Jewelers of America has purchased National Jeweler from Emerald Expositions in a deal that turns the century-old publication into a for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit group.
Editor-in-chief Michelle Graff and her team will move into JA’s offices in downtown New York City, president and CEO David Bonaparte tells JCK. JA director of membership and sales Matthew Tratner will oversee ad sales.
“This was a great way for us to incorporate a great brand,” Bonaparte says. “Both organizations essentially share the same vision, providing news and valuable information to the retailer.”
No short-term changes are planned, Bonaparte says.
“In the longer term, we will invest in the business and hope to provide a wider variety of content,” he says. “National Jeweler will have immediate access to people with knowledge of certain subjects that it didn’t have before.”
The new publication can help JA spread the word about its various initiatives and events, such as last week’s GEM Awards, and provide a forum for the group’s education efforts, Bonaparte says. But he adds that the publication will remain independent editorially.
“Michelle is the editor-in-chief, and she will dictate the strategy and content,” he says.
Emerald Expositions acquired the publication, along with the JA and Couture shows, when it purchased Nielsen’s show division in 2013. The trade show company will continue to run those events, Bonaparte says.
National Jeweler went digital only in 2010. While it recently launched a digital magazine, Bonaparte doesn’t anticipate reintroducing the print version.
The group’s board approved the transaction Jan. 9. Deal terms were not disclosed.
In an odd coincidence, both the publication and organization were founded in 1906.
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