That didn’t take long.
No sooner had David Zinczenko linked up with American Media Inc. as consulting editorial director than he quickly brought his former compadres from Rodale on board.
At the same time, the current editor-in-chief of AMI-owned Men’s Fitness, Michael de Medeiros, is packing his bags.
The move by AMI CEO David Pecker leaves little doubt that Men’s Fitness is trying to close the gap with Men’s Health, the Rodale flagship that Zinczenko expanded during his nearly two decades at the company.
Steve Perrine, another Rodale refugee who was given the old heave- ho by CEO Maria Rodale, is joining the AMI operation as well.
Perrine could also figure into the Pecker plan to try to launch a book division. At Rodale, Perrine signed authors including Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, the former star of the New York Knicks, and nutrition expert Marion Nestle.
Until November, Perrine was the general manager of Rodale Books and had served as the launch editor of Best Life, which shut down and then came back for one issue last year.
Perrine and Joe Heroun — who created the ASME-winning redesign of Women’s Health, Rodale’s sister publication — are joining AMI as high-priced consultants.
During the Zinczenko years, Rodale sued AMI, claiming AMI was deliberately creating confusion in the marketplace between the two men’s mags. The suit was settled out of court, with AMI agreeing to change the look of Men’s Fitness.
Since then, Men’s Health has enjoyed a healthy lead. Total circulation rose 1.4 percent to 1.9 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, although the newsstand portion fell 7.4 percent to 358,822 copies, according to the last report from the Alliance of Audited Media.
Over the same period, Men’s Fitness under Medeiros saw a 29 percent surge in newsstand sales to 92,822 copies, while total circulation was flat at 576,626.
“The days of chasing Men’s Health are over, as Men’s Fitness actively embraces a younger, cooler audience and also pursues a more upscale advertiser,” said Zinczenko, who will handle the search for a new editor-in-chief.
Spending spree
It appears Advance Publications has spent more than $100 million of the $500 million fund it set up with proceeds from the sale of its stock in the Discovery Channel.
One beneficiary of Condé and Advance’s largess is Rent the Runway, an e-commerce business started by Jennifer Hyman in 2009, which has grown to 200 employees.
Advance was joined by American Express and Novel TMT in this round of funding, which raised $24.4 million.
Rent the Runway’s existing investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The company has raised a total of $55.4 million over three years.
Hyman, the CEO and co-founder, said the company is not profitable right now. “We’re focusing on growth,” she said, adding that the new funding will be used to hire executives and engineering talent. At the moment, a search is on for a chief operating officer.
“Ultimately, we think they will be real good consumers of luxury goods,” said Condé Nast President Bob Sauerberg, referring to Rent the Runway’s customers.
The company, which has 3.5 million users, has been adding about 100,000 per month by offering 170 top designers, along with 35,000 of the season’s hottest dresses and more than 7,000 accessories. Consumers can rent outfits — such as for a wedding or a big night out — for 10 percent of the retail cost.
Calling all Kellys
Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly and his wife Paqui will be the guests of honor at the ninth annual Kelly Gang charity fundraiser starting at 6:30 tonight at Michael’s Restaurant. (Full disclosure: Media Ink’s Keith Kelly is a member of the Kelly Gang.)
In between appearances on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Fox’s “Good Day New York” and New York 1’s “Inside City Hall,” Kelly is hoping to tour the battered areas of Breezy Point, known as the Irish Riviera, which was among the hardest hit when Superstorm Sandy flooded the Rockaway Peninsula and more than 100 homes burned to the ground.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will present the official Kelly Gang plaque to Brian Kelly and Paqui, a two-time survivor of breast cancer, for the charity they co-founded. The Kelly Cares Foundation helps various community, health and education initiatives.
Kelly Gang President Ed Kelly, whose day job is CEO of American Express Publishing, said, “We approached Brian Kelly’s charity, Kelly Cares, last year but couldn’t coordinate calendars. The timing is even better this year on the coattails of Notre Dame’s ride to the college football national championship game.”
Tickets are $150; a limited number will be available at the door. E-mail stephanie.mcnamara@aexp.com for reservations.