On Feb. 14, the online luxury retailer Net-A-Porter launched Porter, a print publication that “talk[s] to women about fashion and beauty in a way that actually help[s] her make chic, personal choices, rather than just endlessly dictating trends straight from the catwalk,” Editor-in-Chief Lucy Yeomans said.
Net-A-Porter was founded in June 2000 by Natalie Massenet and has grown immensely to become one of the most influential online luxury retail stores today. Based in London, the online store sells products from over 350 designers including Chloe, Balenciaga, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Burberry Prorsum, Miu Miu, Stella McCartney and more. Today, Net-A-Porter ships to over 170 countries around the world and saw $755 million in sales last year.
In addition to its online retail presence, the company also publishes an online magazine, The Edit, a weekly digital editorial. However, Porter will be the company’s first transition from a digital publication to a print publication.
Yeomans held the title of editor-in-chief at Harper’s Bazaar before working for Net-A-Porter. According The Telegraph, Yeomans says her aim for the magazine is to “seduce, satisfy and serve the reader.” She sees the Porter woman as a “strong, stylish, intelligent and adventurous woman of the world.” The magazine is 282 pages of editorials, advertisements, trend guides and articles, and was distributed to over 60 countries around the world.
The new publication will rival long-standing publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. Porter is also targeted toward luxury consumers and readers, with a price of $9.99 compared with Vogue, which is competitively priced at $5.99.
Many people may ask why the online retail store decided to make the transition from a digital publication to a print magazine, whereas today, many print magazines are deciding to switch to a digital platform. According to The Wall Street Journal, Massenet describes how her target readership includes “women who love fashion magazines, but 60 percent of their purchases are online.” Because of this, the executive chairwoman of the Net-A-Porter Ltd. Group believed women would prefer to read the physical pages of fashion magazines while still shopping online.
The magazine’s first issue came out Valentine’s Day and featured the highly celebrated supermodel Gisele Bundchen on its cover. The headline on the cover read, “A Celebration of Incredible Women,” and the magazine itself includes spreads and articles featuring actresses Uma Thurman and Julianne Moore. In addition, the first issue of Porter features a number of fashion editorial spreads shot by world-renowned photographers, including Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
The first-ever issue of Porter is now sold on newsstands and can also be bought on the Net-A-Porter website.