I was in Brisbane yesterday and saw this sign at the Newslink newsagency near gate 24 at Brisbane Airport. (Sorry for the poor photo quality.)
The sign advises that due to uneconomic arrangements they do not offer newspapers from Queensland Newspapers. It directs customers to the Newslink newsagency in the main shopping area of the terminal. The newspapers which this newsagency has chosen to not sell are: Courier-Mail (the major daily for Brisbane), Gold Coast Bulletin, Sunday Mail, The Australian, Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun (Australia’s largest selling daily).
Here is a high profile newsagent in an exclusive and prime position seemingly refusing to sell selected titles because of the economic terms they are offered.
As I boarded the flight, sans newspaper, I wondered what would happen if newsagents across Australia made such choices. What would we refuse to carry? How would publishers react? How would consumers react?
The decision by Newslink opens a conversation on the commercial viability of products newsagents carry. That they have chosen to do this with newspapers is a surprise however.
The Australian newsagent channel has evolved through mutual co-operation between suppliers. In the circulation categories of newspapers and magazines it is only the very top sellers which fully pay their way. However, combined, the categories work in most newsagencies because of the range and the mutual support for common resources such as labour and floor space. This is why I am critical of decisions by suppliers which harm the balance of mutual co-operation.
Newslink are, in my view, sending a wrong message to consumers. Especially when you consider that mum and dad newsagents don’t have the luxury of making the decision they have made.