Bauer Media braces for more massive shake ups with company to restructure under five pillars
Bauer Media is set shut magazines and streamline its presence around five consumer segments, with all magazines currently undergoing a “viability” audit.
New CEO Nick Chan outlined his vision to staff at a meeting on Monday, and will focus the company on five pillars: Women’s Entertainment & Lifestyle; Homes; Food; Fashion, Health & Beauty; Motoring and Trader
Nick Chan is understood to have handed down his vision for Bauer Media at an all company meeting on Monday
According to a report in The Australian Financial Review, Chan told staff that the company’s revenue model needed changing, with brands that are working needing to be extended while those that are not performing will be assessed for their “viability”.
Surely this can’t come as a surprise? You don’t hire Nick Chan looking for visionary, creative, inspirational leadership. You hire him because you want to lower costs, tighten things up, make more money out of current assets, and make tough decisions.
However that might sound, this isn’t a criticism, Nick is a good operator, he is following his playbook.
Surprising no one.
Shoulda done this 5 years ago.
Watch Pacific follow suit.
Imagine being in the stalls ready to purchase the bargain of a lifetime – Packer’s publications that had been worth a fortune… and then having to close most of them due to dwindling sales and readership over the next five years or so.
Publishing Packer meets the Publishing Bond – only I don’t think there’s a ‘buy-back’ clause…
Absolutely no point working in print – no future, no $, makes no sense
Hi Matt, I’ve been both hired and also ‘let go’ by Nick Chan. I agree with all your comments bar one – he is skilled as you say at freeing up ill-spent costs and resources to increase profits and fund growth and creativity – this is his modus operandi. Where I beg to differ is that Nick is also a great leader, both visionary and inspirational – leaders know where they want a company to go and how to get there, they make hard decisions, not walk around telling people everything’s ok and making platitudes.
Sure it’s no secret that magazine/newspaper sales have declined over previous years. Just catch a train and look at almost every commuter staring at their mobile devices, playing games or flicking their screen on Facebook, not many of these people are reading anything of any real purpose. I am one of the minority’s still buying and reading magazines but I am tired of seeing ‘The Kardashians’, Kate and Wills, Bec Hewitt or Nicole Kidmans problems and Jennifer Anistans invisible baby bump on cover’s nearly every week or some other American’s face looking back at me!! Australia has great journalists who are talented and local content that would be more interesting but our magazine content is usually from UK or US magazines. Possibly reducing the amount of magazines is the way to go and improve the content inside so we maybe more inclined to purchase magazines into the future !!!
As a Grey Nomad writer, I still like to read a hard copy mag in bed before going to sleep.
Call me old fashioned, but I would still rather read, and be able to look back at a hard copy story, than have it in digital form.
Heaven help us oldies if mags and REAL books ever go.