal-Mart voluntarily decided against carrying the March issue at checkstand racks because "they thought the cover was a little too strong and suggestive," said Frank Herrera, president of International Circulation Distributors/Hearst, New York. "The only time we have a problem with a particular issue is at the checkout area where it's shown full cover, and mothers probably find it offensive," he said.

Wal-Mart has pulled publications, including Cosmopolitan, in the past, according to the Hearst official. "They generally don't make prejudgment calls, and something like this is usually in reaction to customer complaints. But this time they took the initiative themselves," added Herrera.

In pulling March copies from checkout areas Wal-Mart apparently based its decision on factors other than the cover lines. "I thought it would be over the wording [of the cover lines] but that wasn't it. The cover overall also was pretty tame for Cosmopolitan, so who knows what criteria Wal-Mart used?" said Herrera.

According to Herrera, Winn-Dixie usually follows Wal-Mart's lead on such matters. He said news distributors in Winn-Dixie's operating regions came to stores and removed Cosmopolitan, while "it didn't even go up at Wal-Mart."

The Hearst executive is unsure of the exact number of sales that may be lost at the two chains. "We'll be in those stores anyway, but in a lesser position. Perhaps we'll lose 5% to 10%, but we usually pick up sales from other stores with something like this," explained Herrera.

According to the Hearst executive, checkstand display racks account for close to 50% of monthly sales of the top 25 to 35 magazines, "reaching as high as 80% to 90% for some titles like Family Circle."

Monthly Cosmopolitan newsstand sales on average run about 2 million copies, according to Herrera.

In a related matter, Wal-Mart also hasn't carried Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition for the past three years, according to a company spokesman.