The magazine distribution centre

With more newsagents operating more than one shop it is interesting to see how they manage magazines between the businesses.

One smart operator has established their own magazine distribution centre, centrally arriving stock and barcoding each copy prior to shipment. This reduces labour at the retail level. They centralize returns too. And they move stock between the stores based on sales.

For magazine specialists such local management, ensuring the right stock is in the right location for each sales opportunity, is essential.

It’s a technology driven enterprise from the sales counter to the back office to the central warehouse with all parts of the network of stores online all the time.

I’d expect individually owned newsagents to start to operate this way. It would provide a more efficient magazine account from the distributors and enable better sell through rates for titles. I’ll have some more to say about this opportunity for newsagents another time.