Conde Nast announced today that they are shutting down Domino magazine after the March 2009 issue.
Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend said, "This decision to cease publication of the magazine and its website is driven entirely by the economy. Although readership and advertising response was encouraging in the early years, we have concluded that this economic market will not support our business expectations."
Downer, because I did enjoy flipping through that magazine, though I thought their price points were a little crazy.
I'm sure the economy has an impact, but I suspect lots of other things impacted this decision as well. As I've said before, there is great interior design content available on the web from the likes of Design*Sponge, decor8, Apartment Therapy and others that is very timely and well written-- not to mention much more "rest of us" focused.
And the advertising revenues required to support those magazines is, I suspect, nothing short of staggering. This means you already have to gear the magazine towards the "top end" for the advertisers. And how many really "top end" consumers pick their products from a shelter magazine? Probably not many. And the products I am going to pick from a magazine are from companies that don't have the margins to afford the advertising. Honestly, Domino readers, did you ever buy something from one of their advertisements? So, in my opinion, it would be very difficult to be a shelter magazine in good times-- much less bad.
Darn, and I just sent in a card for a free subscription that came with my Domino: The Book of Decorating. Which, I really enjoyed, by the way. Much less over the top than the magazine, I thought.
Well, I splurged last year ($10) and got a year subscription to Domino, without having really looked at an issue first. Big mistake. Totally not my kind of magazine. I mean, I barely liked the ideas, found most of the advice for people not like me, and even if there was something I liked, it was about 10x more expensive than I was willing to pay for it.
Needless to say, I didn't renew my subscription this year. I did, however, fill out the online survey they asked me to (which was ridiculously long), that proved I was really not their target consumer (it had questions like, which of the following brands of purses or watches do you own: Chanel, Armani, Bvlgari....)
These are not exactly the economic times that are conducive to luxury-lifestyle magazines. I wouldn't be surprised if this were the first of many to be canceled.
Posted by: Kelly | January 28, 2009 at 02:10 PM
Well darn, I JUST got a subscription. I also just got a subscription to Wondertime and Texas Monthly, lets see how they do.
Posted by: Tara | January 28, 2009 at 02:31 PM
I'm not surprised. Everything in it was awfully pricey, so definitely not decor I could put into my home. I need to find some of your "flea market finds" to renew!
Posted by: Jamie AZ | January 28, 2009 at 02:42 PM
What! I love this magazine. First Blueprint and now Domino! I am super bummed out.
Posted by: Dewdrop | January 28, 2009 at 02:46 PM
Wow, I can't believe another magazine is going under. We were all so disappointed to see Blueprint shut down last year, then I received notice that Cottage Living is ceasing publication, and so is Country Home. It's really a shame, but you're right, at least we still have access to more affordable products and ideas with those three wonderful blogs you mentioned.
Posted by: Terriaw | January 28, 2009 at 02:57 PM
and I got a message in the mail today saying that since Mary Englebreit will no longer be publishing magazines (my only mag I get) my subscription will be filled with Martha Stewart Living. Hmph. Not EVEN the same. I do have to say, though, that M.E. opened the door for me to see artists by the plenty and find them online. Most have an online presence nowadays which makes me very inspired and happy. I suppose that's why a mag doesn't need to exist. But M.E. made me very happy for many years. Spotlighting different artists and their spaces was such a cool idea she had. Better than cupcake recipe of the month - I have those mastered. :)
Posted by: min | January 28, 2009 at 03:55 PM
Another magazine bites the dust! Makes me wonder what the future holds for quilting magazines! I love Domino...just to admire the pretty pictures...the items are out of my price range.
Posted by: Stephanie | January 28, 2009 at 04:13 PM
IMO, quilting magazines and other niche publications will fair better-- first, they have a very well defined audience that actually buys things and second, I imagine their overhead is quite a bit lower than a Conde Nast publication. No plush offices in NY, etc.
Posted by: j. caroline | January 28, 2009 at 04:21 PM
I am so bummed! I really like Domino and enjoyed their ideas and who they covered. While most of the suggested items where a bit pricey for me, I used the ideas to find things in my price range. But not everyone can take an inspiration and run with it. Plus design is what I do for a living. So bummed. It was one of the few subscriptions I had left. I wonder what they are going to replace it with.
Men's Vogue went under and they sent us Portfolio instead. NOT THE SAME!
Posted by: Meg | January 28, 2009 at 06:30 PM
Argh!! That is one of my faborite mags. I looked forward to it each month!
Posted by: Linda | January 28, 2009 at 07:28 PM
I hate to see another magazine bite the dust. I LOVE magazines...actually I'm addicted to magazines. M.E. was my biggest disappointment. I have every one of Mary's magazines. They made me very, very happy. So sad to see them go. :(
Posted by: Lynn | January 28, 2009 at 09:11 PM
Oh, Tara. I hate to mention it, but Wondertime is closing too. March is the last issue.
Posted by: Rhonda | January 29, 2009 at 09:56 AM
This totally stinks, and I will tell you why- I just got my sis-in-law a subscription to the magazine for Christmas! :0( CRAP. What does this mean? Are they going to reimburse me? Hmmmm. I am going to look into this. Thanks for passing this info on to me!
Posted by: Heather Larson | January 30, 2009 at 02:59 PM