F+W

F+W, (formerly F+W Publications and F+W Media), was a media and e-commerce company headquartered in New York City.

F+W
StatusDefunct (2019)
Founded1913 (1913)
FounderEdward Rosenthal
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City, New York
Publication typesMagazines, books
No. of employees700
Official websitewww.fwmedia.com

Founded in 1913, F+W published magazines, books, digital products (including e-books and e-magazines), produced online video, offered online education, and owned and operated e-stores, as well as consumer and trade shows.[1]

History

F+W was named after two of its early publications: Farm Quarterly and Writer's Digest.[2] The company grew though a series of acquisitions, including book publisher David & Charles, Krause Publications in 2002,[3] Horticulture magazine, and Adams Media in 2003. The private equity firm ABRY Partners purchased F+W in 2005.[4] In August 2012 F+W Media acquired Interweave, an arts and crafts media company based in Loveland, Colorado.[5] In 2014, F+W Media acquired New Track Media,[6] renamed itself F+W,[7] and was acquired by the private equity company Tinicum.[8]

In 2008, the company began to focus more on e-commerce activities and offering products and services related to the content of its magazines.[9] The e-commerce business grew from one store with $6 million in revenue in 2008 to 31 e-commerce stores with more than $65 million for 2015.[9] In May 2017, some creditors received a 97% stake in the company in exchange for debt relief and a new line of credit.[10][11]

Demise

In January 2018, with the CEO and two other top executives leaving the company[12], F+W slashed its workforce by 40%.[11]

F+W filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 10, 2019.[13] The book publishing assets of the company were won by Penguin Random House at a bankruptcy auction in June 2019.[14] The grouping of the assets drew criticism.[15] Several properties including Sky & Telescope were sold individually.[16]

Overview

F+W Media was a special interest content provider and marketer of enthusiast magazines, books, conferences, trade shows, and interactive media properties.

F+W's special-interest categories included art, crafts, mixed media, writing, genealogy, antiques and collectibles, graphic design, hunting.[1] In 2011 the Company entered the fiction market with the acquisition of Tyrus Books.[17] In 2012, the company launched imprints in romance (Crimson Romance)[18] and young adult fiction (Merit Press).[19]

Publications were organized around some 20 community-based units, each of which focuses on a particular special interest category. The company also published about 600 new book titles annually, and had a library of some 4000 titles.

Its brands were F&W Media International, Impact Books, Krause Publications, North Light Books, Writer's Digest and Interweave Press.[20]

Situation after dissolution

In June 2019 the assets of F+W were sold at bankruptcy auctions.[16]

Ownership structure after dissolution of F+W[21]
Assets New owner
F+W Books Became an imprint of Penguin Random House's Penguin Publishing Group division[14][22]
F&W Media International Became David & Charles again in a management buyout[23]
Crafts segment including the magazines:
Peak Media Properties[24][25]
  • Handwoven
  • PieceWork
  • Spin Off
 Long Thread Media[26]
Fine Arts segment including the magazines:
Peak Media Properties[24][27]
Construction Trade segment including the magazines:
  • Frame Building News
  • Metal Roofing
  • Rural Builder
 Shield Wall Media[28]
Family Tree Yankee Publishing[29]
 Active Interest Media[29]
Collectibles segment consisting of the magazines:
Active Interest Media[21]
Sky & Telescope American Astronomical Society[21]
Outdoors segment including the magazines:
  • Deer & Deer Hunting
  • Trapper & Predator Caller
  • Turkey & Turkey Hunting
 Media 360[30][31]

Various assets of F+W were sold prior to the bankruptcy filing.[32]

Magazines sold prior to bankruptcy filing
Date Magazine New owner
Oct 2015World Tea NewsPenton[33]
Oct 2016[34]Gun DigestCaribou Media Group[35]
Jun 2018BladeCaribou Media Group[35]

References
  1. "F&W Publications Retains Veronis, Suhler & Associates to Explore Strategic Options". The Write News. May 3, 1999. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  2. F&W Publications, Inc.
  3. Baker, Don (July 2, 2002). "F&W Inc. to Acquire Publisher Krause". The Cincinnati Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2011-04-05.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  4. Newberry, Jon (August 9, 2005). "F&W Publications Now Owned by Media Group". The Cincinnati Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2011-04-05.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  5. "F+W Media Announces Acquisition of Interweave". Press Release. F+W Media. Archived from the original on 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  6. F+W Media Buys New Track Media
  7. F+W Media Undergoes Corporate Rebrand
  8. F+W Sells Majority Stake to Private Investment Firm Tinicum
  9. Wilson, Denis (August 1, 2015). "Corner Office: F+W Chairman & CEO David Nussbaum on the Company's Decisive Strategic Shift Toward Ecommerce". Publishing Executive. NAPCO Media. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  10. Silber, Tony (March 12, 2019). "Two Years At F+W Media: Behind The Scenes At A Company In Chaos". forbes.com. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  11. Kelly, Keith J. (March 12, 2019). "Writer's Digest and Popular Woodworking publisher files Chapter 11". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  12. Anderson, Porter (January 9, 2018). "F+W Media Staffers Learn in a Memo That Top Executives Have Left Company". Publishing Perspectives. New York, NY. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  13. Yerak, Becky (March 11, 2019). "Specialty Publisher F+W Media Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Sell Business". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  14. Milliot, Jim; Maher, John (June 7, 2019). "PRH Acquires F+W Book Group Assets At Auction". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  15. Hoffelder, Nate (June 8, 2019). "PRH Buys Half of F+W Media At Auction, Including Half of Writer's Digest". The Digital Reader. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  16. Dool, Greg (June 17, 2019). "F+W Media Reveals Winning Bidders at Bankruptcy Auction". Folio:. Access Intelligence, LLC. Retrieved 2019-09-12.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  17. Milliot, Jim (April 27, 2011). "F+W Buys Tyrus Books, Launches Crime Vertical". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  18. Milliot, Jim; et al. (July 13, 2012). "Digital Imprints Take Root". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  19. Deahl, Rachel (May 8, 2012). "Mitchard to Launch YA Imprint for F+W". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  20. Hovorka, Alan. "F+W Media may lay off 66 people, close Krause Publications' Stevens Point office". stevenspointjournal.com. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  21. "Landing Page". fwmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2019-09-07. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  22. "F+W Books / Overview". Penguin.com. Penguin Group USA. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  23. Pullen, Fiona (July 31, 2019). "F & W Media International Purchased and Renamed David & Charles". CraftIndustryAlliance.org. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  24. "Peak Media Properties acquires Fine Arts & Crafts assets of F+W Media". PeakMediaProperties.com. July 28, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  25. "Peak Crafts". PeakMediaProperties.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  26. Glassenberg, Abby (August 1, 2019). "Long Thread Media Buys Spin Off, PieceWork, and Handwoven". CraftIndustryAlliance.org. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  27. "Peak Fine Arts". PeakMediaProperties.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  28. Thatcher, Sharon (July 2, 2019). "Shield Wall Media Takes Ownership of F+W Media Construction Brands". Construction Magazine Network. Shield Wall Media LLC. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  29. Barber, Kayleigh (July 23, 2019). "Why Active Interest Media Salvaged 14 Titles From the F+W Bankruptcy". Folio:. Access Intelligence, LLC. Retrieved 2019-09-19.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  30. DDH Staff (July 2, 2019). "Media 360 Buys Deer & Deer Hunting". Deer & Deer Hunting. Media 360, LLC. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  31. Sorensen, Steve (July 15, 2019). "A Corporate Take-Over Taken Back". Jamestown Gazette. Chautauqua Marketing Solutions, Inc. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  32. Silber, Tony (March 11, 2019). "F+W Media, Citing Debt, Decline And Mismanagement, Files For Bankruptcy Protection". forbes.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  33. Mickey, Bill (October 6, 2015). "Penton Buys World Tea Media From F+W". Folio:. Access Intelligence, LLC. Retrieved 2019-09-19.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  34. "Gun Digest Promotes Luke Hartle to Editor-in-Chief". Tactical Wire. Outdoor Wire Digital Network. July 26, 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  35. Curci, Nick (June 1, 2018). "Caribou Media Group Acquires BLADE Events". TradeShowExecutive.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
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