News

May 25, 2010
COMPANY NEWS FROM ALAIN LEMARCHAND - PRESIDENT & CEO, HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIA U.S.

Table of Contents

Hello everyone, 

I am happy to announce that ELLE DECOR’s latest issue is the largest June edition in the magazine’s 21-year history. According to numbers published by Media Industry Newsletter, the 200-page June issue posted a 91.28% increase in ad pages vs. the June 2009 issue. Year-to-date, the title has carried 475.93 ad pages, up 15.49% vs. 2009; within the shelter category, ELLE DECOR now ranks #1 for ad pages and #1 for rate of growth over 2009.  Congratulations to VP, Publisher Barbara Friedmann and her outstanding team for this impressive accomplishment.

“A year ago, I couldn't have foreseen this,” said Barbara, “But we have a fantastic sales staff and an outstanding editorial product, thanks to editor in chief Margaret Russell and her team. I'm incredibly proud of our group, and grateful that the worst of the recession seems to be behind us. Not only is the ELLE DECOR brand vibrant, its stature is growing while other titles struggle. We’ve just re-branded our website under elledecor.com, and are busy working on the next generation of our digital edition. Demand for ELLE DECOR across all platforms is building as fast as we can keep up with it.”

Filipacchi Publishing opens eCommerce store

VP, Publisher Dorothee Walliser has announced the opening of Filipacchi Publishing’s new eCommerce store.  http://store.hfmbooks.com/store/hfmbooks/DisplayHomePage

“Our eCommerce book sales are beginning to take off,” said Dorothee. “Apple is thrilled, and they want to do more together since they see that our books are perfect for the iPad format.”

“The site has been completely re-designed, with additional enhanced features like cross-selling and recommendations have been added,” continued Dorothee. “I want to thank General Manager Gabrielle Siganoc for spearheading the move to Digital River, Hachette Digital Creative Director James Hickey and his team for their great sense of design and functionality and our Marketing Manager Barbara Slavin who dedicated so much of her time to this project.”

Check out the “Create Your Own Cookbook” area in the eCommerce store and see how you can easily create and customize your own cookbooks. Click here

Road & Track signs exclusive partnership with Spring Mountain for high performance driving and racing schools

Road & Track and Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, a 220-acre motorsports facility, http://www.RaceSpringMountain.com, have created an exclusive partnership to bring a variety of driving and racing events to life - including new car road tests, high performance driving and racing schools, fantasy camps with driving competitions and autocross challenges, motor press events, and new vehicle showcases.  These exciting motorsports events will be held at the cutting-edge racing facility that is less than one hour north of the Las Vegas strip in Pahrump, Nevada.

"The staff at Road & Track and Spring Mountain have plenty in common when it comes to our obsession with anything automotive," said Matt DeLorenzo, Editor-in-Chief of Road & Track.  "Not only do we thrive on challenging courses that push the boundaries of today's new cars, we thrive on motorsport events that bring people of all ages and backgrounds together – to drive better, to compete together and to experience 'thrills behind the wheel.'  The track at Spring Mountain is the perfect venue."

In addition to on-site driving and racing events, Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch will be part of various Road & Track editorial features, such as new car road tests, new car showcases, videos, blog articles and radio broadcasts.  Spring Mountain will also be home to Road & Track corporate events, including sales meetings and convention activities.

Road & Track will be launching its first program with Spring Mountain on June 4. We’ll be introducing the Road & Track Driving Experience, which will provide an inside look at how Road & Track editors test and evaluate vehicles. Participants will then be able to put their new skills to use on the track, driving a mix of high performance cars.

“As a brand extension, the Spring Mountain program is a wonderful opportunity to bring Road & Track to consumers by showcasing what we do best and bringing enthusiasts ‘under the tent’, ”   said Zvia Herrmann, VP Brand Development. “From a business standpoint we earn royalties on Spring Mountain sales, and we will offer Spring Mountain to clients for reader events, driving programs and sponsorship opportunities.”

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ELLE DECOR’s strengthening of its #1 position in its print category, the successful expansion of the online sales efforts for our book division Filipacchi Publishing and the creative strategic partnership between Road & Track and Stone Mountain Motorsports Ranch are three excellent examples that demonstrate the power of HFM U.S.’s brand assets. 

I am proud of the quality of each of these endeavors and am appreciative of the ingenuity and commitment that has gone into making them successful.  Thank you to everyone on these dedicated teams. 

Alain Lemarchand