BevNET.com Acquires Beverage Spectrum Magazine
October 19 2004 - 12:31PM
PR Newswire (US)
BevNET.com Acquires Beverage Spectrum Magazine Acquisition Lends
Further Evidence of Shift in the way Information is Consumed
BOSTON, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- BevNET.com Inc. has acquired the
assets of Beverage Spectrum Magazine, a wholly owned subsidiary of
CSP Information Group, Inc. Both BevNET and Beverage Spectrum are
leaders in the delivery of news to the beverage industry yet focus
on different aspects of the business. "Since the beginning of the
internet bubble in the late 1990s many major media companies have
been struggling to add a profitable internet component to their
portfolio," said Jack Craven, Chairman of BevNET.com Inc. "This is
not your typical acquisition of internet by a print media company.
This is your 'man bites dog' story and may points to an interesting
trend: profitable web acquiring print," stated Mr. Craven "The
acquisition, which marks a seminal event for the beverage industry,
will allow BevNET.com and Beverage Spectrum to deliver a complete
information and media package to the beverage industry," said John
Craven, President and Editor-in-Chief. "So many people are turning
to the Web for information today in favor of print, but the
beverage industry is not about to give up the in-depth coverage of
beverage retailing that Beverage Spectrum delivers," observed Mr.
Craven. Founded in 1996, BevNET.com was created by John and Jack
Craven with the intention of covering new age beverages, a category
that was in its infancy at the time. Together, John and Jack have
evolved BevNET.com into THE information source for the beverage
industry, distributors and brand marketers alike. Adding print
publishing to the operation has been a longtime desire for Jack,
who previously served as Executive VP & CFO of Time Inc.'s
Retail Marketing and Sales division as well as Senior VP of
Operations / CFO for Jobson Publishing Corp., a leading business to
business publisher. "By utilizing the strong readership of
BevNET.com and the efficiencies of the internet, we can quickly
improve Beverage Spectrum's circulation and vastly increase the
value proposition to the reader and advertiser by using the
strengths of the BevNET.com web site," stated Mr. Craven. Beverage
Industry veteran Barry Nathanson, who will continue as publisher of
Beverage Spectrum and has an equity position in the new
publication, agrees: "There are a tremendous amount of synergies
between our companies. This partnership will be a one stop shop for
the industry delivering the beverage industry the immediacy of
BevNET and the depth of Beverage Spectrum and giving both media
outlets the ability to deliver information that allows our industry
to analyze, critique, and act accordingly." BevNET provides
instantaneous information for beverage distributors and beverage
brand managers. Beverage Spectrum provides in-depth product, trend
and research information to the beverage retailer. The partnership
creates a broader reach giving the industry the first perspective
that brings the supplier base and buyer base together to open the
communication line between beverage distributors, beverage brand
managers, and beverage retailers allowing all parties to
communicate more effectively. The readership of the combined
publications in unparalleled in the industry. BevNET.com is the
leading beverage industry web site with approximately 200,000
monthly readers worldwide. Beverage Spectrum is the leading
beverage retailer print publication with a monthly circulation of
over 17,500 retailers, distributors, and brand marketers. Both
companies expect the acquisition to lead to a dramatic increase in
readership/viewership and note that the partnership will certainly
translate into incremental reach for advertisers. "Both brands are
deeply in touch with the industry, from a brand and product
perspective as well as a retailer perspective," states John
McKenna, Associate Publisher of BevNET.com and Beverage Spectrum.
"It is almost impossible for the trade to buy the relationships and
credibility that our new media outlet has with the industry. "No
one publication can reach beverage marketers, buyers, and
distributors like BevNET.com and Beverage Spectrum can together.
Most beverage trade magazines have long term leads while BevNET.com
is almost like the beverage equivalent of CNN Headline News in the
industry" states Bill Sipper, Sr. Partner of Cascadia Consulting
Group, a leading food and beverage consulting firm. "Beverage
Spectrum is nearly the equivalent of the traditional CNN adding in
depth stories, data, and critical perspective," adds Sipper.
BevNET.com and Beverage Spectrum have been partnering editorially
for the last year. The newly combined company anticipates no staff
reductions or changes and will maintain its current offices and
staff in Cambridge, MA, Manhattan, and Chicago. For more
information please contact John Craven at 617-497-0062 or Barry
Nathanson at 212-647-0501. DATASOURCE: BevNET.com Inc. CONTACT:
John Craven, 617-497-0062, or Barry Nathanson, 212-647-0501 Web
site: http://bevnet.com/
Copyright