Publishers Become Retailers In The Market For Survival

Today’s publishers are no longer just producers of newspapers and magazines. Faced with dwindling circulation and subscriptions and combined with insufficient revenues from online advertising, many publishers have added other strings to their bows – from membership clubs to global events – in order to survive. One area many are investing in is e-commerce. Several years in the making, Condé Nast has just launched Style.com, an e-commerce business that’s arguably one of its most significant ventures. Glossy-looking and featuring high-end designer products such as a Chloe zip-front leather jumpsuit and a Paul Smith bomber jacket, Condé Nast has reportedly pumped £75m into the e-tail business and hired fashion heavyweight such as former Browns buying director Yasmin Sewell as fashion director and Galeries Lafayette former head of internet and e-commerce Franck Zayan as president. Read more at The Guardian.