Lush magazine acquired by digital signage company

Bassett Publishing, a newly formed division of a company whose principal business is in digital signage, has acquired Lush magazine (and says it plans to launch a second title this spring called Argyle aimed at "elite corporate executives.")

The parent company, the Bassett Media Group specializes in out-of-home digital advertising and its group includes Impulse Media (40 screens in Rexall Pharama Plus stores) and Concourse Media (51 screens in the Toronto financial district). According to The Canadian Press, the company is headed by Matthew Bassett, a son of the late Baton Broadcasting media magnate John Bassett and former TV personality and Ontario cabinet minister Isabel Bassett. In a release, Basset Media Group said it also intends to move into the wireless market next year with a bid on available spectrum in the auction to be held by the federal government.

Lush magazine is a glossy, controlled circ fashion and beauty book that distributes about 130,000 copies now, mostly through selective inclusion in the Globe and Mail (60,000 in Toronto, 40,000 in Montreal, 20,000 in Vancouver) and the National Post (10,000 in Calgary). Bassett Publishing says it plans to increase the number of distributed copies to 150,000 with its spring issue, and will apply for a circulation audit with the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). The magazine's winter issue is due to be included in the Globe and Mail next week. A full page in the magazine costs $17,000. A subscription for those outside its distribution net is $22.

Launched originally by Mahfud Ibrahim and Mark Keast of the Pennant Media Group (who retain an equity stake and remain with the company), Lush has been remarked upon for its lavish presentation, particularly the hand-drawn typography of well-known art director and typographer Paul Sych during its first issues.