ST Media Group Intl., a Cincinnati-based publisher of information products for the design, signage and graphics industries (including Hospitality Style), has acquired New York-based Boutique Media Group along with boutique DESIGN magazine and its stable of ancillary events.
Launched in 2005 initially by Sipco Publications, boutique DESIGN is the only hospitality magazine focusing exclusively on the boutique niche of hotel, spa, restaurant and nightclub design. In 2008, Boutique Media Group was formed to better represent its growing hospitality business, which included boutique DESIGN magazine and its related events.
In addition to the bimonthly print magazine, website and e-newsletter, the brand has grown to include boutiquedesign.tv, a first-of-its-kind, video-based extension, and four annual industry events:
• boutique DESIGN New York, a new trade show for 2010, co-located with the International Hotel, Motel, & Restaurant Show (IHMRS), a 95-year-old NYC fair in November
• Hospitality Match, an invitation-only, three-day event matching hospitality designers/buyers with fabric, furnishing and equipment (FFE) suppliers
• The boutique 18 Bash, a celebration of 18 rising stars in the hospitality design industry
• The boutique DESIGN Awards, recognizing the best high-end, boutique-style designs of the year in the categories of hotel, restaurant, spa and nightclub.
The purchase comes on the heels of the March 2010 relaunch of ST Media’s Hospitality Style, a quarterly “idea book” for designers across the hospitality spectrum. “The addition of boutique DESIGN gives us a firm foothold in the hospitality design industry,” says ST president Tedd Swormstedt. “And because there’s little overlap in their circulations, the two magazines offer advertisers a broader reach at bundle rates.”
Boutique Media Group president Michael Schneider, who now assumes the role of Publisher of Hospitality Brands at ST Media, says the synergy between the two magazines is exciting. “Hospitality Style’s focus on standout projects—across the hospitality spectrum—makes it the perfect complement for boutique DESIGN, which profiles the people behind those amazing designs, with a focus on the boutique segment.”
Schneider was a principal in the transaction along with his father, Eric, the founder of Sipco. “We both felt that boutique DESIGN and the related activities of BMG needed to be placed in even stronger hands in order to grow its market share going forward,” the Schneiders said. In just five years, BMG has become a recognized, major force in the hospitality industry, especially with leading edge designers. ST Media Group is poised to continue that growth.”
Sipco Publications will continue to own and publish Fabrics & Furnishings International (F&FI), its principal asset since 1990. In addition to publishing F&FI, Eric Schneider will continue to represent boutique DESIGN in southern Florida and will serve as a consultant to ST Media.
Subscriptions to Hospitality Style and boutique DESIGN are free to qualified industry practitioners at HospitalityStyle.com and boutiqueDESIGN.com, respectively.
Located in Greater Cincinnati, ST Media Group Intl. serves the visual communications industries with its trade publications, branded websites, custom book division and industry events. Publications include Hospitality Style, boutique DESIGN, VMSD (Visual Merchandising and Store Design), Package Design Magazine, Screen Printing, Signs of the Times, The Big Picture, Industrial + Specialty Printing, and Signs of the Times & Screen Printing en espanol. For more information, visit stmediagroup.com.