Libelle was first published on 13 April 1934 by NV Uitgeverij.[1][2] The magazine was part of VNU[3] and was published by VNU Tijdschriften for several years.[4] In 2001 the magazine became part of Sanoma[5] and was published by Sanoma Media Netherlands B.V. on a weekly basis.[6] It has its headquarters in Amsterdam.[6]
Covers of Libelle in the early years on a tin can from 1984–1985
Following the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II the editors of Libelle endorsed support of the German forces.[7] In the late 1960s another women's magazine, Beatrijs, merged with Libelle.[8] During the 1990s Libelle was among the Dutch publications which functioned as an opinion leader in political and health-related issues.[9]
The target audience of Libelle is women aged between 30–55 most of whom are average Dutch women.[10] The weekly mostly features articles about fashion, beauty, culinary, travel, human interest, health, and work.[10][11]
Franska Stuy served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1999 until 2015, and as of 2015 Hilmar Mulder was in charge.[12]
For the past 20 years Libelle has been organizing a week long outdoor event in May, the Libelle Zomerweek.[13] In 2016 this event attracted 84,300 visitors.[14]
The magazine has a Flemish edition with the same name, Libelle, published in Belgium.[15] Although they are part of the same company, each magazine has an independent editorial board.[15]
Circulation
Libelle was the thirtieth best-selling women's magazine in 2001 globally with a circulation of 643,000 copies.[4] By 2016 circulation fell to about 300,000 copies. It kept dropping since, at a rate of about 20,000 annually.
^Merja Mahrt (2012). "The Attractiveness of Magazines as "Open" and "Closed" Texts: Values of Women's Magazines and Their Readers". Mass Communication and Society. 15 (6): 852–874. doi:10.1080/15205436.2011.635259. S2CID144025051.
