On Thursday, Trump Magazine (yes, it really exists) announced that it will unveil a regional South Florida edition. Starting in February 2007, the national quarterly publication, which offers readers a peak into the lifestyle and business interests of Trump himself, will release a unique cover and content pertaining to the region.
The new edition will, according to a press release, increase the magazine's circulation and up its complimentary distribution at upscale locations including Trump properties in South Beach, Boca Raton and others.
The expansion comes after the magazine's parent company, Premiere Publishing Group (other-otc:
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"We experienced great success launching the regional New York edition…which leads us to believe there is a major market for a Trump Florida edition," said Michael Jacobson, editor and publisher of Trump and chief executive of the magazine's parent company, to journalists.
"Donald Trump has many existing and new real estate venture in the works in the area, so it's natural to regionalize the magazine there."
Currently, the eponymous publication boasts a circulation of 207,000, a quarter of which are distributed to properties of Trump.
That's left the real estate mogul and reality television star quite pleased. Appearing on CNBC's "On the Money" in September, Trump offered praise to Jacobson and the 24 workers the magazine's parent company employs.
"This started off as a magazine to go to all my places," said Trump on the show. "All of a sudden it started selling fast and they said let's take it to the next level. That's what they done."
Clearly Trump's name is the magazine's major selling point. But Jacobson is the man who started it all.
Staying in the Trump Martina hotel-casino in Atlantic City, N.J. after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Jacobson noticed there were no magazines in his suite. Then, the idea came to him and he soon found himself in a meeting with Trump, eventually winning his support to start a magazine called Trump World, which focused on the billionaire's real estate properties.
First published in 2002, it was largely a failure, losing more than $3 million dollars as of December 2005.
Trump, of course, didn't lose money though. A licensing agreement earned him $120,000 for each of the two issues published in 2005.
Starting in the spring of 2006, however, Jacobson changed directions, shifting the magazine's focus to Trump's opulent lifestyle and outsized personality. He also began marketing it to men, placing Donald on the cover and re-naming it Trump Magazine.
The results of the strategic shift have been successful, putting the magazine into the black. According to Jacobson, the magazine turned a profit of about a quarter of a million dollars on the spring issue.
Now the magazine, which retails for $5.99 an issue or $19.99 for a yearly subscription features advertisements from high end retailers like Rolls-Royce and Sector watches. It can be found in airports and stores like Barnes & Noble (nyse:
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This past July, Jacobson even took the magazine's-parent company public. (Premiere publishes another profitable magazine called Poker Life). Both he and Trump now own close to 23% of total shares, which as of the closing bell on Thursday, were trading at 69 cents per share, down 4% or 3 cents from the previous day.
According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Trump receives a royalty fee of $135,000 for each issue starting in 2006 and will continue to do so through 2009. He also has the right to review and approve each issue of the magazine at least 10 days before it's published.
