Trinity Mirror hires HMV’s Fox as chief executive
Simon Fox, chief executive of struggling entertainment retailer HMV Group, will take over the helm at Trinity Mirror next month as the British newspaper group seeks a fresh strategy to counter falling newspaper sales and weak advertising markets.
Trinity Mirror, which owns the Daily Mirror as well as over 100 regional titles, said today that Fox will be paid £500,000 a year with a potential 75 per cent bonus dependent on “stretching” profit and revenue targets.
The company’s former chief executive Sly Bailey had received £1.8m in cash and share awards in 2011, a package that incensed shareholders and staff at a time when the firm was axing jobs and freezing salaries.
Newspapers have suffered a sharp drop in advertising during the economic downturn and have tried to move into digital publications to make up the shortfall.
Fox’s understanding of technology driving changes in consumer habits made him the ideal candidate to take over as chief executive, Trinity Mirror said.
Music and movie retailer HMV, which Fox has run since 2006, has also struggled to keep up with a shifting consumer landscape, closing stores and posting a loss in 2011 as it moved away from the fast declining CD and DVD markets into new technology and event ticketing.