Sugar's shopping spree goes on with Coutorture buy
Rainbow-hued blog network Sugar Inc. is on one heck of a shopping spree: last month, the women's media company purchased social shopping site ShopStyle, and now it's bought fashion-centric blog hub Coutorture Media.
No financial terms were disclosed.
Coutorture, which will remain a standalone site despite the new Sugar affiliation, isn't a blog network in the traditional sense. The 230+ blogs that it counts under its trendy umbrella aren't officially run by the site, nor are they part of an advertising network like Glam Media; they're the fashion-related blogs run by Coutorture readers who have applied to become part of the site and run a chance of extra hits if their headlines make it to the front page. (Internet historians: Remember WebRing?) The main Coutorture.com site also offers original editorial content.
With the acquisition, Coutorture editor in chief Julie Fredrickson will stay at the helm, and co-founder Phil Leif will take on the role of Senior Engineer at Sugar Inc. The site, meanwhile, will be infused with technology from fellow Sugar buy ShopStyle.
Clearly, Sugar Inc. is pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy here, and company CEO Brian Sugar indicated in a chat with CNET News.com that these deals are far from over. He also quelled any speculation that Sugar Inc. itself was for sale, a possibility that several bloggers have raised.
"This company is absolutely not for sale," he asserted.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
