Condé Nast has announced the launch of Vogue Singapore, in line with the publisher’s international ambitions and on-going digital transformation strategy.

Condé Nast has recently undergone a global consolidation process under CEO Roger Lynch, previously CEO of music streaming service Pandora.

In response to a new reality marked by declining print sales, competition from online platforms and social media, alongside lower advertising budgets for luxury brands in US and Europe – the publisher has sought to move away from its reliance on print product towards “an ecosystem of consumer experiences”.

And this requires overturning a hierarchical structure that regards the print magazine as the main manifestation of the brand, with everything else being peripheral.

“I’m trying to flip the narrative and have the brand at the core perceived by the consumer,” explained Estelle Ayer, director of strategy and research for Condé Nast International (which covers 31 markets outside the US), with print just one of the manifestations alongside digital, social, events, products, services etc. (For more, read WARC’s report: How Condé Nast balances global and local.)

Vogue Singapore will launch later this year with an English-language print issue, a website and presences on all relevant social platforms. The title will compete with Singaporean editions of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, L’Officiel and T Magazine.

It will be published under license agreement with Indochine Media Ventures, a Singapore-based media company that publishes regional editions of Robb Report and the Singapore edition of Esquire, among other titles.

Other than Thailand, Condé Nast has no presence in Southeast Asia and the recent announcement will mark the second time the company has attempted to launch a Singapore edition of Vogue. The magazine first launched in 1994 before shuttering in 1997.

It will also be the 27th international edition of the fashion title, which last year launched a Hong Kong edition under a licensing agreement with Rubicon Media.

Singapore boasts a growing luxury fashion segment with a market volume of US$940m. Consumer spending is high within Southeast Asia, and 67% of Singaporeans believe that they are financially better off than they were five years ago and able to spend comfortably, according to Nielsen.

“Vogue Singapore re-joins the market at a time when Singapore’s local fashion design and talent are rising in the country and across the entire region. Vogue Singapore will play a vital role in boosting and supporting that talent as well as in bringing regional and international ideas to this edition of Vogue,” said Wolfgang Blau, chief operating officer & president, International, Condé Nast in a statement.

A print issue of Vogue Singapore will retail for around nine Singaporean Dollars. The web site will not be behind a paywall at launch, but speaking to WWD, Michael von Schlippe, president of Indochine Media, said he couldn’t exclude including one down the road. 

Sourced from South China Morning Post, WWD.