Mango (pictured) joins handbag.com from Sugarscape.com (also owned by Hearst Magazines UK) where he has been Editor of the dynamic leading youth website for the past three and half years.
As Editor of Sugarscape.com, Mango oversaw the website’s phenomenal growth which set a high benchmark for multi-platform activity and mobile growth, says Hearst. During his time at Sugarscape.com, the website’s traffic increased by 592% from 120,000 to more than 830,000 uniques per month, with page impressions growing from 1 million to more than 7 million.
Sugarscape.com launched an iPhone app last November which receives 400 downloads per week and in January 2012, more than half a million visits to the website were via mobile – an 800% increase year on year.
In 2010 Mango won the Innovation Award at the Hachette Filipacchi Awards and was shortlisted for Digital Editorial Individual at the AOP Awards 2011. He also has nine years experience in youth, music, lifestyle and entertainment journalism having held senior positions at Smash Hits, ITV Mobile and as a freelance print and web journalist at FHM.com, OK, Nuts and Asian Woman.
Mango, who joins handbag.com on 1 March, will be replacing outgoing Editor Rebecca Holman. Handbag.com currently boasts 400,000 unique visitors and 2.4 million page impressions per month; it was launched in 2000 for a discerning young female audience serious about style and fashion. He will report into Digital Strategy Director, Rebecca Miskin.
In addition to his new role at handbag.com, Mango will continue to oversee Sugarscape.com. Kate Lucey will become Acting Editor of Sugarscape.com and Lauren Franklin is to be promoted to Weekend Editor.
Hearst Magazines UK is the biggest magazine publisher online in the UK reaching more than 20 million monthly unique users online (source: Comscore). As well as handbag.com and Sugarscape.com, the company publishes 22 magazines and 21 magazine websites and digital pureplays in the UK including the leading health and wellbeing website NetDoctor, leading entertainment news website Digital Spy and cosmopolitan.co.uk, which currently has more than 1 million uniques per month.
Digital Strategy Director Rebecca Miskin says, “I am thrilled to appoint Mango as Editor of handbag.com – his talent, high energy and multi-platform creativity in the women’s space will be a huge asset to this flagship blue-chip fashion & beauty brand. His digital expertise and success on Sugarscape.com will be invaluable as we successfully expand handbag.com. I’d also like to thank Rebecca and wish her all the best in the future.”
Mango Saul says, “This is an exciting time to be joining handbag.com which has the potential to be the biggest online brand in the UK. With a planned re-design, mobile site, app and more brand extensions to launch in 2012, handbag.com won’t just be an amazing website but a multi-platform addictive product.”
