WSJA rethinks Asia Fashion Journal

<P>The Wall Street Journal Asia has rejected claims it is revamping its recently-launched Fashion Journal because of <BR>criticism over its production and design quality.<BR><BR>Rolled out in June, the first supplement was modelled after the European and US editions, reflecting the WSJ's global trend towards featuring more lifestyle content on weekends. It featured high-end content such as fine wines, food, travel and collecting, but it was criticised by some sectors over its production quality. <BR><BR>"I wouldn't use the word 'poor', but it could be improved a lot," said a source. "We were told it is being revamped, to sit more in the lifestyle environment in terms of the content and layout in this region, which should help it attract a broader base of advertisers."<BR><BR>But WSJA chiefs said the first instalment was merely a test of their production capabilities in putting together a glossy supplement ahead of the official launch in September, which is expected to be a monthly glossy in the weekend edition. "We decided to test our capabilities (in June) to produce a glossy supplement in the weekend section of our paper, so we put that together immensely quickly," said Christine Brendle, managing director, Wall Street Journal Asia.<BR><BR>"The printing quality was absolutely there and the content was very Asian-focused," she added.<BR>But she admitted there were problems with the test run in June, mainly from an operational and distribution standpoint, which will be  rectified by September.</P> <P> </P>