FIPP member profile: Condé Nast
Condé Nast continues to innovate, and has launched a variety of brand extensions to satisfy its audiences, including the Condé Nast College of Fashion
experience and the connection with the consumer for the advertiser. Our brands bring value to the products that advertise with us, in whatever form. Advertising a new line of shoes in Vogue says something to potential customers about the shoe brand, adding credibility, prestige and value.
The investment in time and money to launch these innovations must be immense? Condé Nast International has an ongoing investment programme. We identify new ventures, primarily in the digital space. An internal committee assesses possible opportunities, and there are currently more than 50 projects in the pipeline under study. Another 100 have been studied and rejected to date. Condé Nast International has already invested in four businesses; Farfetch, Vestiaire Collective, Renesim and Monoqui. We’ve also just launched a new division dedicated to ecommerce, which is based in London. Franck Zayan, who was previously responsible for ecommerce activities at the Galeries Lafayette department stores group in France, has been appointed president. The scope of our brands and the revolution in technology is bringing about new opportunities in this space. We are exploring and developing ideas which can serve our readers, users, advertising clients and business partners.
What other strategies do you have for growth and expansion? We are always looking at a number of strategies, but as a private company we don’t like to discuss details in advance. The philosophy of the company is to try new ideas, and all the markets have a
take the brand into new markets where there is strong interest in Italian cooking, such as Asia. Geographic expansion is a key strategy
for Condé Nast International. We’ve launched into three new markets in the last year (Vogue in Ukraine and Thailand, and Condé Nast Traveller in the Middle East), and there are more areas we plan to develop. New brands remain a possibility, and we
will make an effort to build underdeveloped brands to maximise their potentials.
UK celebrity Alexa Chung (pictured) at the Vogue Festival 2013, another brand extension
commitment to innovate: not only new lines of business, but new markets and new brands. For example, recently Condé Nast Italy acquired La Cucina Italiana, the Italian cooking magazine. La Cucina Italiana, available in print and online, has four foreign editions (in Germany, the Czech Republic, Turkey and the Netherlands), as well as a highly regarded cookery school in Milan. We are learning about our new brand and taking steps to improve the business. Expansion may
} CONDÉ NAST: A BRIEF HISTORY
The company is named aſter its founder, the late Condé Nast. Born in 1873 in New York, USA, he was a successful magazine advertising executive. In 1909 he established himself as a publisher by purchasing Vogue, an American magazine which had been in existence since 1892. He changed it from a 24-page weekly to a monthly publication and it became the flagship of the company. In 1913 Condé Nast launched Vanity Fair in the US and in 1915 the company acquired House and Garden. The company started Glamour in 1939 and acquired Brides in 1956.
In 1959, a controlling interest in the parent company of Condé Nast was acquired by the late Samuel I.
fipp.com
Newhouse, an American proprietor of newspapers, radio and television stations. Newhouse’s company – Advance Publications – was then, and remains today, privately owned by the Newhouse family. By 1967, Newhouse had become the sole proprietor of the Condé Nast organisation. He died in 1979. His son, S.I. Newhouse Jr, chairman of Condé Nast Publications, became chairman of the company in the 1970s and guided its dynamic growth in the following years; he remains chairman today.
Condé Nast launched British Vogue in 1916 during World War I, aſter German U-boats prevented the importation of the American magazine, becoming
the first market to be served by what is today known as Condé Nast International. Condé Nast launched Vogue Paris in 1920. Vogue Australia launched in Australia in 1959, Condé Nast’s oldest continuing licence agreement. Condé Nast International started publishing in Italy in 1964 with the launch of Vogue Italia, which celebrates its 50th
anniversary this year.
Condé Nast debuted the Brazilian market in 1975 with a licensed edition of Vogue (it is a joint venture today). German Vogue appeared in 1979, and Spanish Vogue in 1988. In all of these markets, the launch of Vogue was followed by the publication of additional titles, usually devoted to fashion and home decoration.
Where do you see the real international growth opportunities? Allure started in 1991 in the US, and is a highly respected and profitable brand. Condé Nast International launched the Korean edition in 2003 and Russian Allure in 2012. Is this a brand that has opportunity to grow? I think so. Wired is another brand with potential to expand internationally. We’ve launched four editions since 2009 – in Britain, Italy, Japan and Germany. Three hundred years after the launch of
British Tatler, we launched a foreign language edition, Russia, in 2009. It is a huge success, which suggests that it might make sense to expand the brand into additional markets.”
The philosophy of the company is to try new ideas, and all the markets have a committment to innovate
Are you concerned about the global economic climate? There’s always some concern. The last five years has had ups and downs, with difficulties for a lot of the worlds’ economies, particularly Western Europe, which is the historic core of our business. The US has also experienced difficulties. The economic signs for 2014 look much more positive than negative. The US,
» issue 81_2014 | Magazine World |41
The Industry Morgan O’Donovan
Dvora
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64