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Shecky's Media, Inc. is a multi-platform media company, city guide publisher and website.

History

Shecky’s Media, Inc. Founder, CEO, Events & Nightlife Visionary Chris Hoffman started Shecky’s nearly twelve years ago while working as a commodities trader on Wall Street. Shecky’s was originally a publishing company featuring Shecky’s bar and restaurant guide books. Today, Shecky’s has grown into a multi-million dollar media company featuring Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out, the iconic beauty and fashion events for young women, held in Manhattan and 13 other major cities across the country.

Shecky’s is equally well-known for its wildly popular website: www.sheckys.com: the go-to resource for women who are fashion and style - conscious. Shecky’s continues to thrive in a ‘down’ beauty market thanks to its smart marketing and branding strategies focused on a budget-focused, cosmopolitan female demographic.

Just as Shecky’s bar guides were launched as a “side project” by a savvy Wall Streeter to write off some nightlife expenses, Hoffman has taken this same spend thrift mentality to help city women save money on beauty and fashion costs while morphing into stylish cosmopolitan mavens.

Hoffman now leads a 28+, mostly female staff that follows the latest fashion trends around the world and interprets them for the Shecky’s audience. Hoffman heads and manages all departments at Shecky’s including: marketing, events and sales. Hoffman’s vision has pushed Shecky’s to $8-million in revenues for 2008. Revenue projections for 2009 and 2010 have increased considerably while many beauty companies in the U.S. and throughout the world have downsized in 2009.

Early Shecky’s:

The name “Shecky’s” comes from a nickname given to Hoffman during his early Wall Street days for his ‘wise guy’ personae, reminiscent of comedian Shecky Green.

Hoffman wrote and published his first Shecky’s guide in 1998 while working at Lehman Brothers in downtown Manhattan. In the following years, the series became popular in Manhattan with its no-nonsense write-ups of local nightlife haunts. The Zagat-style Shecky’s books, and online nightlife content became a trusted resource for twenty-something bar and club-goers in New York City.

Fast forward to 2001 when Hoffman threw a launch party for one of his guide books called “Pretty in the City,” a how-to guide for fashion forward city girls. Hoffman invited emerging fashion and jewelry designers to take part by purchasing table space at the event. The designers set up booths and sold dresses, bags, jewelry and more. Hoffman knew he “hit a nerve” in the beauty and fashion market when hundreds of Manhattan girls showed up to shop and sip complimentary cocktails at what would become Hoffman’s first Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out.

Over the years, Hoffman continued to expand and improve Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out, attracting big-name sponsors looking to expand their brands with the Shecky’s audience. Shecky’s now holds its Girls’ Night Out events in 14 major cities across the country, attended by 150,000 women annually. Shecky’s popular website receives 250,000 “unique visitors” per month, with more than one million “page views” per month. The interactive site is continually being improved to appeal to Shecky’s fans and build brand loyalty.

Chris was born in Brooklyn, and moved to Manhattan with his family when he was 16 years old in 1984. He lives in the downtown Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo, a ten minute walk from his new offices also located in SoHo.

In 2006, Shecky's opened a fashion boutique in Manhattan's Lower East Side, named Shecky's Shop [1][2].

Events

Shecky's also organizes highly-popular fashion and beauty events, Girls' Night Out and Beauty Week, in cities around the United States. Their popular Girls' Night Out [3][4] fashion and beauty event takes place seasonally in cities across the country. The New York event is held in Manhattan's landmark Puck Building. Hundreds of designers and vendors participate in these events each year, representing the best in beauty and fashion in their respective cities.

External links

• official website
• "Nightlife Guide Raises The Bar", New York Daily News, June 18, 2006

Zappia, Corrina. " Shecky's vs. Girlshop", The Village Voice, March 3, 2006

Lerner, Dana. "Fashionistas Flock to Shecky's Girls Night Out", NYU LiveWire