#Hearst selling Marie Claire to London-based Future Media

Hearst Magazines is bidding farewell to one of its edgiest women’s titles.

The company behind Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar is selling the US publishing rights of Marie Claire to London-based Future Media, which already publishes the fashion and beauty magazine in London.

Hearst Magazines president Debi Chirichella broke the news staffers on Tuesday.

“This morning, it will be announced that we have completed a transaction with Future,” Chirichella wrote in a memo, a copy of which was obtained by Media Ink. “Our Marie Claire US colleagues were notified of our plan this morning and we will do everything we can to ensure that the transition to new ownership is a positive one.”

Hearst has been operating Marie Claire in the US for 27 years as a joint-venture with the founding company, Paris-based Marie Claire Album, which is also selling to Future Media. The magazine was first published in France in 1937, but eventually became known for its edgy articles about women’s issues, including female genital mutilation.

“As the industry continues to evolve, the partners believe that the brand would be better served by a single owner, rather than the current 50/50 joint venture structure,” Chirichella wrote.

A Future spokesperson said Marie Claire’s current editor-in-chief Sally Holmes is expected to stay in place and that there could be cuts to the print frequency. 

“Sally in particular is absolutely key to driving the business forward and together we will build on her success as EIC,” the spokesperson said. “We’re thrilled to be working with someone of her caliber.”

The spokesperson also said there will be some version in print, but could not commit to how often it would appear.

“Print absolutely has a role in Marie Claire,” the spokesperson said. “The question we are looking to answer is around frequency. Following our acquisition of this iconic brand, we’re going to take some time to really understand how best we can reflect the needs of our existing and potential audiences. We envisage a strong focus on our digital platforms as we expand the brand into new and exciting territories.”

The news follows a week of big changes at Hearst, which up until now had managed to ride out the pandemic without major upheavals to its workforce.

Last week Heart’s UK unit, National Magazine Company, announced plans to cut 20 percent of its workforce and close the British edition of Town & Country as the pandemic continues to squeeze the magazine business.

The cuts will result in a staff reduction of about 160 people, or about one-fifth of the current total UK staff of 800.

In breaking the news to staffers Thursday, National Magazine Company CEO James Wildman said the UK unit will now seek to work more closely with Hearst’s US operations in charge of magazine like includes Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper’s Barzaar.

“The pandemic has accelerated trends that were already changing media consumption habits and our customers’ needs,” Wildman said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Media Ink. “To match these shifting consumer and advertiser demands, we must continue to transform our company and our proposed changes will mean around 20 percent of our people being involved in the consultation process through the closure and pooling of roles. Sadly, this will mean some valued colleagues leaving the business.”

The British edition of Town & Country, which was only introduced in the UK in 2014, will shutter entirely while other titles will see their frequencies reduced, Wildman said.

The UK cuts follow a voluntary buyout program offered in the US to the sales and marketing teams of Hearst Magazines. The planned cuts, announced by Chirichella earlier this month, will cover 600 of its 2,200 staffers.

Unlike in Britain, the US has not made plans to cut editorial — yet. Chirichella did warn, however, that if the company doesn’t get enough volunteers for its enhanced severance packages that involuntary layoffs could follow within weeks.

The news is more bleak in Britain.

“As Debi said in her earlier note, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, we can point to important commercial achievements including the growth of our print subscriptions, digital advertising revenues and e-commerce alongside many brilliant editorial accomplishments across all our brands,” Wildman said in his memo.

Hearst will keep the two companies as separate entities even as it cuts editorial staffers in Britain and forges deeper ties between its US parent brands.

“For Editorial specifically and as part of a more connected international content strategy, many of our brand teams will work more closely with our colleagues in the United States,” Wildman noted. “This means stronger collaboration and support, while continuing to delight our millions of readers by remaining culturally relevant and distinctly British. This approach will likely involve headcount reductions across some of our Editorial teams, and we also propose ceasing publication of Town & Country, selling NetDoctor, and reducing the frequency of some of our print titles.”

In addition to publishing British versions of Hearst’s American brands, the National Magazine Company also has home grown titles such as Prima and Red that are only available in Britain.

Even before the pandemic hit, the National Magazine company was running a pre-tax loss, according to filings at Companies House, the British financial clearing house. Pre-tax losses in 2019 were £2m, down slightly from £6m the year before. Revenues dropped 3.6% to £140.6 million from £146 million. Operating profit in the year, however tripled to £2.2 million from £0.7 million. The company has not released its 2020 report but Wildman warned back in September that the company was expecting operational losses for the year that would eat into a “large portion” of its cash reserves.