Mailchimp acquires Courier, making its first move into print

The US and Canada-based marketing platform Mailchimp, used globally by businesses to build and put out email newsletters to its clients, has acquired small, London-based media company Courier Media. Through its bi-monthly magazine and newspaper, newsletter, podcast and events, the company publishes content focused on modern entrepreneurs and small businesses internationally, which Mailchimp says “perfectly aligns with its own values”.

In June last year Mailchimp launched its editorial platform Mailchimp Presents, which features original short-form series, films and podcasts (such as Outer Monologue by Katy Wang) commissioned by the company and similarly aimed at small businesses and entrepreneurs. This move, however, marks its first move into print, as it says Courier’s content “will resonate with entrepreneurs and small businesses worldwide” and “will be an incredible asset to our customers on their journey to start and grow their businesses”. In a statement about the acquisition, which does not disclose costs involved, Mailchimp says it will provide Courier with resources to “help make more content available in more places to more people”.

The publisher, founded in 2013 by Jeff Taylor, says on its website that it currently reaches 100,000 readers in 26 countries. Its newspaper is currently only distributed in London but is planned for expansion in “cities farther afield”. In 2018, Forbes reported that Mailchimp was worth an estimated $4.2 billion, and in 2019 the company announced its annual revenue would reach $700 million.

In its 2019 annual report, Mailchimp declared it has over 12 million active customers, with an average of 10,977 users signing up for an account every day. It also apparently has a 60.5 per cent share of the email marketing industry.

Taylor said in a statement that having worked with Mailchimp as a brand partner for a while, when they approached him “it felt like a very natural fit. Our mission, like theirs, has always been to be a voice and a trusted friend for a new generation of entrepreneurs who don't look or act like 'big business’”. He also commented that the tech company could help elevate what Courier already does on a small scale by impacting “millions more people on a level we could never have achieved on our own”.