Cargo magazine shipping out

Cargo magazine, a shopping guide for men that was launched by Conde Nast Publications Inc. with much fanfare two years ago, is shutting down with its May issue, the publisher announced.

Cargo, which was unveiled on newsstands in March 2004 and marked the biggest launch ever for a men’s magazine based on the number of ad pages, hoped to realize the success enjoyed by Conde Nast’s women’s fashion counterpart, Lucky magazine, and the latest, Domino, a guide for the home.

But Cargo’s closing, which follows the demise of two other men’s shopping magazines -- Vitals from Fairchild Publications Inc. and Sync, a gadget guide from Ziff Davis Media Inc. -- underscores that men probably aren’t looking to a magazine for help in shopping.