• WWD, Thursday, November 8, 2007 11 AM

While the shuttering of House & Garden came as little surprise to those who follow Condé Nast, it has led to speculation about which book may be the next to fold. It's generally believed that a mature magazine at the company needs 1,000 to 1,200 ad pages a year, and "if you're not there, you're not a business," says Condé Nast chief Charles Townsend. "You're just shuffling money around."

There are a few other titles that don't meet that criteria, including Cookie, Elegant Bride, Men's Vogue, Golf for Women and Domino. But they may be exceptions, as Cookie, Men's Vogue and Domino are still in launch mode, while Golf for Women publishes six issues a year and Elegant Bride is a quarterly. Meanwhile, Cookie's pages are up 35 percent and Men's Vogue is up 73 percent.

Domino has been publishing 10 issues annually for the last two years and ad growth has been flat through the third quarter to a total of just 468, leaving insiders wondering about its future. Beth Brenner, Domino's vice president and publisher, owns up that the weak housing market has hurt, but says "I'm not worried about it at all because my revenue is so pronounced, and my rate base is so pronounced. We're the fastest-growing and one of the only growing properties in the category."

Domino intends to boost its rate base to 750,000 by next year from its current 625,000. Further out, Brenner sees growth from advertisers that may come from House & Garden and categories including automotive, beauty, retail and technology. "I think we would have passed House & Garden next year, in our third full year," she says .

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