Condé Nast to publish Architectural Digest in China

Unlike its name might suggest, the new title, founded by the Knapp family in 1920 in the United States, is mostly about trends and fashion in interior design, targetting an affluent and style-conscious readership.

Condé Nast is said to have built up a team of editors, who will be working from its office in Beijing, according to a fashion editor who has been contacted as a candidate for one of the editorial positions.

A current Condé Nast employee added that the new magazine is not expected to hit shelves soon. The company took nearly one year to make preparations for the simplified Chinese edition of men's magazine GQ, which was officially out on the market last October.

Besides GQ, Condé Nast also publishes Chinese editions of Vogue, Self and Modern Bride.

“All these magazines have achieved success,” said the source. “Self, for example, as a newcomer, has caught up with other market-leading women’s fashion titles like Cosmopolitan in terms of both circulation and advertising revenue.”

Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International, was quoted by Wall Street Journal last year as saying “the success of Condé Nast’s magazines in China has boosted the company’s global circulation over the past five years.”

"We would very much like to produce new magazines in partnership with Chinese partners and we are working in that direction," he said.

The Chinese government has strict rules and regulations on magazine publishing in China. All new titles are required to get a ‘kan hao’ (publication number) before it can be published. Foreign-funded companies, which are not qualified to apply for publication numbers, usually team up with local publishing companies to publish their titles.