NatMags will axe marketing roles in bid to reduce costs

The National Magazine Company, publisher of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire, is merging its marketing and circulation departments as part of a major cost-cutting strategy.

The newly formed department will be headed by director of circulations and marketing, Sharon Douglas, who will move into the new role of director of consumer sales and marketing.

The initiative is the next stage in a restructure that recently saw the merger of the publisher’s digital and print operations. As part of this, the digital and magazine marketing departments have now also merged and will fall under Douglas’ remit.

The changes will come into full effect from June 1.

The restructure means that marketing director for weeklies, Zoe Harris, and Hearst digital head of marketing Claire Higgins have left the company. It is not known how many other staff have been affected by the changes.

In February, the publisher, owned by Hearst, said it would lose about 15% of its staff across the whole business and make up to 100 people redundant.

NatMags publishes 20 consumer magazine titles and 12 websites.

It recently appointed Arnaud de Puyfontaine as chief executive. He joined from Group Mondadori France and took over from Duncan Edwards, who left to become president and ceo of Hearst Magazines International.