Help navigation
- Tuesday, 18 June
Log in to TheBookseller.com
News
-
RELATED STORIES
-
Authors feature in Queen's Birthday Honours
Women's prize for ficti...
-
Poulter sparks BA debate on terms
A debate over how much publ...
-
Book Tokens reveals rewards programme
National Book Tokens is lau...
-
Maher made Stanfords m.d.
Tony Maher has been appoint...
-
WHS quarterly sales down 5%
WH Smith has reported a tot...
Hutchings to leave Blackwell
26.04.11 | Lisa Campbell
Blackwell c.e.o. Andrew Hutchings has been made redundant as part of an "internal team restructure" at the company.
The academic bookseller is dispensing with the role of c.e.o. to continue its intentions to increase "local ownership and customer service" across its stores.
Instead the company has separated its library supply and bookshop operations into two separate "business units", which will be lead by different managing directors.
Hutchings will take control of the library supply division for an interim period until a new m.d is appointed.
He has given 23 years of service to Blackwell, spending the last three in the chief executive role. Blackwell chairman Trevor Goul-Wheeker said the redundancy of Hutchings' position was "mutually agreed."
He told The Bookseller: "This is a structure that Andrew and the management team proposed. He doesn't see the need for a c.e.o, it makes sense to have separate business units that are really focussed on the customer. It is a mature decision." He added Hutchings wanted to move to a role outside the industry.
David Prescott, formerly business development director for Blackwell, will be m.d of the bookstore and online business unit. Prescott said he was looking forward to helping the company back to profitability in his new role. He said: "I am delighted to have been given the opportunity by Toby Blackwell and the Board to take the business forwards on the next phase of our decentralisation programme.
"Over the coming months we will continue to focus on delivering profitability through a framework which encourages local decision making and ownership by our booksellers."
In streamlining the business, Blackwell last year sold its Australian and North American library supply business to YBP Library Services, a division of Baker & Taylor Inc, and focused on its retail and library operation in the UK and Europe.
Goul-Wheeker said further reorganisation of the library supply team will be announced next month. "The details are currently under negotiation but further redundancies cannot be ruled out," he said.
Last month, the bookseller announced it had nearly halved its operating losses to £5.6m and expected to become profitable in the next two years. When that happens, it plans to offer its employees a stake in the business through a partnership scheme, to incentivise them to help continue Blackwell's success.
Across print and online The...
Competitive + Commission
TheBookseller
©2012 Bookseller Media Ltd rights reserved.
Comments: Scroll down for the latest comments and to have your say
By posting on this website you agree to the Bookseller comments policy. Comments go direct to live please be relevant, brief and definitely not abusive. Report any "unsuitable comments by clicking the links"
Sort: Oldest first | Newest first | Readers' most recommended
What is it about Blackwell that constantly morph into something else but always weaker and poorer on each occasion?. It's been doing it for years, since the 80's , hireing and fireing but rarely the right people, who are probably called Blackwell frankly.
as a former Blackwell VP of the U.S. company, retired now for over 11 years, but having served 30 years with what was a great company, who held the pride of its employees, most with long and dedicated service, the events of failure is sad indeed. It began when one Mr. Julian Blackwell (Toby) got rid of his nephew Miles Blackwell, and began all sorts of measures which were bad decisions. He destroyed his own company, without meaning to, but out of lack of knowledge about what the business was all about. And he hired people at top positions who did not have a clue, at high salaries, and even higher severance packages when it was time to admit their failure, and leave the firm.
He hired the firm, Arthur Andersen to do a review and write a submission as to how to grow the business, and sent them to the U.S.after the U.K. to interview the management team here, and we laughed at them. They had no clew what the business was about. You now may recall that Anderson went out of business after the Enron fiasco in this country i.e. U.S.A. Sad, sad business decision. Good luck to Andrew. I am sure he someday will write a paper as to what went wrong, as he was part of it, but not intentionally.
sad, sad.
don
What a shame, another bout of turmoil when the business needs stability. Good luck Andrew, wish you well.
So finally the axe falls sensibly; where it should have fallen years ago. This is one of those "after the horse has bolted scenarios" and one can see the end is in sight for Blackwell despite all the ridiculous positive spin and bravado. What will be left in 5 years? Possibly a few of the major bookshops! What a mess has been made of a historically great company, which should still be flourishing, but for poor management decisions on a never ending basis over the last decade or so.
What is it about Blackwell that constantly morph into something else but always weaker and poorer on each occasion?. It's been doing it for years, since the 80's , hireing and fireing but rarely the right people, who are probably called Blackwell frankly.
as a former Blackwell VP of the U.S. company, retired now for over 11 years, but having served 30 years with what was a great company, who held the pride of its employees, most with long and dedicated service, the events of failure is sad indeed. It began when one Mr. Julian Blackwell (Toby) got rid of his nephew Miles Blackwell, and began all sorts of measures which were bad decisions. He destroyed his own company, without meaning to, but out of lack of knowledge about what the business was all about. And he hired people at top positions who did not have a clue, at high salaries, and even higher severance packages when it was time to admit their failure, and leave the firm.
He hired the firm, Arthur Andersen to do a review and write a submission as to how to grow the business, and sent them to the U.S.after the U.K. to interview the management team here, and we laughed at them. They had no clew what the business was about. You now may recall that Anderson went out of business after the Enron fiasco in this country i.e. U.S.A. Sad, sad business decision. Good luck to Andrew. I am sure he someday will write a paper as to what went wrong, as he was part of it, but not intentionally.
sad, sad.
don
What a shame, another bout of turmoil when the business needs stability. Good luck Andrew, wish you well.
So finally the axe falls sensibly; where it should have fallen years ago. This is one of those "after the horse has bolted scenarios" and one can see the end is in sight for Blackwell despite all the ridiculous positive spin and bravado. What will be left in 5 years? Possibly a few of the major bookshops! What a mess has been made of a historically great company, which should still be flourishing, but for poor management decisions on a never ending basis over the last decade or so.