Condé Nast Might Have It's Sights On More Than Just Savings

Filed Under: Anna Wintour Business Blitz Vogue

As we've mentioned a few times now, Condé Nast has been working hard to cut their budget by 25% across the board at the advice of the McKinsey consultants who observed the publishing operation all summer. As a result, the publishing house has folded four of their magazines, Cookie, Elegant Bride, Modern Bride, and Gourmet, and editors have been scrambling to rework their budgets.

At first, we thought they were just pinching pennies to balance out the disparity between money spent and money coming in from advertisers, which has dwindled considerably in the recession. Now, however, rumors abound that Condé might have a different agenda for the money saved.

Earlier this summer, the fashion mag industry was abuzz with whispers that publishing house Hatchette was going to sell ELLE Magazine, a move that would prove profitable and wise for the smaller publisher. Though those rumors were denied, now there is speculation that perhaps Condé is trying to get in on the action. In a company-wide memo this past Monday, Condé Nast CEO Charles Townsend said, ""The [McKinsey] review has led us to a number of decisions designed to navigate the company through the economic downturn and to position us to take advantage of coming opportunities."

If the rumors are true, this could be an interesting move for Condé - Elle has enjoyed the spotlight as of late, with integral roles in both Project Runway (until recently) and The City. That said, as of this summer, Elle's ad sales had dropped 19.9%. Is Condé really willing to take on another struggling publication?

Only time will tell!

Posted: October 11, 2009 at 10:00 am