The new 8,000 square foot site is comprised of office workspace, video production facilities, many category-specific testing areas, meeting rooms and a warehouse. The Hearst Institute represents a significant investment by Hearst UK, expanding its established testing site, the Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) at St. Anne’s Court in Soho.
The new site provides additional product testing and accreditation opportunities for all of Hearst’s other brands such as Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Runner’s World, Harper’s Bazaar Country Living and Men’s Health. It will also offer an authoritative and trusted testing service to Hearst’s commercial customers that’s based on expertise and authenticity, says Hearst.
The White Goods, Appliance and Tech teams at the GHI will move to the new facility while the GHI Beauty and Food teams will remain in Soho. All new categories will be serviced in Feltham with operations at both sites overseen by Sophie Wilkinson, Hearst UK’s Head of Project Management and Operations.
This expansion signifies Hearst UK’s increasing investment in its testing business which also sees several new hires joining the team.
James Wildman, CEO, Hearst UK & President, Hearst Europe said: “We are delighted to launch The Hearst Institute which will greatly increase our product testing capacity and accelerate our accreditation and e-commerce businesses. The GHI endorsements that so effectively drive retail sales across many product categories will now be extended beyond Good Housekeeping to our other iconic and trusted brands and we look forward to partnering with advertisers on this new opportunity for strong mutual benefit.”
