Cahners Business Information

Cahners Business Information published more than 150 magazines and 140 Web sites. It emerged as the world's leading provider of business-to-business information in the late 1990s with a subscriber base of more than 7 million. Having evolved from a consumer magazine publisher to a leading business-to-business publisher, Cahners's new focus was on operating online portals including e-INSITE, Variety.com, Buildingteam.com, and Manufacturing Marketplace. Its divisions, Cahners In-Stat Group and Cahners Research, also offered specialized directories, databases, business lists, market research, newsletters, conferences, and seminars.

The creation of Cahners Business Information stemmed from a series of acquisitions made by Reed Elsevier Inc. Founded in the late 1940s by Norman Cahners, the company began as a single magazine and grew into a business-to-business publishing and trade show company by the 1960s. Reed International purchased the firm in 1976, and Cahners grew steadily under its parent by acquiring the bibliographic directories of R.R. Bowker and many medical and consumer magazines. The firm also operated the Reed trade show division.

One of Reed's key purchases, The Travel Group, was established in the mid-1960s by Ziff Davis and included the operations of the Hotel & Travel Index, a guide used by travel agents across the globe. Reed International bought the group in 1989 from Rupert Murdoch and formed the Reed Travel Group. In 1993, Reed International merged with the Dutch publishing firm Elsevier, forming publishing giant Reed Elsevier. Two years later, Cahners sold its consumer magazines to focus on its operations in the business, professional, and medical markets.

In 1997, Reed Elsevier purchased the Chilton Business Group from ABC Inc. Chilton, whose early history dated back to 1904, was operating as a large business-to-business publisher with three major divisions including US Trade Magazines, Professional Exposition Management Co. (PEMCO), and Chilton Research Services. The acquisition was the final link in Reed's plan to create the largest business-to-business publisher in the world. In 1998, Reed formed Cahners Business Information, which included Cahners Publishing Co., Chilton Business Group, and Reed Travel Group.

Shortly after the formation of the new firm, Cahners's management began divesting certain magazine interests and started focusing on beefing up its operations in the electronic marketplace. In late 1998, Cahners formed a partnership with Microsoft's online travel service, Expedia.com, to create the largest Internet-based hotel database. Early the next year, the company continued to restructure operations as part of its Internet strategy. Supermarketworld.com was launched as Cahners's first Web-only magazine. It offered news and information on the retail grocery industry. By this time, the firm had established such Web sites as the Manufacturing Marketplace, a leading business-to-business Internet site for manufacturing and engineering professionals; e-inSITE, an Internet resource for the electronic original manufacture market; and Buildingteam.com, an Internet resource catering to the design and construction industry. Cahners also partnered with PartMiner, a company that would provide the technology needed to make online purchases on the e-inSITE Web site.

Cahners's transition from a traditional publishing firm to a technologically advanced business-to-business unit was not necessarily a smooth ride. The company, while divesting operations not related to its core industries, was forced to cut jobs by nearly 500 in 1999 alone. Operating profits also declined by 40 percent that year. In February 2000, Marc Teren took over as CEO of Cahners after Bruce Barnet's sudden resignation. Under new leadership, the firm bounced back and focused its Internet strategy primarily on creating vertical portals (Web sites that provided Web content), information, and purchasing capabilities for the electronics, manufacturing, construction, and publishing industries. As part of this strategy, the firm acquired the construction information firm CMD Group. Cahners also partnered with u.Bid.com to launch a live auction site for construction equipment, and also teamed up with Aspect Development Inc., a company that would enable its Manufacturing Marketplace site to handle purchasing transactions. In June 2000, Cahners announced plans to acquire eLogic Corp., a Web developer and application service provider. Management planned to utilize the firm's expertise to construct and maintain its Web sites.

Cahners continued to focus on expanding its business-to-business outreach and created an Internet division, Cahners Digital, to oversee its growth in the Internet arena. According to Teren, creating the division would increase the firm's speed to market and expand its impact in these markets. Through its development of vertical portals and its increased presence on the Web, Cahners had secured a leading position among business-to-business information providers. The company had made a significant impact in the electronic media industry in just two short years— more than 67 percent of U.S. managerial and professional laborers utilized Cahners's information services.