Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines will stop publishing in Russia

Hearst Magazine, a division of the American media group Hearst, is ending its partnership with Russian publishers of glossy magazines Shkulev Media and Independent Media. This follows from a message from the industry resource WWD, citing Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella.

Chiricella explained her decision by "an escalation of the humanitarian crisis." At the same time, the company is ready to “provide resources” to employees of Russian offices who may suffer as a result of such a decision.

Hearst, as noted by the publication, will "immediately" transfer its shares to Russian partners. At the same time, in the case of Independent Media, we are also talking about revoking licenses for brands owned by the American group. RBC asked the press service of Hearst for a comment.

What Shkulev Media Holding and Independent Media publish

Shkulev Media Holding together with Hearst published Elle magazine in Russia. The audience of one of its issues, according to the latest available Mediascope data for May-October 2021, was 421.4 thousand residents of large cities over 16 years old.

In addition to Elle, the holding also publishes under license the magazines Maxim, Marie Claire, Psychologies, Departure, its own TV guide Antenna-Telesem and the Vokrug Sveta magazine, and manages a network of city portals (including the St. Petersburg Fontanka). The total circulation of magazines, according to the company itself, is about 7 million copies.

The revenue of LLC Kherst Shkulev Publishing, the founder of the magazines, in 2020 according to RAS amounted to 2 billion rubles, profit from core activities - almost 67 million rubles, net profit - 26 million rubles. No data for 2021 yet

Independent Media licensed Hearst to publish Russian versions of the magazines Cosmopolitan (the audience of one issue in May-October 2021 is 1.9 million people), Domashniy Ochag (800.9 thousand), Popular Mechanics (837.7 thousand). ), Men's Health (397.2 thousand), Esquire (audience of one issue - 240.3 thousand people) and Harper's Bazaar (225.6 thousand). In addition, the holding also publishes Grazia and Robb Report magazines.

Revenue of Independent Media, as follows from the reporting of Hearst Independent Media Publishing BV, the founder of Fashion Press LLC, which monetizes Independent Media magazines, in 2020 amounted to 1 billion rubles, operating profit - 16.1 million rubles, and net profit - 38.3 million rubles.