Kim and Kanye's controversial Vogue cover misses the mark

The April 2014 issue of Vogue featuring rapper Kanye West and TV personality Kim Kadashian. Photo / Annie Leibovitz, AP

Kimye's controversial US Vogue cover failed to meet sales expectations, as new figures suggest the issue in question may have sold up to 250,000 copies fewer than expected.

Rapper Kanye West appears on the April 2014 cover with his arms around fiance and reality star Kim Kardashian, shot by iconic fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Editor Anna Wintour's controversial decision came hand-in-hand with hopes to push circulation up to between 400,000 and 500,000 for the month.

In April, it was expected that the cover would help break sales records by outselling previous Vogue issues from 2013 starring Beyoncé and Michelle Obama, which sold 355,000 and 269,000 copies respectively. But now that the issue is officially no longer on sale, new information from Mag Net Data, who use scan data from wholesalers that cover about 98 per cent of the market, reveals the final figures for the issue will come in at around 250,000 mark.

"The trends for Kim K. are definitely better than the prior month with Rihanna, to the tune of 20 per cent better," Josh Gary, vice president at Mag Net Data, told New York Post.

- Indpendent