Complex was established in 2002 by the founder of the
Ecko Unltd. brand,
Marc Eckō, as a print magazine aimed at providing young men a report of the latest in
hip hop,
fashion and
pop culture without regard to race. The idea was to create a men's magazine that combined Eckō's
streetwear and hip hop attitude along with the style of Japanese men's magazines by providing
consumer guides. This was achieved by creating a magazine in two sections: one traditional magazine, and the other a shopping guide. In 2005,
Complex was joined by senior publishing executive turned future CEO, Rich Antoniello By 2006,
Complex had begun to turn a profit which allowed the magazine to consider an expansion of their online presence. In April 2007,
Complex soft-launched a media network with four websites: NahRight, Nice Kicks, SlamxHype and MoeJackson.
Complex In September 2007, Complex launched Complex Media in order to fully
capitalize on the trend toward digital content. In 2010, ad sales grew 154%. According to
comScore,
Complex got 12 million unique hits in March 2012. This encouraged large brands such as
Coors,
AT&T,
Ford,
McDonald's,
Nike,
Adidas and
Apple to advertise within the collective.
Complex now includes over 100 sites. In 2012, Complex launched Four Pins, a humorous menswear site, edited by Fuck Yeah Menswear author Lawrence Schlossman; Sneaker Report, a performance footwear site; and
First We Feast, a food culture site edited by former
Time Out New York food editor Chris Schonberger. In 2013, Complex launched the dance music site Do Androids Dance and Green Label, a branded content site presented by
Mountain Dew. That year, Complex also acquired the
sneakerhead culture magazine and website
Sole Collector. On November 4, 2013,
Complex premiered a new logo and cover design on
Instagram that would appear online, as well as on the December 2013
Eminem cover issue. In 2013, Complex partnered with Mountain Dew to launch "
Green Label" an entertainment and culture website. In 2014, Complex launched an
NBA-themed website called "Triangle Offense" in a partnership with
Bacardi rum. In August 2014, Complex ranked #3 in the United States in a
ComScore survey of unique visitors between the ages of 18 and 34 with 20.3 million in that
demographic per month. In January 2015, it announced its acquisition of
Collider, the online source for movies, television, breaking news, incisive content, and imminent trends. Collider.com reaches over 3 million monthly unique readers (comScore, December 2014) powered by a team of ten writers, including founder and Editor in Chief Steve Weintraub. In February 2018,
Complex sold Collider.com to former head-of-video Marc Fernandez. In 2015, Do Androids Dance was merged into Complex. In 2016, Four Pins was closed.
Funding In 2009, Complex raised $12.8 million from Accel Partners and Austin Ventures. In September 2013, it secured $25 million in a second round of funding from
Iconix Brand Group, who own
Rocawear,
Starter,
Eckō Unltd. and
Umbro, among others.
Verizon Hearst Media Partners subsidiary On April 18, 2016, Complex was acquired by a joint venture of
Hearst Communications and
Verizon Communications, Verizon Hearst Media Partners. The venture emphasized a goal of building "a portfolio of the emerging digital brands of the future for the
millennial and
Gen-Z audience", and proposed that Complex would develop content for Verizon-owned
AOL and
go90. After a failure to reach expectations, on June 29, 2018, Verizon announced that go90 would shut down. ==Covers==