Mag Bag: 'Harper's Bazaar,' 'Coastal Living' Open Online Shops

by Erik Sass, Sep 13, 2012, 2:48 PM

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Harper's Bazaar, Coastal Living Open Online Shops

More magazines are moving into e-commerce: Harper’s Bazaar and Coastal Living are both opening online shops that will take advantage of reader interest in products and brands featured in the magazines.

The new Harper’s Bazaar e-commerce platform centers on a Web site, ShopBazaar, with the motto “bringing the best of Bazaar’s pages into your closet.”  The Web site features a curated collection chosen by the editors of Harper’s Bazaar, with a large proportion drawn from a high-end product pool from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Designers mentioned on the home page’s rotating highlights include Gucci, Jil Sanders, Proenza Schouler, and Stella McCartney. ShopBazaar is currently invitation-only, but visitors can enter their emails to request invitations, and it will be open to the public in October, according to publisher Hearst Magazines.

Also this week, Time Inc.’s Coastal Living opened an online shop in collaboration with Wayfair.com, a Web site that sells home furnishings. The new boutique, Coastal Living at Wayfair, features a selection of luxury products from the pages of the magazine chosen by the editors. The look of the online shop is coordinated with the magazine Web site for a seamless user experience.

Other magazines that have launched curated e-commerce platforms include House Beautiful, which has an agreement with HSN; Lucky, which operates its own online retail operation at MyLuckyMag.com; and GQ, which partnered with Nordstrom to create an online store called “GQ Selects,” hosted at NordstromMen.com. (The store is currently time-limited and scheduled to last for six months.)

Cosmo Launches Fashion Collection with JCPenney

JCPenney is expanding its commercial collaboration with magazines with a new Cosmopolitan-branded fashion line, including lingerie, sleepwear, handbags and footwear. The Cosmopolitan Collection, which aims to translate Cosmo’s “fun, fearless female” sensibility into sensibly priced fashion, is available at over 600 stores nationwide, as well as on jcp.com. This is the the first time Cosmo has designed and produced merchandise in these fashion categories; its editorial team collaborated with the JCPenney merchant and design teams throughout the creative process.

Earlier this year JCPenney struck a deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to sell branded bedding, cookware and tableware; however, the partnership hit a rough patch when New York State Supreme Court judge Jeffrey K. Oing granted a preliminary injunction ordering MSLO to pause its work with JCPenney at the request of Macy’s, MSLO’s earlier partner, which claimed that the JCPenney deal violates the terms of Macy’s own deal with MSLO.

MSLO Strikes Video Deals

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has struck a series of deals with online video platforms for distribution and content management optimization. MSLO reached nonexclusive distribution partnerships with Hulu and the AOL On Network, and also struck a video content management and optimization deal with Fullscreen.

The deals mark a distinct strategy shift within MSLO, which in the past had always sought television distribution deals. However, the company's most recent deal with Hallmark TV expired in May 2012 and was not renewed. The shift to digital video is being led by Lisa Gersh, who assumed the role of CEO in July.

Men’s Health, Women’s Health Help Readers “Get More”

Rodale’s Men’s Health and Women’s Health are launching new Facebook apps called “Get More,” which allow readers to consume content on Facebook without having to navigate away from the social network. Users simply opt-in to get the newest content from both magazines every day. Once enabled, readers can choose what’s relevant to them and what they’re interested in. The apps -- available here for Men’s Health, and here for Women’s Health -- feature extra content including bonus workouts, interactive quizzes, weekend workout challenges and exclusive videos.

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