Its new perfect-bound glossy, Porter, officially launched last week and is targeted at an international audience of high-end shoppers.
The move is unusual. Unlike other etailers such as ASOS, which use dedicated customer magazines as a sales tool, Porter magazine will also be available on newsstands.
Porter will be published six times a year, with a circulation of around 400,000. It is available in 60 countries, with 6,000 UK stockists and 10,000 sales outlets in the US already in place.
Wyndeham Group has printed four versions of the new 275x228mm magazine at its Roche facility, with prices in sterling, euros and dollars, along with a separate subscriber version. London’s TAG handled the pre-press.
The 280pp launch issue has an 8pp gatefold cover, printed on 250gsm gloss stock with UV coating, and text pages on 80gsm Stora Enso Novapress.
Wyndeham chief executive Paul Utting said the firm was delighted to be involved with the high-profile publishing project, which comes on the back of a number of recent contract wins and renewals for the group.
“It confirms our position as the printer of the highest-quality magazines in the UK,” he said.
A separate print run has taken place in the US, where the etailer used New York Fashion Week as a launchpad for the title.
At the London launch, Net-a-Porter founder and executive chairman Natalie Massenet stated: "We are also a media group. And we love print."
In a video interview with the Business of Fashion website about the new venture, she described it as the inception of a new publishing model: “We’re doing today what I wish we could have done in 2000 when Net-a-Porter went live. I would have started with a print magazine if I’d had the team and the cashflow at the time to do it.
“There is a lot of buzz about omni-channel. This is an omni-media play,” added Massenet, who also said the printed magazine would deliver longevity for the brand. “This will be on shelves and coffee tables for a long time,” she added.
The Net-a-Porter website attracts between six-to-eight million visitors a month, and its client base includes a large number of high net worth consumers. Alongside subs and newsstand sales, Net-a-Porter’s top VIP customers will receive a complimentary copy of Porter.
The new magazine, described as ‘shoppable’, is supported by an app.
