by OLD – The fashion publishing business in China is about to change.
Condé Nast on Wednesday shot down speculation about whether Vogue China editorial director Margaret Zhang will leave the publication after her contract expires next March.
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A recent listing on Chinese hiring platform Liepin, which quickly began circulating on social media platform Xiaohongshu, revealed that Vogue China is hiring a deputy editor.
The position’s responsibilities include “assisting the editor-in-chief in overseeing the editorial staff,” supporting marketing and sales initiatives and overseeing special branded projects.
“As a deputy editor at Vogue China, you will be the driving force behind the magazine’s feature content, working closely with a talented team of journalists and editors,” the job description reads.
“In this key role within our senior leadership team, you will not only shape the voice and tone of our features but also play a vital role in advancing Vogue’s global cultural initiatives,” the post continued.
The position of deputy editor at Vogue China, which essentially oversees the magazine’s day-to-day operations, is no different from the role of head of editorial content, which is assigned to the heads of all other directly operated international editions of Vogue. under the singular vision of Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and editor-in-chief of Vogue.
Wintour has solidified her command of the company’s editorial operations over the past few years. Recently, Chioma Nnadi has been named head of editorial content for British Vogue, taking over from current editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, who will take up the new role of global creative and cultural adviser at Vogue and will be an editorial adviser at British. Vogue.
Vogue China is the last international edition of Vogue operated directly under Condé Nast to have an editor-in-chief other than Wintour herself. However, in the title header, the Australian-Chinese Zhang is listed as editorial director. In China, by law the role of editor-in-chief at Vogue China is reserved for the magazine’s local publishing partner, China Pictorial.
According to multiple industry sources, Zhang’s contract will expire next spring.
Zhang’s tenure at Vogue China was controversial. Huasheng Media founder Chuxuan Feng slammed her on Weibo for being disrespectful to the Chinese market, and her business skills have been questioned on social media as some coverage has gone unsponsored.
According to an industry insider, the cover of Vogue China, although theoretically not for sale, can fetch at least 3 million renminbi, or $428,000, in sponsorship from top luxury brands. It is rare for anyone to pay for a cover in China’s highly commercialized fashion magazine business.
In a statement sent to WWD, Condé Nast confirmed the hiring of a deputy editor, who will report to Zhang, and said the move “reflects the company’s commitment to the title and to Zhang.”
That said, Condé Nast could not confirm whether the deputy editor would later become head of editorial content at Vogue China, a move that has occurred across all other directly operated international editions.
Apart from the hiring plan, Vogue China is preparing for the inaugural China edition of the Vogue Forces of Fashion conference. Wintour is visiting the country for the first time in more than 10 years and will be in Shanghai on Thursday to host the event.
The program for the event includes executives and designers at brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Salvatore Ferragamo, Courrèges, Jason Wu and Proenza Schouler.
Vogue China isn’t the only publication that got people talking this week. On Wednesday, Hearst Magazines announced the termination of its license agreement for Cosmopolitan and Esquire in China, effective immediately.
In a statement sent to WWD, the legacy media company said “We are currently discussing the relaunch of these brands with stakeholders in this important market.”
The Chinese edition of Esquire was founded in 1996, under a license agreement with Trends Group, a Beijing-based media company that began in 1993 as Trends Magazine, the first local fashion publication founded by two former travel reporters, Liu Jiang and Wu Hong.
In 1998, Trends signed a license agreement for Cosmopolitan to launch the title in China, where only Chinese companies are allowed to operate media titles.
In China, foreign titles must obtain a publishing license to legally publish content in China. Both Esquire and Cosmopolitan licenses are issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Apart from the Trends Group partnership, Hearst Magazines China was established in 2011 after the acquisition of Hachette China. The Shanghai-based company operates titles such as Elle China, Super Elle, Elle Men and Elle Décor.
In 1997, Trends Group founded the advertising firm Beijing Shi Zhi Shang Advertising Co. to manage the commercial side of the magazine’s business, with Trends Group, Beijing Meng Si Tong Consulting Service Ltd., Hearst, and IDG as major shareholders.
According to Chinese corporate data provider Tianyancha, Hearst has a 20 percent stake in Shi Zhi Shang.
In the 2010s, Trends Group grew to become one of the largest fashion publications in China with 17 titles – including Harper’s Bazaar and Men’s Health – under its belt, according to local media reports at the time.
After Liu’s sudden death in 2019, shareholders scrambled to gain control of the media empire. In 2022, Trends Magazines Co. declared. Ltd, a business entity that owns five titles including Cosmopolitan and Esquire, declared its independence as a “wholly state-owned enterprise” and withdrew advertising rights from Shi Zhi Shang.
In an internal letter distributed by Trends Magazines to employees, which was widely circulated online, Shi Zhi Shang is accused of “failing to pay a large portion of the advertising revenue to Trends Magazines for many years.”
Soon after, Shi Zhi Shang came back with a public announcement that said the company still had exclusive advertising rights for Cosmopolitan and Esquire.
But an announcement released by Shi Zhi Shang on Wednesday revealed that the company will stop operating the “main brand business” of Cosmopolitan and Esquire in July 2022.
According to industry sources, Shi Zhi Shang still holds licensing rights to magazines such as V Magazine, which launched its Chinese edition this March, and Harper’s Bazaar, which launched its Chinese edition in 2001.
At press time, members of both the Cosmopolitan and Esquire editorial staffs confirmed to WWD that the high-level changes have not yet affected day-to-day operations.
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