The ANF seems set to go it alone in representing newsagents if what I have been told is true. Despite representations from various parties including state associations, the ANF Board meeting this week in Sydney has determined to pursue creating a national association without assistance from or co-operation with with any of the state associations and that this model will be based on commercial as well as traditional association functions.
Newsagents will be reluctant to support the ANF given the association’s past failures in the commercial arena. Having lead around 3,500 newsagents into Bill Express, the ANF failed to provide timely professional advice and demonstrated a lack of empathy for the financial and emotional cost of the collapse of Bill Express to newsagents.
If newsagents have to make a choice between the state associations and the ANF, if what has been put to me is accurate, newsagents will, in the main, choose their state associations. The ANF would fail.
Some would say that the ANF has failed already.
I would like a strong national body representing newsagents on policy matters. Associations have no role to play in offering commercail services as this takes their focus from why they exist.
Note to ANF, and I know you are reading this, it’s over.
Admit this, put up your hands and asmit failure, allow new members onto the board, change your relationship with the states, limit your activity to where it should be focussed.
Lets see a resolution on issues that we really care about like Magazines, like lottery etc lets see some unity.
There lies your future, take any other path and you have no future, you are there for us, not for you.
I am disgusted at the way this Industry is so fragmented. It would appear that once again ( if you are correct Mark) that the States are left languishing with no REAL direction from a National body who should perfrom FOR us and not AGAINST us.
We are seen by Publishers and other suppliers as a disorganised body so why should they take norice of us when we cannot take National notice of oureselves.
Brett, David
You are right….Its time.
Its time for Newsagents to speak up, not just on this blog but to their own associations, it makes me so mad that so many members of so many associations are just sitting their not making their opinions known to their associations, this free blog. The mentality of it will be alright Jack is over, if the majority of Newsagency members do not start making their opinions or voices known, they better start looking for another job.
Rome fell because they rested on their laurels, they fragmented and others moved in.
Derek
In fairness to V.A.N.A. they signed an M.O.U. and left Federal matters such as Bill Express to the Federal body. They felt uncomfortable at the height of the Bill Express debacle to go against the ethos of the M.O.U.
Where they fell down was that Our Victorian Newsagents wanted some love and feeling from their State Association as well.
David Backholer
David,
Then how stupid were they to contract away their obligations as an association representing newsagents. VANA failed on Bill Express.
Mark
David
I appreciate what you are trying to say, hindsight sucks.
I can only state my thoughts like yourself and the rest of us good people. My view is one association in Australia, what ever you want to call it and have offices in each state. I have written in another post my thoughts.
With the passion you are showing in yours posts regarding V.A.N.A even if you correct your ship I feel we are all missing out, 4500 Newsagents under the one association in my view will give our channel unprecedented opportunities and save 100’s of Newsagency’s from dissappearing in the future.
Of course I may be the only person who feels that way.
Derek
Derek,
You are not alone
I see the ANF board a collective of gentlemen who can’t or won’t see the light and step aside. The bulk of newsagents want a national representation. Blogs such as these are full of calls for, new board, new organisations, but I don’t see any movement on these matters.
Wouldn’t now be the time for a line drawn in the sand and things put into place. If ANF is as weak as it looks then why not replace the board and move forward or close it down and re-build. Time is slipping away. How many newsagents are prepared to re-build our industry?
Brad
Hi Guys,
And a few girls want the industry structure rebuilt as well.
Derek, you’re not alone. Let us have a national structure with a state secretariat reporting to the national body, not a couple of states as is planned, to undermine the national body.
Let’s stop the undermining of a national body by VANA and other states and work for the common good of all newsagents.
Let’s get a decent ANF structure so we can drive forward.
The ANF as it stands is less than useless and needs to be replaced but a national body is needed nonetheless.
Where do we vote Derek and David onto the ANF board?
Have a great day boys,
Lorraine
Lorraine
Lorraine,
I regret to advise that I do not necessarily agree with you but have a read of my suggestion and then decide. (Freedom of speech) I do respect your openness and frankness.
I believe we need a National Association in a secretariat format to represent us Lobbying with Politicians, National Industrial matters and National advertising e.g. national branding in stores to name a few areas. Definitely not in a Commercial contract basis.
The State Associations are closer to the wants and needs of local members. I also believe that we need that Commercial aspect for individual State Newsagents benefit but I do not agree it should be controlled by the A.N.F.
I do not subscribe to building a National conglomerate with very little power distributed to each State. We have been down that path and where did it leave us ?
Hi David,
We must disagree but that’s O.K.
VANA is not closer to the needs and wants of the members. If it was it would get on with it’s job rather than develop Commercial outcomes. It would have 600 pro active member rather than about half that and resignations on a weekly basis.
If VANA was taking care of the wants and needs of it’s members, how come their membership is at it’s lowest level in many years?
Commerical is for national marketing groups, not state driven associations. I can’t see VANA handing over some of their commercial gains to the smaller states.
VANA, with their actions have been the driver in fragmenting the industry and they will continue to do that because they have achieved nothing else despite their alleged claims.
With respect to yourself and I wish you luck, if only to change the balance of power on the VANA board, VANA moving down a road of commercialism is a continued fragmentation of the industry which I feel very uncomfortable about.
The model must be rebuilt from the ground up but we do need a national structure and strength before a state structure.
You can’t bake a good cake if the oven isn’t right, no matter how good the ingredients David. And you can’t cook the eggs and sugar separately. Doesn’t work.
Thank you for the discussion and have a great day.
Best regards,
Lorraine
This is good discussion, and we are lucky to be able to all share each others points of view, of course David has V.A.N.A.s interests at heart and so far the ANF is on the nose with everyone at the moment so we are in agreement.
Their are other Newsagents who do not want a National Association but I just do not see David how you could come to the conclusion that V.A.N.A would have more power with your scenario than having 4500 Newsagents under the one Flag. How can V.A.N.A for example negotiate with say Gordon & Gotch for an increase in commission on Magazines, Calanders etc, they cannot however under one National Association it is possible and as Lorraine said a state secretariat for each state and yes some states require different approaches on tackling areas of growth and advertising for example.
Although I would prefer the Messiah to come, Brett you are right we need Newsagent Messiah to come, someone to drive this, someone who is thick skinned and can rebound after getting knocked down often. It may need a campaign of many months.
Newsagents will dissapear because we refuse to be united as one, of course that is again my view.
Derek,
Maybe that man is YOU!
I agree with you. We need the vast majority of us (we will never get all) to agree on the fact that the current model is dead and that we, collectively, need to swallow some ego, a bit of pride, take a deep breath and stride purposefully into the new millenium hand in hand.
We will never all agree – so be it.
We will never be 100% happy – so be it.
Be very sure though that we will be swallowed alive if we dont show the predators that we are too big and too strong for them. Bill Express would never have happened if we were strong. Magazine supply will be completely different when we unite behind one board.
Who should be on that board? We need at least one professional – not a newsagent but a retailer. We need a serving newsagent or two on a rotational basis to provide the coal face perspective and we need someone who has done the lobby type work before. It will cost very little to run, we all should pay a small fee to cover travel and wages and legals etc.
I say we do it now. Lets all write to the ANF and tell them that this is what we want and demand it – after all – don’t they represent us?
Brett- I like your sense of humor!
Seriously though I agree strongly with most points you have written .
I can hear yours, Lorraine’s, Michael’s absolute frustration with the way things are now. You care for the Newsagency channel and just as important you show foresight for the channel, very rare.
I promise everybody that unless we unite as one, in 20 years due to rapid changes and overwhelming cost committments in the existing magazine models, retail rental obligations and many more unresolved business issues relating to unjust costs from some suppliers will result in a large reduction of Newagents.
Their is only 1 person that I am aware of who has the passion, the dedication, the resources, the ability to campaign nationwide, the influence, the thick skin to come up with a way forward. He has been mentioned in other posts on this blog by someone else. Its up to him to put his hand up and lead us into the future.
Hoping he puts his hands up.
I don’t know if the ANF has a future due to the pending class action. Mark has said we need a new association and I tend to agree seeing the ANF has an uncertain future in terms of legal action that may be taken.
The most important quality for the new association to have is the ability to say “NO”. If they hadn’t fallen for BE’s sweet talking we wouldn’t have had this hardship.
We can’t rush into this, all of us run our businesses in different parameters : some sell cigarettes, some don’t, some are franchises, some are not, some do halloween, some don’t, but all should be fairly represented.
I wish it could be established tomorrow but more thought needs to go into it – to get more out of it.