Betting on ever-increasing integration between retail and editorial, Condé Nast is investing $20 million in Farfetch, a website that brings online consumers together with luxury brands.
Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and CEO of Condé Nast International, tells The New York Times that the investment is being made as a acknowledgement of the rapidly changing digital world.
“What’s happened is that print and retailing were completely different experiences for the reader and the consumers,” says Newhouse. Now, however, commerce and print are being brought closer together for the benefit of reader, retailer and publisher.
There has been a world-wide convergence of content, commerce and the desire to buy what is read about, says James Bilefield, president of Condé Nast International.
It will be interesting to see which powerhouse media conglomerates follow suit.
