The Board of Managers of American Media, LLC's holding company have made the strategic decision to combine American Media and Accelerate360, LLC (Accelerate). The announcement was made by Accelerate CEO David Parry. As part of the consolidation, American Media will be renamed A360 Media and American Media President and CEO, David J. Pecker has been named Executive Advisor of A360 Media effective immediately.
"This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor," said Mr. Parry.
Mr. Parry also announced that Chris Scardino has been named President of A360 Media. Mr. Scardino, previously Executive Vice President and Group Publisher, is an 18-year veteran of American Media.
"A360 Media will be unlike anything the industry has seen with an ability to create direct access to consumers for our more than 2,300 active advertising partners," said Mr. Scardino. "I am excited to work closely with the innovative team at Accelerate and how we can leverage their insights from recent success with LifeToGo and their unparalleled marketing insights and analytics for our brands and partners."
A360 Media delivers extraordinary scale reaching more than 47 million men and women each month with the company's celebrity magazines, including Us Weekly, Life & Style, and OK!, delivering the #1 market share in the category. The brand's digital properties reach more than 60 million unique visitors monthly with more than 54 million social media fans & followers.
In addition to A360 Media, Accelerate's core businesses also include Accelerate360 which provides logistics, sales and distribution solutions for both retailers and brands including a BTB wholesale platform for retailers to discover and purchase products, and LifeToGo, its ecommerce and direct-to-consumer marketplace. Accelerate recently launched a successful line of Personal Protection Equipment that includes hand sanitizer, gloves, disinfectant wipes, cloth and disposable face masks, PPE safety packs and immunity boosting supplements under the LifeToGo brand. Accelerate also manages merchandising programs, featuring more than 600 SKUs in general merchandise and health and wellness, for national and regional grocers, and is the largest periodical distributor in North America delivering magazines to more than 55,000 retail locations weekly.
Synergies among the companies have already begun by leveraging A360 Media platform to build awareness and drive revenue of both LifeToGo products and other Accelerate supplier partners by utilizing advertising and marketing programs featuring products across A360 Media brands including Us Weekly, Life & Style, and Men's Journal.
A360 Media will remain based in New York with some operations and shared services moving to Accelerate's headquarters in Georgia.
About Accelerate360, LLC:
Accelerate360, LLC is one of the leading wholesale distribution companies in the United States distributing a wide array of products in the general merchandise and wellness space. It provides a number of turnkey business solutions for both businesses and brands including sourcing, distribution, program development, market research, merchandising, and marketing. Headquartered in Smyrna, Georgia, Accelerate has 1,500 employees across the U.S., with more than 50 distribution locations and more than 500 delivery trucks servicing grocery, mass, drug, convenience and other commercial entities. For more information, please visit www.accelerate360.com.
