Alun Williams, General Manager, The Stylist Group shares the successes of the last 12 months and hints at what’s ahead.

Looking back on the past year, what have been some of the standout moments or achievements for your business?

Stylist winning Media Brand of the year at the 2025 PPA awards was a pinnacle that tied together all of our achievements of the past 12 months.  It was the culmination of a brilliant year for the team, which included advertising revenue growth for both our print and digital channels, record numbers of digital subscribers and app users, the full launch to market of our Think Stylist insight agency, and the launch of our new parenting vertical, The Village by Stylist.

Which commercial partnerships or collaborations from this year have been particularly exciting or impactful?

Our first project of 2025 was a partnership with Google aimed at closing the AI adoption gap between men and women. Our Think Stylist insight team explored women’s AI barriers as part of a wider research study, which then drove a 360-campaign culminating in a sponsored print issue. 

2025 was also the year we took our Stylist Trek franchise to new heights.  These events bring together hundreds of like-minded women for half-marathon distance countryside hikes – and the camaraderie on route and new connections made are amazing to see.  Working with our headline partner Intrepid Travel, we created a new Lake District Trek which saw 100 participants canoe, hike and abseil around Lake Windermere, the feedback has been incredible and it is already in the diary for next year. 

Other highlights include the TU fashion catwalk at Stylist Live, our partnership with the Women’s Super League which helped drive record attendances to their ‘big weekend’ of games in March, a vodcast series with Sky and Next Kids sponsorship of the launch issue of The Village by Stylist

As you plan for the year ahead, what priorities or opportunities are at the top of your agenda?

We’re continuing to expand our Think Stylist insight offering to help brands gain more momentum with UK women. The more we can get under the skin of our partner’s objectives and challenges, the more difference we get to make as a brand.  From an editorial perspective, aside from our mainstay verticals – fashion, beauty, wellbeing, careers – we will be focussed on growing The Village by Stylist and looking at how we can work in exciting new ways to create cut through with partners.

We expanded our digital offering this year to include augmented reality display, immersive advertorials and interactive polls, and we’re committed to further digital innovation in the year ahead.  Continued growth of our VIP membership is another priority – paid membership has doubled over the past 12 months as we continue to build out our offering of exclusive content, offers, events and experiences. Finally, investment in audio and video content, particularly within the brilliant Stylist app is a major focus for 2026.

And on a more personal note, what are you most looking forward to during the festive season?

A break and some quality time with the family – we like to go away in December to escape all of the pre-Christmas madness so I’m very much looking forward to a bit of winter sun and relaxation.