Newsstands like this are dotted around Vienna. Further out of the city they become more traditional shops but all carry a similar range of products: newspapers, magazines, confectionery and cigarettes. Usually, only the top ten titles are displayed full face – the rest are fanned along shelves, almost on top of each other with two or three centimeters of the cover showing. Many are displayed this way behind the counter. One news vendor told me this was the tradition. People know what they want and if they don’t he finds it for them. When I asked about browsing he exclaimed – “this is a shop!”.
The newsstand in the photo carries around 750 titles. He chooses what he carries and reviews new titles before deciding if he wants them. He can cut a title at any time. Being in the city with many tourists means a broader range suits him.
Range is a critical issue for Australian newsagents – our lack (or perceived lack) of choice in the magazine titles we carry. We have been conned with a half pregnant deregulation and have not been smart on how to deal with such a biased and broken system. Magazines in the top 100 are fine, I am happy with them and my cut from the cover price. My issue is with titles outside the top 100. Like these newsstands in Austria we need the right to choose the titles we carry. Magazine distributors need to advise details of new titles before they are shipped and we need the ability to set our own supply level. The alternative I see to this is that newsagents charge a weekly flat fee for handling titles, based on the quantity of a title received, for each week of the on-sale period. Of course, we could consider a higher margin for low volume titles but I’d rather see the margin remain the same and us compensated for the assets we bring to the table regardless of sales success.
Every minute and every dollar newsagents spend on titles outside the top 100 – many of which have a sell through of 40% or less – is a minute and a dollar less available for the top selling titles, the titles delivering customers to the shop and good sales growth.
Newsagents are kidding themselves with the current system. We are being abused by some publishers and compliant magazine distributors who often get paid regardless of whether a title sells. The sooner we take control of our magazine real-estate and labour assets and run them like a business the better. The sooner we manage the range in our stores the sooner we will start to increase magazine sales.
My friend in Vienna was surprised to hear how many newsagents there are in Australia and how the magazine supply model works. He laughed at how easy it was for publishers to get “rubbish” into the shops. As I walked away I thought he was probably laughing at me too.
Mark
You wrote: “Range is a critical issue for Australian newsagents – our lack (or perceived lack) of choice in the magazine titles we carry. We have been conned with a half pregnant deregulation and have not been smart on how to deal with such a biased and broken system. Magazines in the top 100 are fine, I am happy with them and my cut from the cover price. My issue is with titles outside the top 100. Like these newsstands in Austria we need the right to choose the titles we carry. Magazine distributors need to advise details of new titles before they are shipped and we need the ability to set our own supply level. The alternative I see to this is that newsagents charge a weekly flat fee for handling titles, based on the quantity of a title received, for each week of the on-sale period. Of course, we could consider a higher margin for low volume titles but I’d rather see the margin remain the same and us compensated for the assets we bring to the table regardless of sales success.”
I couldn’t agree with you more! The Australian market is over-supplied with magazine titles and something needs to be done.
You have already admitted that Newsagents “have not been smart on how to deal with such a biased and broken system” and I have already unveiled my idea of Magazine Publishers and Newsagents working collaboratively together (see my recent posts re ‘A call to boycott underperforming magazines’ and ‘Comparing newsagencies by crossword titles’).
The current less-than-ideal situation – and therefore the solution to it – is about much more than just the “top 100” titles.
Of course Newsagents should be free to decide whether they stock a particular title and they should be able to set their own supply levels of those they do stock. That is only fair.
Equally, Magazine Publishers should direct Distributors to only supply Newsagents that stand a fair chance of achieving a 65% or better sell through rate.
The $64 question is: Are either of these things happening? In the first case, the answer is a resounding ‘No’ while in the latter the answer is most likely “Not as often as we should”.
The fact is, all 3 Distributors provide Magazine Distributors with the facility to alter (i.e. increase, decrease or restrict) supplies to individual Newsagents, but how many Magazine Publishers do this? Then, of those that do, are they handled by the Distributor who makes it almost impossible for their Magazine Publisher clients to actually have the promised input?
It is time to work WITH the deregulated situation, instead of repeatedly railing against it.
If a Newsagent does not want to stock a particular title, all they have to do is pick up the phone, call the Magazine Publisher and ask them to direct the Distributor to cease supplying it to their store. If the stars are favourably aligned, the Newsagent will find that the Magazine Publisher is being handled by one of the Distributors which actually grant the wishes of their publisher clients. Voila, problem solved.
Deregulation is generally interpreted as the relaxation of prescribed rules. Because there’s no such thing in life as a free lunch, it might mean changing the way you work, but hey, if it achieves the desired outcome and helps Newsagents to be more cheerful on their way to the bank, it’s surely worth trying.
You also penned the words: “The sooner we manage the range in our stores the sooner we will start to increase magazine sales.” The operative word in that sentence is “manage” and now you know exactly how to manage the range in your stores.