Jobs to go as bookseller restructures

Book industry sources say job losses are "inevitable" with a restructuring announced by the owner of retail chains Whitcoulls and Borders.

REDgroup retail, formerly A&R Whitcoulls, is merging the support structures for all its Australian and New Zealand retail operations into one transtasman division.

REDgroup also owns the Australian Angus & Robertson chain, calendar speciality retailer Calendar Club and joint-venture news agency business Supanews.

As part of the restructuring, David Fenlon has been appointed group managing director.

"Unfortunately, in combining our people to create one support team, a number of roles have been impacted," he told the NZX.

He said that under the new structure a new managing director, Peter Kalan, had been appointed for New Zealand.

Fenlon said the restructuring affected the company's three support offices - Auckland, Melbourne and Chadstone - with the two Australian operations merging. A handful of jobs in Australia had already gone, with the final tally yet to be determined.

He would not be drawn on likely job losses in Auckland, saying the company was in consultation with staff.

But he insisted that there wouldin fact be a net increase in thenumber of people working at the Whitcoulls head office in Queen St.

"We are making sure that that support office ... will support the Whitcoulls and Borders brands [and] will continue to have all the functions in it."

There would be no store closures or layoffs of retail staff.

He denied that the company was centralising its administration in Australia, saying there would be category, inventory and IT teams in both countries.

However a source told the Business Herald it looked as if the plan was to centralise book buying in Australia, and that would "inevitably" lead to job losses on this side of the Tasman.

Book Publishers Association of New Zealand president Tony Fisk said the industry would work through the issues with REDgroup, and had stressed the importance of continuing to promote locally published books.

"Books have got to be visible at retail."

REDGROUP
* Formerly A&R Whitcoulls, rebranded REDgroup last year.

* Owns the Whitcoulls, Borders, Angus & Robertson, Calendar Club and Supanews chains.

* Has 90 stores in New Zealand and 210 in Australia.

* Owned by private equity group Pacific Equity Partners.