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
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] David Nussbaum, CEO, departed the company to become the CEO of America’s Test Kitchen, a year after the acquisition.
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, when Tinicum purchased the company.[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
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
F+W Media was a special interest content provider and marketer of enthusiast magazines, books, conferences, trade shows, and interactive media properties.
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.
