The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The author has shared a YouTube video.
You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future.
LONDON, United Kingdom — When it was first announced that pioneering fashion e-tailer Net-a-Porter was planning to launch a glossy physical magazine called Porter, there was no shortage of sceptics. Though Net-a-Porter was one of the first luxury retailers to elegantly integrate content and commerce — shortening the path between inspiration and transaction, and allowing them to more effectively engage and expand their audience and generate additional revenue by selling advertising — many wondered why an Internet-based company would launch a print product at a time when competition for readers and advertising dollars remains fierce.
Indeed, some industry insiders suggested that, for Net-a-Porter — which, according to data from Companies House, was marginally unprofitable in 2013 with an operating loss of about £25 million (about $40 million), having invested heavily in both human talent and global expansion — launching a print publication was a distraction from its core e-commerce business.
BoF's Imran Amed sat down with Net-a-Porter Group founder and executive chairman Natalie Massenet, Porter editor-in-chief Lucy Yeomans, and publishing director Tess Macleod Smith to understand the thinking behind the launch and how Net-a-Porter's new print product — which will be published 6 times a year and costs $9.99 (four dollars more than American Vogue) — is doing things differently in the crowded and highly competitive market for women's fashion magazines.
From analysis of the global fashion and beauty industries to career and personal advice, BoF’s founder and CEO, Imran Amed, will be answering your questions on Sunday, February 18, 2024 during London Fashion Week.
The State of Fashion 2024 breaks down the 10 themes that will define the industry in the year ahead.
Imran Amed reviews the most important fashion stories of the year and shares his predictions on what this means for the industry in 2024.
After three days of inspiring talks, guests closed out BoF’s gathering for big thinkers with a black tie gala followed by an intimate performance from Rita Ora — guest starring Billy Porter.