Dotdash acquires Clique Brands publications Byrdie and MyDomaine

“We like beauty because it has the same traits of service [journalism] as our other brands. We want Byrdie and MyDomaine because other brands we had to invent from scratch, but with this, we have a headstart,” said Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash. Although both Clique Brands and Dotdash declined to say how much Byrdie and MyDomaine were acquired for, Vogel said Dotdash is not buying “struggling” media brands. Byrdie and MyDomaine see collectively 5.5 million unique monthly views, according to the brand. Most of their audience is composed of millennial and Gen-Z women. Ten Clique Brands staffers across sales, sales support and editorial will join Dotdash.

For its part, Clique Brands is maintaining ownership of its other publications, including College Fashionistaand WhoWhatWear, the latter of which has its own burgeoning consumer business. Clique Brands recently launched a new umbrella company called OffspringBeauty Co., which will house its first beauty line and future consumer brands.  Katherine Power, co-founder and CEO of Clique Brands, said it was a possibility that, in the future, other brands will be sold off.

“We see ourselves as a consumer-led consumer brand, and [with that], we are growing brands, incubating brands and also spinning them off,” she said, “This is a part of our evolution as a company. We still do ad partnerships, but we are focused on the commerce and consumer side of the business.”