Research Task Two: Who are Condé Nast?

 

Who are Condé Nast?

Condé Nast is a mass media corporation founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast who own a plethora of different magazine titles, and who own print, digital, and video media sources as well as multiple social media accounts. Whilst they started with fashion magazines, they've branched out in the 116 years they've been around and now cater to a wider variety of audiences. They both bought and created multiple magazine titles which has allowed them to stay afloat in society when the desire for physical magazines has decreased significantly in the past 20 years.

Condé Montrose Nast

The History of Condé Nast

Condé Nast was founded 1909 when the founder, of which the company is named after, bought Vogue, a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine. In 1916, they became the first company to publish international editions with British Vogue as, during WWI, there were heavy overseas restrictions and paper shortages in United States so they began to publish directly in the UK with British spellings of words and a heavier focus on the fashion portion. Nast wanted to focus on their elite readers, fostering haute culture - the creation of high-end fashion - in their magazines. They also pioneered the "bleed" printing process in 1924, a method of printing where at least 3mm of print is made around the border of the magazine so when it is cut down to size, all of the page is taken up by images and text and no white remains.

In 1959, Samuel Irving Newhouse bought Condé Nast for $5 million (almost $55 million today due to inflation) and merged it with Advance Publications, a privately owned company. His son, Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr, was named chairman of Condé Nast in 1975. Newhouse Jr would hold the title of chairman up until July 2010 when Roger Sauerberg became president. Over the years, they acquired many brands and names though currently, they show 23 main brands on their official website including "them", "Vogue", and "Wired".

The Brands Owned Now or Previously by Condé Nast

1909 - Vogue
1913 - Vanity Fair
1915 - House & Garden
1916 - British Vogue
1920 - Vogue Paris
1939 - Glamour
1979 - Self
1979 - GQ
1982 - Interiors (later republished as World of Interiors)
1982 - Tatler
1985 - The New Yorker
1987 - Condé Nast Traveller
1991 - Allure
1993 - Bon Appétit
1993 - Architectural Digest
1995 - Epicurious.com
1998 - Wired
2003 - Teen Vogue
2007 - Vogue India

2008 - Ars Technia

2011 - Condé Nast Entertainment
2015 - Pitchfork Media Inc.

2017 - them

2019 - Vogue Business

Whilst many of the magazines listed are fashion based, there are other, such as "Vogue Business" and "Architectural Digest" that focus[ed] on other subjects, meaning Condé Nast could reach out to a variety of audiences and guarantee a higher profit for their company. In 2023, they made $8.3 million however, that was a substantial decrease from their earnings the year prior at $23.3 million.

The magazine industry has been dropping in popularity ever since the late 00s so, even though Condé Nast has been doing relatively well in comparison to other magazine companies, as a multimedia corporation, they've began to fall.