Shop managers can now benefit from new guidance on how to display lads’ mags discreetly.

A new guide from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) advises retailers on the considerations they should make when presenting men’s lifestyle magazines with cover imagery regarded as inappropriate for children.

“Parents should not feel uncomfortable shopping in their local store with their children,” said James Lowman, CEO of the ACS. “Retailers recognise this and there is a longstanding voluntary commitment in place to display ‘lads’ magazines in a way that reduces their visibility to children.”

The new guidance recommends locating lads’ mags away from areas considered to be in a child’s eye line; avoiding placement next to children’s magazines; and ensuring that all point-of-sale materials associated with the titles are treated in the same way as the magazine itself.

Smaller-sized stores are also advised to partly obscure the titles with other magazines to ensure potentially offensive images cannot be seen, or to use modesty boards to hide covers.

The guidance was published as part of a wider ACS commitment to deliver on the government’s challenge of reducing the exposure of children to sexualised imagery.

Children and families minister Edward Timpson said: “I am pleased to offer my support to this practical easy-to-follow guide for retailers on how to display ‘lads’ mags’ so that they are out of the sight of children. I hope that it will help retailers respond to the concerns of their customers and demonstrate that they can play their part in building the family-friendly society we all want to see.”