Symons leaves Parragon as publisher winds down

Mike Symons, c.e.o. of Parragon, has left the company as it prepares for closure, with only 19 of 140 employees still working at the UK site in Bath, owner DC Thomson has confirmed.

The company's annuals business will continue on as part of the wider DC Thomson Group, the firm said, with Cottage Door Press taking on the publisher's titles in North and South America and Lake Press buying rights to others in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

A spokesperson for the business confirmed Symons had left. “Book company Parragon is working towards the closure of the business. Key wind down operational activities continue to take place in the UK, Germany and the US. The annuals business will continue to operate as usual, remaining as part of the wider DC Thomson Group. Sales of assets and stock are nearly complete which means that some licenses and products are transferring to others," the spokesperson said.

“The new home for Parragon Books in North and South America, Europe and China is Cottage Door Press. Parragon products in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and Hong Kong have moved to Lake Press.”

Separately, local US publication The Mirror-Exchange has reported that the FBI is involved in investigating "criminal activities" at a former Parragon warehouse in Milan, Tennessee. Few details are available, with Parragon declining to comment on "personal matters" and the FBI also refusing to comment. However, the investigation is said to be "ongoing".

Asked about the press report, the DC Thomson spokesperson told The Bookseller: "In Milan, Tennessee, the warehouse facility has successfully transferred to ABC, the American Book Company. ABC is using the facility with its established infrastructure to supplement its already substantial warehouse and distribution operations at Knoxville, Tennessee. We would not publicly comment on any other personnel matters in Milan."

DC Thomson announced it was closing Parragon in February. The business had been “underperforming for a number of years” due to difficult market conditions, squeezed retail space and severe pressure on margins, according to parent DC Thomson.

At the time, Symons said: “Early last year, the new management team joined and undertook a strategic review of the company, implementing some immediate changes which improved the company position. Under their guidance, the whole team made really significant progress over and above the expectations of the shareholders, but the market has gone against us further than anticipated.”

Symons, formerly group sales director at Penguin Random House, joined Parragon in 2017, taking over from Paul Taylor. Taylor is now c.e.o. of gift, homeware and toy firm Wild & Wolf, also part of DC Thomson.

Parragon sold £8.7m worth of books in the UK last year through Nielsen BookScan, down 12.2% on 2016 (£9.6m) and 15.6% down on 2015 (£10.2m).