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F+W
StatusDefunct (2019)
Founded1913 (1913)
FounderEdward Rosenthal
Defunct2019 Edit this on Wikidata
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City, New York
Publication typesMagazines, books
No. of employees700
Official websitewww.fwmedia.com Edit this at Wikidata

F+W (formerly F+W Publications and F+W Media) was a media and e-commerce company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1913 in Cincinnati, 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][failed verification]

History

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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

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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

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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][failed verification] 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 David & Charles, Impact Books, Krause Publications, North Light Books, Writer's Digest and Interweave Press.[20]

Situation after dissolution

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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]
Long Thread Media[26]
Fine Arts segment including the magazines:
Peak Media Properties[24][27]
Construction Trade segment including the magazines:
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:
Media 360[30][31]
Print Print Holdings LLC

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

Magazines sold prior to bankruptcy filing
Date Magazine New owner
Oct 2015 World Tea News Penton[33]
Oct 2016[34] Gun Digest Caribou Media Group[35]
Jun 2018 Blade Caribou Media Group[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b "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.{{cite web}}: 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.{{cite web}}: 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. ^ a b 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. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  11. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Dool, Greg (June 17, 2019). "F+W Media Reveals Winning Bidders at Bankruptcy Auction". Folio. Access Intelligence, LLC. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  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. ^ a b c "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. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. 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. ^ a b "Peak Media Properties acquires Fine Arts & Crafts assets of F+W Media". PeakMediaProperties.com. July 28, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-19.[permanent dead link]
  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. ^ a b 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.
  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. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. 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.
  34. ^ "Gun Digest Promotes Luke Hartle to Editor-in-Chief". Tactical Wire. Outdoor Wire Digital Network. July 26, 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  35. ^ a b Curci, Nick (June 1, 2018). "Caribou Media Group Acquires BLADE Events". TradeShowExecutive.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
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