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Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S (Lagardère Active) forms the Luxury Design Group with ELLE Decor and Metropolitan Home.

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Archives Lagardère Active

Paris, August 4, 2008

Deborah Burns Promoted to SVP/Luxury Design Group, In Addition to Publisher of Metropolitan Home

Barbara Friedmann Promoted to Publisher of ELLE DECOR and Named Managing Director, Luxury Design Group 

Jack Kliger, President and CEO, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S.), announced today that the company has formed the Luxury Design Group creating a unified leadership structure which brings together the strategic sales and marketing power of two equally affluent and distinct brands – ELLE DECOR and Metropolitan Home. Kliger promoted Deborah Burns, VP, Publisher, Metropolitan Home, to head the group as SVP, Luxury Design Group. She will also remain publisher of Metropolitan Home and will continue to report to EVP/COO Philippe Guelton. Barbara Friedmann, Acting VP/Publisher, ELLE DECOR, has been promoted to VP/Publisher of ELLE DÉCOR and has been named Managing Director, Luxury Design Group. She will report to Deborah Burns

In 2007 and the first half of 2008, both titles outperformed the competitive set as a whole while delivering more affluent, younger women than any single shelter title. Last year, ELLE DECOR had its most successful year ever with the highest ad pages and profits in the magazine’s 19-year history. June 2008 PIB reports the magazine up 2% over last year in a year when most titles are struggling to stay flat. In 2007 Metropolitan Home enjoyed one of its strongest years in its 26-year history with the first half of 2008 up another 4% over last year.

The Luxury Design Group will complement the global network of titles owned by HFM U.S.’s parent company Lagardère Active. This upscale network was enlarged in April 2008 with the acquisition of the Massin Group, the French leader in decoration magazines and publisher of its two flagship magazines Art & Décoration and Maison & Travaux.

Jack Kliger said: “In this case the sum is greater than the parts: 1 + 1 = 3. We formed the Luxury Design Group to provide advertisers with scale along with the luxury mindset that niche brands like these uniquely deliver. With this group structure, we are maximizing the combined benefits of these complementary brands. ELLE DECOR is the international fashion magazine for the home, while Metropolitan Home is the arbiter of modern luxury.”

Philippe Guelton commented: “Deborah Burns and Barbara Friedmann make one of the strongest and most dynamic sales and marketing teams in the industry, and both have demonstrated brilliant strategic thinking in their various positions with the company. They have all the attributes that a modern publisher needs to compete and win business – original thinking, integrated and compelling ideas and passion for their brands. Deb Burns will provide outstanding overall leadership for this group.”

Alongside Metropolitan Home Editor-in-Chief Donna Warner, Burns guided Metropolitan Home to its current premier position. She has held a variety of key roles in her 24-year tenure with the company including heading the U.S. office of Lagardère Global Advertising. She was responsible for international advertising sales in the ELLE and ELLE DECOR global network. She also served as publisher of ELLEgirl magazine, corporate integrated marketing director and director of creative development. She began her career in circulation.

For the past ten months, Friedmann has worked closely with ELLE DECOR Editor-in-Chief Margaret Russell and former VP/Publisher Dan Ragone to achieve the magazine’s outstanding momentum. As VP, Group Marketing reporting to SVP, ELLE Group Publisher Director Carol Smith, Friedmann helped guide ELLE through 5 consecutive years of growth in both advertising and circulation. She has directed myriad innovative marketing programs including the groundbreaking partnership between ELLE and BRAVO’s Project Runway. Prior to joining ELLE in May 2002, Friedmann served as vice president, Corporate Marketing for Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., overseeing the research, corporate creative services and integrated marketing departments. Before joining Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Friedmann served as group marketing director of Miller Publishing; vice president, marketing at Time Inc.’s Parenting Group; marketing director at Star magazine; and various promotion positions at USA Today, Food & Wine, Architectural Digest, Bon Appetit and New West magazines.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Press Contact:

Anne Janas - SVP, Corporate Communications - 212-767-5810 - ajanas@hfmus.com

About The Luxury Design Group

ELLE DECOR

, led by Editor-in-Chief Margaret Russell, is fashion for the home, inspiring worldly, creative tastemakers to express their personal style in every area of life. First to recognize the relationship between fashion and interiors as facets of individual style, ELLE DECOR inspires its readers with laid-back luxury, stylishly accessorized settings and well-dressed rooms.

Metropolitan Home, headed by Editor-in-Chief Donna Warner, is the only completely modern design magazine that combines affluence with an urban mindset. The editors believe that the timeless quality of superior design goes beyond fads to resonate and engage a powerful audience who identify with the modern approach to life. Metropolitan Home delivers high-end modern design and interiors blending with intelligent reporting to connect to a progressive reader mindset.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.  enthusiast brands and targeted media products reach nearly 60 million consumers through magazines, online and mobile content. The company’s editorial hallmarks are trusted expert content along with independent product testing. Our prestigious brands fall into six sectors and include: Automotive (Car and Driver, Road & Track, Jumpstart Automotive Media); Fashion (ELLE, ELLEgirl); Luxury Design Group (ELLE DECOR and Metropolitan Home); Shelter (Home, PointClickHome, and Special Interest Publications Group); Women & Health (Woman’s Day and Woman’s Day Special Interest Group) and Enthusiasts (American Photo, Boating, Cycle World, Flying, Popular Photography, Premiere and Sound & Vision). HFM U.S. Total Solutions marketing initiative packages these assets across brands and platforms with customized marketing programs. HFM U.S. is part of Lagardère’smedia division Lagardère Active, a producer of special interest content in over 40 countries

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