It is good to see magazine distributors responding favorably to newsagent requests to cut grossly underperforming titles. While the distributors have had sell through rate data, they leave it up to newsagents to “make a case” for the cutting of a title. 1,300 newsagents using software from my company can now make the case with ease. Those who have put title cut requests in tell me that the distributors are agreeing. They have no choice – especially if the evidence shows that less than 30% of copies of a title actually sell and that continued supply of a title causes the newsagent to lose hundreds of dollars.
The problem is that the stock has to go somewhere since distributors are paid to place it with a retailer. This means the divide between smarter newsagents and the others will become greater.
In my case, cutting 50 titles means more space for promoting successful titles.