Purch Group, Inc. was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based digital media company. Originally established in 2003 as TechMedia Network, Inc., it was positioned as a "portfolio of brands and products focused on purchasing decisions"—consisting primarily of websites focusing on reviews of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic ( analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usuall ...

, positioned to marketers as outlets to " directly engage with buyers in the right place, at the right time". In 2018, Purch sold its consumer brands to

Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

. Its

business-to-business Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) is a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This typically occurs when: * A business is sourcing materials for their production process for output (e.g., a ...

unit Business.com was not included in the sale.

History

In 2009, Purch, then known as TechMedia Network, Inc. acquired

LiveScience Live Science is a science news website run by Future via Purch, which it purchased from Imaginova in 2009. Stories and editorial commentary are typically syndicated to major news outlets, such as Yahoo!, MSNBC, AOL, and Fox News.{{fact, date=Marc ...

, Space.com and

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History ...

from Imaginova. Two years later, TechMedia Network acquired Laptop Magazine from Bedford Communications. In July 2013, the company acquired Bestofmedia Group, publisher of

Tom's Hardware ''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...

Tom's Guide ''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...

, Tom's IT Pro,

Anandtech ''AnandTech'' is an online computer hardware magazine owned by Future plc. It was founded in 1997 by then-14-year-old Anand Lal Shimpi, who served as CEO and editor-in-chief until August 30, 2014, with Ryan Smith replacing him as editor-in-chief ...

and a variety of sister publications across Europe. TechMedia Network, Inc. acquired BuyerZone.com, LLC from

Reed Business Information RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

in early 2014. In April 2014, TechMedia Network. changed its name to Purch and simultaneously announced an exclusive partnership with Mobile Nations, a portfolio of mobile-focused online communities. In December 2014, Purch announced the acquisition of

AnandTech ''AnandTech'' is an online computer hardware magazine owned by Future plc. It was founded in 1997 by then-14-year-old Anand Lal Shimpi, who served as CEO and editor-in-chief until August 30, 2014, with Ryan Smith replacing him as editor-in-chief ...

and in March 2015 the company announced the acquisition of mobile shopping app Consumr, which was rebranded that following July as Purchx. Included in the rebrand was the launch of the Purch Marketplace, where shoppers can browse and buy technology products and services online. In September 2015, Purch acquired Active Junky, a

loyalty program A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...

and online shopping site for outdoor gear. This was followed by the December 2015 acquisition of ShopSavvy, a mobile shopping app. Purch's 2015 round of funding ($135 million) was led by Canso Investment Counsel. Purch has received additional funding from ABS Capital Partners, Village Ventures, and Highway 12 Ventures. Purch was headquartered in New York City, where Greg Mason served as CEO. In 2018, Purch announced that it would sell its consumer brands to British media company

for $132.5 million. Its business-to-business operations were retained under the Business.com banner (which it had acquired in 2016).

List of websites

The company owned and operated the following websites: * Active Junky *

* Consumr * Herman Street * Laptop Mag *

* ShopSavvy * Space.com * Tom's Guide * Tom's Guide (France) *

* Tom's Hardware (France) * Tom's Hardware (Italy) * Tom's Hardware (UK) * Tom's IT Pro * Top Ten Reviews Following websites were not included during the sale to Future, and went under Business.com: * Business News Daily * Business.com * BuyerZone

References

External links

* {{Future plc Digital media Mass media companies of the United States 2018 disestablishments in New York (state) 2018 mergers and acquisitions