We have a killer magazine loyalty program in our store and which is driving well above average sales growth. It’s also causing problems with sell outs and near sell outs to the extent that customers cannot see the product.
This week is a good example of the problem. Woman’s Day is out, same with Take 5. Despite early please for extra stock we can’t get it. We ordered Woman’s Day stock Monday evening and were told Tuesday that they were out of stock. Yet there is excess stock in supermarkets around my shop – so much stock that I am certain they will return this.
My magazine customers want to purchase from me because of the Magazine Club Card. Some will miss Woman’s Day this week because they don’t want to pay the price ast Coles or Safeway.
This is where there needs to be a mechanism to move stock 100 metres or so from Coles or Safeway to my stock so I can satisfy my customers and so the publishers can get sales they might otherwise miss.
Our magazine distribution system is too inflexible and the silo supply chain approach does not allow cross silo support. Publishers and small retailers like me are the losers.