Condé Nast to open London newsagent

The Condé Nast Worldwide Newsagent will be based on the ground floor of Condé Nast's offices in Vogue House on St George Street in Piccadilly.

It will sell all the publisher's magazines from 25 countries, including foreign versions of Condé Nast brands Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair. It will open for business next Monday (21 February).

The newsagent will not stock magazines or newspapers from any other publisher.

It will offer more than 110 magazines at launch but this will increase by the end of the year to include the soon-to-launch Russian Condé Nast Traveller, the China edition of Architectural Digest, and a Brazilian version of GQ, among others.

The magazines will be grouped by brand and marked by international flags representing each country, including 16 editions of Glamour ranging from the Bulgarian to Mexican editions.

Interspersed among the magazines will be screens displaying Condé Nast's websites from around the world.

The newsagent will also showcase Vogue books. Apps and iPad products will not go on sale in-store, but will instead be available to view on one of four iPad demos, including the Vogue and Wired apps, which launched in November.

Jonathan Newhouse, international chairman, Condé Nast, said: "The Condé Nast magazines have expanded to encompass more than 120 magazines in 25 countries, from British Vogue to Russian Tatler to Chinese GQ.

"Now, for the first time, Condé Nast unites them in one venue, displaying the strength of the brands and the global range of our products.

"Our digital products are available too. No other magazine publisher has created so many iconic brands and products, and now customers in London can find them all in one place."

Condé Nast Worldwide Newsagent has been designed by architect Ab Rogers and will feature a bright yellow floor, white fixtures and mirrored walls. A spokesperson for Condé Nast described it as a "sleek modern space".

Condé Nast said it would consider further digital spin-offs from the store should it be met with high demand for single-copy purchases.

The newsagent has been positioned close to Bond Street, where many of Condé Nast advertisers, such as high-end fashion designers, sell luxury products.

Members of the media and fashion industry will be invited to the official launch next Monday.

The combined circulation of all of Condé Nast's publications globally is an estimated 32.1 million, according to the publisher.

The launch comes after Nicholas Coleridge, Condé Nast managing director, said he was not anticipating "any negative effect" from the takeover of Lagardère's international portfolio of 102 titles by Hearst Corporation.

Hearst will house Harper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitan magazines, and Lagardère's Elle, Red and Psychologies, among others, when the deal is finalised this year.

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk