To most people, owning an estate in Bel Air or Beverly Hills represents the pinnacle of wealth and privilege. To CurtCo Media’s target audience, that would be a nice start.
Known primarily as the Malibu-based publisher of the Robb Report, CurtCo Media Labs LLC targets the astronomically wealthy “super-luxury” audience the less than 1 million American families that own multiple luxury homes, travel by private jet, have yachts and collect cars the way others collect stamps. Unlike Conde Nast and Hearst, CurtCo’s readers are not just rich and affluent, they are the virtually recession-proof top-tier of the luxury market.
“How many $30,000 watches can someone buy who earns $100,000 a year?” Bill Curtis, CurtCo’s chief executive said. “Demographically, these are people who can write a multi-million dollar check without selling their primary residence, and this is a market that stays vibrant and maintains lifestyle, even in difficult economic times.”
To serve that audience, CurtCo is amassing a rich list of titles.
Over the past four and a half years, the company’s portfolio has grown to include 14 luxury magazine titles. Among the titles are Robb Report Magazine, Worth Magazine, ShowBoats International, Home Entertainment, Vacation Homes, Sarasota Magazine, and San Diego Magazine. Curtis sees his company’s magazines as connecting with a previously untapped market, a point he makes with advertisers.
“For marketers, this ultra-affluent audience had always been next-to-impossible to reach,” Curtis said. “Executive assistants or staff would discard promotional brochures, filter phone contact, essentially preventing unrequested information or marketing materials from clogging the thought process of their ultra-affluent bosses.”
CurtCo has three titles scheduled for launch over the next year. Robb Report Luxury Resorts will hit newsstands in May, Robb Report Sports & Luxury Automobile will be released this fall and Robb Report Boutique, a women’s title, will debut in spring 2007.
With its new titles and acquisitions, CurtCo Media has grown its revenue from about $20 million to $100 million over the last four years. In 2003, the company secured $100 million in acquisition capital from private equity firms Weston Presidio and TD Capital. Curtis said the company is now “extremely profitable” and does not require additional outside investment.
CurtCo presently has more than 350 employees, 100 of whom are located in Malibu. Other company offices are in New York, Boston, Naples, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota and San Diego.
Magazine shopping
The company began its shopping spree in 2001 with the acquisitions of the Robb Report and Showcase magazine from Luxury Media Corp. Between 2002 and 2005, CurtCo acquired Worth, ShowBoats International, Gulfshore Life, Sarasota and most recently, San Diego Magazine. During that same period, CurtCo launched five titles of its own, dedicated to topics such as home entertainment, motorcycling, vacation and luxury homes.
Recent reports have the company acquiring Art & Antiques magazine, published by Atlanta-based Trans World Publishing.
Doug Billian Sr., owner of Trans World, did not return phone calls and CurtCo declined to comment on the acquisition, citing non-disclosure requirements during negotiations. But Curtco’s Curtis wrote in an e-mail last week that “acquisitions this coming month will add another 50-plus employees” to the company’s current roster, and added the company is “in the process of finalizing a couple of acquisitions.”
The super rich don’t spend all of their time reading magazines, of course. They like to party, too.
CurtCo hosts ultra-glam events for the “who’s who” of the luxury set. The happenings include CurtCo’s “Monaco Rendezvous,” where the company hosts and entertains about 400 mega-yacht owners for four days each June. Last year, CurtCo also held the Robb Report Best of the Best Los Angeles gala at Santa Monica Airport’s Hangar 8. At the dinner and auction, 600 Robb Report readers had the chance to drive a Rolls Royce Phantom and took part in auctions for several exclusive luxury items, including a BMW. The event raised more than $400,000 for charity.
Similar events will take place in San Diego and Naples, Florida this year.
“These events offer opportunities for like-minded, super-luxury consumers to get to know each other and experience the finest luxury products and services in the world,” Curtis said.
