Time Inc. is shuttering Cottage Living, tossing yet another title on the trash heap of shelter magazines that have closed in the past year amid a challenged housing market and broad economic downturn.
The November/December issue, on stands now, will be the title’s last. While some publishers have tried to keep dead magazines alive by maintaining their Web properties, Time Inc. is also closing down Cottageliving.com.
The news comes as part of a major restructuring at Time Inc. that is expected to lead to up to 600 layoffs. A number of longtime execs have already left the company as part of that revamp, the latest being Chris Allen, senior vp, publisher of Cooking Light and 26-year Time Inc. See related story here.
Cottage Living, one of a few magazines that some had already marked for closing, launched four years ago with an editorial mission to celebrate unpretentious living. Despite initial skepticism about its name, the title quickly grew, doubling its rate base to 1 million in 2007, gathering industry nods including AdWeek’s 2005 Startup of the Year. However, the magazine remained small in terms of ad pages, which declined 5.1 percent to 514 this year, according to the Mediaweek Monitor.
“Since its inception, Cottage Living attracted significant advertiser support and fostered a loyal following among readers,” Sylvia Auton, an executive vp who oversees Time Inc.’s newly formed Lifestyle Group that includes Cottage Living, said in a statement. “However, the economic downturn has particularly affected the shelter market and while the brand was genuinely loved by readers and advertisers alike, the economy inhibited its ability to grow and therefore, sadly, we had to make the decision to close it.”
Cottage Living joins other shelter magazines that have folded this past year, including Condé Nast’s House & Garden, Hachette Filipacchi Media’s Home and Hearst Magazines’ O at Home.
