Condé Nast aims to turn Style.com into e-commerce heavyweight 

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Published
Apr 29, 2015

Condé Nast has finally unveiled its plan of attack. The international media group, which created an e-commerce division in 2014, has finally developed a strategy for its new division: the major launch of an e-commerce site this fall. Instead of building the site from the ground up, it will be based instead on an existing brand: Style.com, hitherto one of the group’s fashion news sites.

The launch of the new Style.com will take place in fall, but the site will initially be rolled out exclusively in the UK, before being brought to the United States in a second phase. The company hasn’t yet commented on any potential development in other markets. Style.com is currently chaired by Franck Zayan, who formerly worked for les Galeries Lafayette, and who was named president of Condé Nast’s e-commerce division a year and a half ago. 

Condé Nast wants to go big, bringing together 100 to 200 brands on the site. Although it will mainly be oriented toward fashion, it will also include beauty, travel and new technologies. The group’s significant ambitions stem from its belief  that there is great degree of potential for a commercial site that is directly connected to its print and online publications (Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ to name a few). 

"The audience of our magazines and Web sites around the globe amouts to more than 300 million, a huge base of support with whom we already have an active relationship. [...] Our potential customer base is far higher than any fashion ecommerce business," said Jonathan Newhouse, CEO of Condé Nast International. 

The company is therefore developing multiple ways of accessing the future site, including orders through its various media sites, as well as through its apps, making it possible to scan products in print magazines in order to find them on Style.com.