• by Erik Sass , June 1, 2012

GQ is expanding its presence in the branded e-commerce space, with Friday’s announcement of a partnership with Nordstrom to create an online store called “GQ Selects,” which will be hosted at NordstromMen.com. The partnership will last six months, beginning in July.

GQ Selects will feature men’s products picked from the pages of the magazine by GQ editors. In addition to appearing in the Nordstrom online store, the selected items will be flagged in the magazine and compiled on GQ.com. The curated online store will also be promoted through social channels and in-store special events throughout fall 2012. Of course, Nordstrom is also a regular advertiser in the pages of GQ, suggesting a special ad sales agreement may also be involved.

The Nordstrom partnership expands on GQ’s previous e-commerce efforts, including a partnership with the Gilt Groupe, which resulted in a sale on the Park and Bond site featuring items selected by GQ editors.

Other big magazines have dabbled in e-commerce in recent years. Last August, Departures, the high-end lifestyle magazine from American Express Publishing, revealed its “eExclusives” e-commerce feature, which lets readers buy products from big retail and brand advertisers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Akris and Brunello Cucinelli.

Also last year, Hearst began offering group buying deals on the Car and Driver and Road & Track Web sites through a partnership with Group Commerce. Back in March 2011, Meredith Corp. unveiled a social commerce network, also produced in partnership with Group Commerce, on Parents.com.

In June 2010, Time Inc. bought StyleFeeder, which delivers personalized shopping recommendations based on preference mapping, bringing e-commerce to the Web sites of magazines like InStyle and People.  Conde Nast's Lucky unveiled a partnership with ThisNext.com, which aggregates fashion and other products in an interactive, social setting, where readers can comment on and talk about products. Users can create personalized shopping guides and share recommendations and reviews with friends.