The McKinsey Marquee

For a company that fights tooth and nail to keep its face behind the iron curtain, McKinsey has certainly been having its fair share of headlines recently. Today, the firm made the front page with the news that Condé Nast had heeded its advice, and will soon shutter four of its titles, perhaps the largest (and most surprising) of which is food enthusiasts' beloved Gourmet. The other magazines soon to sign off are Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride, in addition to the corporation laying off about 180 staff. These cuts are part of McKinsey's grand plan for the magazine giant to reduce expenses by 20-25 percent in an attempt to cope with the much-diminished flow of advertisements.

McKinsey must have made a real impression at Condé Nast; the publisher has never been quick to stop producing titles, and over the past year, as revenue has dwindled, it has resorted to cuts primarily at its newer publications, leaving its more entrenched titles alone. Regarding the closures, Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend said, "We've been working with those titles in addition to others titles to maximize their financial health in this economy. And unfortunately, these titles just fall below the line. We can't sustain them." Maybe so, but the news on Gourmet certainly caught many by surprise; bets were on CN's second food title—Bon Appétit—as the publication more likely to be disbanded.