I know that publishers are concerned about the increasing number of newsagents selling their home delivery business and retaining the retail operation. The concern arises from the changed relationship when the retail outlet moves to sub agent status. The key to retail only newsagents providing support on a par with when they were not sub agents lies in the management of the relationship by the supplying newsagent, the retailer and the publisher.
While I don’t like the promotions which seek to reduce my retail sales in favour of home delivery, I still participate. For example, yesterday we gave away a Herald Sun promotional bag with every Herald Sun sold. The goal of the promotion was to drive home delivery uptake.
Another example is the bold BRW display we have done to support the BRW Rich List special edition. The aisle end is a prime location and most sub agents would not give over such real-estate freely. We do because we see it as a way of demonstrating our relevance to titles which are in the news. So it’s a win win.
This issue of how to handle newsagents who become sub agents needs to be addressed at a high level between newsagents and publishers. It is increasing and some guidelines could avoid disputes and facilitate more the win win I am talking about.