There has been so much restructuring going on at Condé Nast that it’s hard to keep up. Last year, the publisher announced plans to reform Lucky magazine, which has teamed with BeachMint to create The Lucky Group. It sold much of its Fairchild Fashion Group holdings to Penske Media Corporation, getting rid of industry institution WWD and more recently NowManifest, which it originally retained after selling the Fairchild properties. But the changes at Condé will not stop there and rumor has it that we may soon be saying goodbye to a beloved online destination – at least in the way we know it.
Style.com is getting a huge makeover and will serve as an e-commerce website while its editorial leg will be absorbed by American Vogue at voguerunway.com. Condé Nast has been keen to delve into the e-commerce market and is looking to Style.com as its opportunity to do so. The new Style.com site will carry luxury goods but will also include artwork, tech items, gifts and more. The hope is for the site to be an international luxury lifestyle shopping destination, which will launch in the U.K. this fall and expand into the U.S. at the beginning of 2016. Condé is also hoping to expand into Asia and other European countries as time goes on and is reportedly planning to invest $100 million in the venture, which will be headquartered in London.
The new Style.com is expected to be a competitor of other luxury destinations like Moda Operandi and Net-a-Porter. Condé Nast chairman and chief executive Jonathan Newhouse says Style.com seemed perfect for Condé to launch this new venture, thanks to its recognizable name.
It’s certainly the end of an era for Style.com, but it seems as if the website’s new makeover could prove to be a success for Condé Nast. After all, fashion people do love to shop.
[via Business of Fashion, WWD]
