Time Inc. Acquires Personal Shopping Engine StyleFeeder On Behalf of InStyle

NEW YORK, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Time Inc. announced today that it has acquired StyleFeeder, a personal shopping engine that uses pattern recognition technology and its members' style preferences to make recommendations for clothing, shoes and accessories from thousands of online retailers.  StyleFeeder will become part of the InStyle family of brands and its e-commerce technology will power shopping on InStyle.com.

The addition of StyleFeeder, which has more than 1 million registered members and over 600 thousand monthly unique visitors (comScore), will enhance InStyle's digital business.  InStyle.com, with 1.5 million monthly unique visitors (comScore), is a leader among its competitive set. The brand has over 1.5 million followers on Twitter and its Hollywood Makeover tool has generated over 74 million hair and makeup try-ons since its launch.  InStyle magazine ranks #1 at the newsstand across its competitive set and remains #1 in ad pages, with paging for its March 2010 issue up 33%.

"Our focus has been on investing in and growing our core brands," said Ann Moore, Chairman and CEO of Time Inc. "InStyle has proven itself as a product powerhouse with InStyle Makeover, InStyle Hair, a series of style books and 17 international editions.   Adding StyleFeeder will bring personalized shopping into the mix and new opportunities for the group."

"This is a strategic step in building on our digital success," said Fran Hauser, President of Digital for Time Inc.'s Style & Entertainment Group.  "Our brands reach millions of consumers through our websites, social media and mobile products.  StyleFeeder's e-commerce technology will open the door to new transactional revenue streams and give the InStyle community an experience they can't find anywhere else online."

StyleFeeder aggregates content from a catalog of over 14 million products from thousands of retail partners across the web.  In addition to getting personalized recommendations, members can track their favorite items, rate and share products and interact with shoppers around the world who share a similar sense of style.  StyleFeeder's fast visual browsing interface allows users to filter results using levers such as price, brand, product attributes and color to quickly hone in on what they're shopping for.

"Much of InStyle's success can be attributed to knowing who our readers are and giving them more of what they love - great style that is both inspiring and accessible," said Connie Anne Phillips, InStyle's Publisher.  "We are confident that StyleFeeder's technology will be highly effective in driving consumers to the point of purchase."

"We're focused on making shopping as convenient and easy as it is fun," says Philip Jacob, Founder and CTO of StyleFeeder.  "We look forward to leveraging our e-commerce capabilities to build on InStyle's existing success."

Time Inc.'s network of sites attracts an audience of 43 million people and 2 billion page views each month, making it one of the top 20 media companies online.  The acquisition of StyleFeeder will give Time Inc. an ownership interest in the rapidly-growing apparel and accessories e-commerce space.

About Time Inc.

Time Inc., a Time Warner company, is one of the largest content companies in the world. With a portfolio of 22 U.S. magazines and 26 U.S. Web sites, including some of the world's most popular, powerful and trusted brands, it is the largest magazine publisher in the U.S., and a leading publisher in the U.K. and Mexico. Time Inc.'s popular brands and successful franchises extend to online, television, cable VOD, satellite radio, mobile devices, events and branded products. Each month, one out of every two American adults reads a Time Inc. magazine, and one out of every five who are online visits a company Web site.

About InStyle

Launched in June 1994 by Time Inc., InStyle has emerged as one of the world's premier media brands in celebrity, style, fashion, beauty and beyond. InStyle takes a uniquely fun and inviting attitude toward style in all its forms. The InStyle portfolio includes the flagship magazine, which reaches an audience of 9.6 million readers each month, InStyle.com, special issues, books and international editions.  InStyle has been recognized on Advertising Age's A List, Adweek's Hot List and Adweek's Brand Leader's List.  InStyle.com is the recipient of Folio's Gold Eddie for Best Consumer Web site, Women's Fashion/Lifestyle.

About StyleFeeder

StyleFeeder is a personal shopping engine that helps consumers shop for apparel, accessories, shoes, furniture, home goods and gadgets. Combing through thousands of stores and over 14 million products, StyleFeeder finds things that match consumers' style using a proprietary recommendation technology. StyleFeeder drives significant sales to leading e-commerce sites, and has more than more than one million registered StyleFeeders and 600 thousand monthly unique visitors. StyleFeeder was funded by Highland Capital Partners and Schooner Capital.

Contact:

Jane Lehman, 212.522.0597 or [email protected]

SOURCE Time Inc.