NEW YORK — Charles H. Townsend, president and chief executive officer of Condé Nast here, which publishes such leading titles as Vogue, Glamour, Bon Appétit and Traveler, made a case for the role of retailers in growing print magazine single-copy sales even as the publisher develops digitized versions of some of its titles for iPad users.
Townsend said in a column that appeared this week in the International Periodical Distributors Association’s Newsstand Forum, a monthly e-newsletter, it is working on a plan to introduce new quality print products into the marketplace and is open to new ideas to drive retailer sales growth in 2010.
“As a company, we continue to invest heavily in prime checkout display spaces across retail formats and in cover research to ensure that our magazines have the highest and broadest possible appeal to retail customers,” he stated.
He admitted traditional magazines are not reaching some. Condé Nast, therefore, also is committed to developing digitized content across an array of devices by the middle of 2010. “We expect to reach mostly new consumers with this digitized content, consumers who have historically not selected magazines as their vehicle of choice for information and entertainment services.”
Townsend maintained that digitized versions of magazines will not only bring in new consumers but extend the brands and complement print magazines.
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