- The Dollar Shave Club dismissed the editorial staff of MEL Magazine on Wednesday, a source said.
- The site has become a darling of the media industry, despite being owned by a razor brand.
- MEL does not run advertising, but recently launched paid newsletters.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
The Dollar Shave Club is laying off the staff of MEL Magazine, its male culture and lifestyle website, said a person with direct knowledge of the subject.
MEL officials were informed of the layoffs on Wednesday. The publication is looking for a buyer and can be closed if it does not find one.
It was not clear how many people were affected. The MEL header lists about 20 people, plus 16 contributors.
“After six years of successful partnership and transforming male health and media spaces for the better, the financial relationship of MEL and the Dollar Shave Club will come to an end in 60 days,” said editor-in-chief Josh Schollmeyer in a statement.
Schollmeyer added: “MEL will stop publishing on Wednesday, and the full focus now will be on finding the right new owner. This has always been part of our brand-backed partnership plan, and we are incredibly proud of what we have built together.
“We are looking forward to our next phase of opportunity and growth, we thank our incredible team and readers for their support and now we can finally create all the shaver content that we are looking forward to exploring.”
A Dollar Shave Club spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
Founded in 2015, MEL has gained industry attention by going beyond traditional male media topics such as cars and fitness, and instead publishing stories about toxic masculinity alongside cultural coverage and funny material. On Wednesday, popular articles on the site included stories about why Irish people dislike the band U2, the ethics of saving nude photos sent by an ex, and the black market for counterfeit Viagra.
Dollar Shave Club launched MEL amid a wave of publications supported by brands – projects that often ended abruptly, as in the case of Casper and Airbnb. MEL published on Medium before becoming an independent website in 2018. Although the publication covered the masculine appearance, it maintained an editorial wall with the Dollar Shave Club and was not a vehicle for sponsored content.
This separation raised questions about how much MEL made financial sense to the razor seller. Michael Dubin, the founder and former CEO of the Dollar Shave Club who helped start MEL, left the Dollar Shave Club earlier this year. (Unilever acquired the company in 2016 for $ 1 billion, according to Fortune.)
The site was led by Schollmeyer and assistant editor Alana Hope Levinson. “I am very proud of what MEL has accomplished; how it has forever changed the male media landscape – and I hope some men too – for the better,” Levinson tweeted.
“When I was interviewed for the work of MEL, Michael Dubin told me that the project would be ‘editorially pure’ and he kept that promise,” said John McDermott, founding editor of MEL who now works as a freelancer.
“Dubin and Josh gave us time and space to take risks and find our voice, which is why MEL has cultivated such a loyal following,” added McDermott. “MEL would never have been so successful if we hadn’t had this creative freedom from the start, and I can’t imagine another business organization would provide the same level of support.”
The MEL website has no ads, but the publisher sells merchandise and sought to generate revenue through paid newsletters, launched this month.
Potential buyers for MEL remain unclear.
The author of this story previously wrote for MEL.