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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:

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”.

The “viability audit” is understood to be well underway, with decisions on which magazines will face the chopping block expected before the end of the year.

One of Bauer Media’s worst-performing titles is Cosmopolitan which in the first half of the year saw its print circulation plummet to below 50,000.

In the first six months of last year Cosmo was shifting, on average, 77,181 copies a month and is now down to 43,299, according to the the most recent Audit Bureau of Circulation figures. However in August Chan told Mumbrella the title was “safe”.

The restructure follows on from the closure of Cleo in January. It ceased publishing motorsport magazine Auto Action in May.

The decision to offload Auto Action followed on from the magazine publisher closing Top Gear in October last year and selling three of its motorcycle titles – Australian Motorcycle News, Australasian Dirt Bike and Motorcycle Trader – to boutique publisher Citrus Media in August.

Bauer Media also closed Women’s Fitness, with Citrus Media saving the title.

All related brands will be organised under the five segments with other titles to be moved into content marketing and the company’s custom publishing arm BauerWorks.

Bauer Media declined to comment on any magazine closures.

Staff are set to find out further details of the new operating structure in coming weeks.

The news of the restructure of the business follows on from the announced departures of high profile publishers Marina Go and Matt Dominello.

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