Yesterday, Nikkei reported that Kadokawa is restructuring its internal companies, as well as their respective editorial departments, in response to a rapidly cooling publishing market.
The new structure will be made up of five departments:
- Business, Life, and Culture
- Comics and Characters
- Magazine Brands
- ASCII Media Works
- Enterbrain
While some brand names will remain, many will be dissolved. While the full list of brand names to be dissolved hasn’t been released, Nikkei confirmed that Fujimi Shobo (light novel brand) and Kadokawa Shoten are on the chopping block.
The editorial staff of Kadokawa’s various brands will be consolidated into these new department. Last month, Kadokawa started offering early retirement for roughly 300 senior editorial staffers.
Kadokawa will transfer control of Famitsu magazine to its parent company, Kadokawa Dwango Corporation. The publication, which was originally published by Enterbrain, will be added to Kadokawa Dwango’s Corporation’s Strategy Headquarters Department.
The company restructured in 2013, when it merged and absorbed nine of its subsidiaries. Each of the absorbed companies retained their names as brand companies and employed their own editorial staffs.
After the consolidation, the company recorded total sales of 94.36 billion yen ($793.16 million USD) for 2013, a 109.7% increase over the previous year.
Source: Anime News Network
