There has been considerable discussion amone newsagents in recent weeks that they ought to purchase magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch from PMP.
I am not aware of PMP having any desire to sell Gotch and even if they did have such a desire I would suggest that newsagents taking ownership would be problematic for several reasons:
Our ownership of one distributor might present problems in or dealings with others. Newsagents have had sufficient difficulty agreeing on national representation strategies for the last 20 years to suggest that we might have challenges agreeing on strategies for a national distributor. Distribution companies are complex cans of worms which require specialist skills beyond what many newsagents would be used to. Frankly, we’d be out of our depth.
If we had the kind of money (or could find it) necessary to purchase Gotch then I suggest that we would achieve a better return being invested in future traffic generators. Magazine sales will continue to ebb and flow. There are many new revenue opportunities that newsagents investment could bring to our channel. This is where I see a bright future.