Advertiser Newspapers announced to South Australian newsagents Monday their plan to take over managing home delivery accounts for Advertiser products. They will gradually assume control for starting new home delivery accounts, collecting payment, managing stops and starts, handling holiday redirections and handling queries.
This significant and unexpected move by the publisher has been pitched to newsagents by them as a positive move with significant benefits. The key reason for the change appears to be improved subscriber retention.
The implications for South Australian newsagents, should the planned changes proceed, could be considerable. Indeed, the implications for newsagents across Australia could be considerable. This is why the proposed changes need to be discussed and debated nationally. If they are as valuable and equitable to all stakeholders as the letter from Advertiser Newspapers says then I’d expect them to proceed. If they are not then I’d expect the proposal to not proceed.
My concerns are:
- Transition challenges. The transition will require newsagents to hand over partial account details where they deliver and bill non-Advertiser products. Given the nature of home delivery accounts, balances handed over and or retained will be wrong. This will make for a frustrating time for newsagents and customers. Newsagents will end up giving away credits to satisfy customers.
- No benefit for newsagents. Many newsagents will need to maintain accounts for customers – for Fairfax product, magazines and other non Advertiser product delivered. Indeed, with the accounts being smaller one could argue that, based on experience, these accounts will be harder to collect. Indeed, from a data management perspective
- Reduced revenue. Today, newsagents are able to sell home delivery to a customer at full price. Under the planned arrangement, the publisher controls all pricing. This denies the newsagent the opportunity of selling at a better margin.
- Retail traffic. While many suburban distribution newsagencies are distribution only, across the state many newsagents have retail businesses which rely on account payment traffic to drive retail sales. Customers receiving only Advertiser product will not need to visit to pay the bill and will therefore have greater opportunity to purchase traditional newsagency lines from other retailers.
- Processing delays. The current system allows customers to contact newsagents until late in the day before new run lists are printed or data transferred to electronic run devices. Centralising this in Adelaide will require an earlier cut off so that newsagents can have the data in enough time to get their local processes taken care of.
- Relevance. The move by Advertiser Newspapers goes to the relevance of the newsagency. Newsagents provide a one stop shop for home delivery customers. Slicing that relationship up by publisher will confuse customers and demonstrate that one supplier sees newsagents being less relevant. This may, in turn, impact back on the publisher down the track.
- Ripple effect. Newsagencies, retail and distribution, are finely balanced – take one slim plank away and there is a ripple effect. We saw this in 2004 with the ACP move to supply 800 or so petrol and convenience outlets directly. Reducing contact between home delivery customer and the newsagent, retail and or distribution, will lead to a loss of revenue in another part of the newsagency and this weakens the channel.
Some will disagree with my concerns. Others will want to add their own. Regardless of your position, please join the conversation here.
What is important is that newsagents, publishers, customers and other stakeholders engage in open discussion about this change. We owe it to each other to test the proposal and be prepared for what comes out the other side.
How the newsagents discuss and debate this plan will demonstrate our resolve in relation to the future of the newsagency channel as there will be more challenges like those outlines here.
UPDATE: I originally posted this at around 6:15am today. I have updated the time stamp because newsagents new to reading the blog are having trouble finding this post. I’ll leave it in this top place overnight.
We believe Qld Newspapers will go down the same track. Already all new Accounts on ‘special deals’ have to pay direct to QN. We had a few of our long standing customers ( over 20 years receiving 7 days a week papers) wanting to enter a subscribers competition be told they are only subsribers if they pay their account directly through QN. Statistics being gathered recently by QN would indicate changes are definitely in the air. Of our 700 paper account customers, we have 300 who are sent monthly accounts, 250 who come in regularly to pay their account ahead of time and purchase other items and 150 who already pay directly through QN. If all customers paid directly to QN we would definitely hand back our paper run.
Cairns Post are going to start a marketing push that they will be doing something similar. They will be giving customers a discounted rate on 6 day delivery and direct debit customers. We are oppossed to this as even if they are a regular customer we are going lose that extra sale of other items when they come in to pay the bills. When our current customers hear of the offer they will want to know why they are paying more than someone else so they will blame us for not giving them the same deal so we will lose more customer traffic – not that News Ltd is worried about that as long as their circulation is increased.
We have 11 subscriptions with HWT and Fairfax . Most teacher weekend offers. They are always late to start a paper, mess up the stop/starts, inconveinient for the customer who has to ring up and put on hold, to do a stop/start, basicly a pain in the butt. To have our total home deliveries handled through the suppliers would make it too time consuming to be viable for us.
If you are a delivery newsagent anywhere in oz you should be acting to stop this any way you can. Once the publishers have total control over payment and accounts they can cut newsagents out of the loop at will. We are a retail only newsagnet after we sold off our runs 4 yrs ago because we could see the writing on the wall. If this is not stopped in it’s trackes then delivery territories and the goodwill attached are worthless, and so is your business.
I rang our local advertiser circulation rep earlier yesterday and he was adamant this was subscription customers only he rang me back later and admitted it was all customers as was on the advertiser site as below
This includes delivery of publications to;
• Residential households
• Businesses and corporate organisations
• Nursing homes and retirement villages
• Schools, Universities, Colleges
• Hospitals
• Put-aways
They will effectively be taking away all customers that read the paper except those that walk off the street. We are furious. The Advertiser requested a data dump for all our customers which we have to give and with that info that we give in good faith they have basically screwed us. I rang the ANF rep in Adelaide last night and he agreed that especially for rural NA this will have a huge effect. Any work we have put in to securing customers is being taken from us, they contribute nothing to delivering papers. This is such a blatant case of intimidation. Below is what they refer to as a benefit for NA:
A major reduction in daily customer contact and related administration costs.
If they think reduced daily customer contact is a benefit, they are so out of touch it’s not funny, a meeting is planned for thurs week. If this is a waste of time remains to be seen.
ANPL will soon find that in country areas, espacially small country towns with populations of 500 or less, there will be no one willing to deliver papers at all.
Nearly all N/As I have spoken to lose $$ on delivery and, as am I, are waiting to see the proposed new contractual arrangements before making a business decision whether to keep delivering or become subagents.
What ANPL will find is that in small towns (where everyone knows everyone elses business) there will be no one silly enough to take on deliveries and all sales will be walk in.
Qld Newspapers has already been on a subscription drive recently, which requires customers to pay direct to them. They have managed to net a few of our long standing direct customers with these schemes and *GRRR * much of their database has actually been supplied by (poached from) us from our POS system via their Connect platform. We have used Connect from day dot to monitor and adjust supplies and returns and, in return, we are required to provide them with circulation-related data. That is what data sharing is capable of achieving for unscrupulous suppliers.
I agree with Luke, that this kind of action from publishers (QN) will cost us (the delivery/retail newsagents) the value of our business (goodwill), but damned if I know how to stop this kind of progress. They (QN) will take and take and take until there is nothing left because they are a business first and foremost. Taking care of number one comes first and if another business (read: a newsagent) suffers, then that is just collateral damage. Sure, we cannot expect them to make business decisions based on how those decisions may or may not affect an individual newsagent (or an entire industry). But surely we can expect a scrap of loyalty and fair trade practice for an entire network of small businesses that, up until recent times, has been the single largest source of distributors for their product (newspapers). We still process direct customers through our systems. We still provide the delivery service. We are newsagents, and so we do this for the nominal fees they dictate to us.
It is folly to think that they (QN) do not realise the effect that their direct-to-the-customer drive will have on newsagents – including taking customers out of our stores. They know and do not care. It is up to us as newsagents and business owners to do what we can to encourage those same people (back) into our stores. For as long as we are the distribution agents (and that may only be a short time), we will continue to receive information (i.e. their database of our local area) and we should use that information to our advantage.
Chris, Under current arrangements, the publisher can refuse to permit the run to be handed back.
Current contracts expire next year, surely one will have the option of re-signing. In my town (very small) there is no one else who would take deliveries on.
Chris – yes. But until then I am told of several newsagents unable to hand their runs back in regional areas.
On the contracts, newsagents should not sign before the new legislation is proclaimed on contracts.
I have spoken about the telemarketing effect on newspaper deliveries for many years, here in SA, but the other states obviously thought that they were not in SA so they needn’t worry about it. Once again I blame the ANF totally for
the unprecedented dilemma of the distribution only agent. To have paid goodwill for something which is going to be reduced totally in value is unscrupulous.
The companies (News and FF) both know they are in diabolical trouble and yet they are prepared to use us, the newsagent, and proclaim us to be
collateral damage when they have totally eliminated us from the distribution network (which is
obviously their aim).
It is well underway here in SA and I can only reiterate that the
ANF were informed and have done nothing to allay the fears of
newsagents even though it is now
10 years since SA started telemarketing the Advertiser product.
It is now telemarketed to such a degree (70%) some newsagents have reported, that home delivery is now unviable in many
areas. Welcome to our world and to our leaders “thanks for
nothing”.
Papers in a retail shop are only a
small infinitesimal part of the mix but distribution only agents (here in SA that represents 93% of newsagents) are in dire trouble.
Mark, yes you are right on this. I tried to get rid of the delivery round as all it does is subsidise the publisher at my expense.
They told me if I stopped delivering they would no longer supply us with any papers at all. The are many others who have had the same treatment in my region.
Just on telemarketing, we had a customer who would get just a Sunday Mail delivered, but would call into the shop each day to buy a paper. She is now on a delivery scheme and doesn’t come into the shop as much. No more papers are being sold, but through the publishers actions my business is suffering. Could there be scope for action through the ACCC on this – see http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/303748
I can see the new Contract Law amendments coming in handy in the future for this type of thing. It all hangs on the word ‘unfair’.
June when I spoke to the ANF rep last night he said that the disributor only agents were happy about all of this, its the retail/delivery that were going to feel the brunt.
We have a large amount of theft of newpapers here and we have had to take the hard stand and make customers pay for another paper, I can imagine what the Advertiser will do in this situation when customers start ringing them about ‘non-delivered papers’-we will wear that cost as well.
Surely when our contracts are up we can have a fair say.
Farfax in NSW and probably Vic have this arrangement and have had so for years in fact since de- regulation.
The publishers stand to gain:
1.Six months cash flow in advance
2.Total control over the delivery fee
3. Control over the customer.
Newsagents Lose “cash flow arears payment procedure”-gain positive cash flow creitd-no bad debts.
Lose: Customer flow in shop-
Potenetial threat tt losing delivery upon contract renewal for no compensation which if happens would result in all retail sales being reduced to 12.5% G.P.
I guess its time for all Associations to sharpen their negotiation skills for these up and coming contracts.
Graeme, Fairfax acted over time and was for subscriptions only. This S.A. situation is being done quite differently. Newsagents need to work out where they stand on this.
12.5% GP on newspaper sales with no delivery I would be well in front.
No car to run, no wages, no insurance, no petrol and service costs, no missing/stolen papers – all adds up.
Tammy if delivery only agents are “happy about this” then the poor b……….s are being conned.
There is NO WAY that this will ever be good for distribution newsagents and it will also impact on retail because the sorts of telemarketing that are and have been going on here in SA for years and years are reducing the profitability of agents. Why would someone come into our shops to buy a paper at full price when they can
get it for $2 pw for 10 weeks and
then on for ever and ever amen.
It doesn’t make sense and I have told the Advertiser with monotonous regularity that they are to blame for prostituting their own product. If they don’t value it why would the customers.
One of the most disappointing aspects of this whole issue is the stance or lack of, taken by the ANF. Their immediate responsibility SHOULD be to us, the newsagents. It would appear from their email of 1/6/09 that this is not the case. It appears that they have been convinced somewhere along the way that the negatives to our business’ will be outweighed by the positives. This is not an accurate view of their members (as is indicated on this blog) and the ANF need to be reminded our their responsibility to their members, and that is to be our voice in matters such as this. It is our only vehicle that allows us a united stance and to be one voice in this state, and I believe we are not being supported as such. One other organisation who has a history of the same treatment of their members is the South Australian Farmers Federation. As a result farmers withdrew their memberships and the SAFF has the lowest membership base ever. MAKES YOU THINK DOESN’T IT! We need to stand united on this matter and take a course of action. Does anyone know the legal ramifications of strike action or a boycott? Perhaps newsagents should have one day off refusing to sell News Ltd products??
Maybe we should look at forming an ‘Action Committee’ to address our own concerns?
Neil, I agree with you, but that’s where they have got us. We can all huff and puff, be angry etc, but at the end of the day we are no more than a disprate group of small businesses.
We all have our own local issues, and our businesses and priorities all differ. The know that the chances of effective group action are next to zero, and they bank on it. makes it easier for them to bully us individually.
The ANF should be doing something, but the silence is deafening.
Chris, Get together with some other newsagents are represent yourselves. There is nothing stopping you doing this and approaching the ACCC.
Chris – you could also consider writing to the Advertiser advising that the ANF does not speak for you.
The ANF will not be happy that I say this but so be it – you have to put your interests ahead of lacklustre leadership on an issue of vital importance to all newsagents.
I would be investigating the legality of the publishers refusal to supply if a deliery contract is terminated. If that publisher also supplies existing retail-only newsagents then they may have a case to answer.
I have been told that this decisions was not made without consultation with newsagent representatinves. While I do not know if this is true, newsagents in South Australia need to ask if this is the case and if so who was consulted and what did they say.
The ANF director in South Australia must advise when he was told about this by ANPL and what he told them. I am told that ANPL believed until yesterday that the change would be welcomed by newsagents.
The ANF director hides from newsagents. He does not represent my views or others I know.
Without any other association we have to get together ourselves because the ANF clearly has no idea what to do about this.
I am not up to date on the defference offered by Nationwide News to the current Fairfax contract Would someone be kind enough to please explain.
Neil, I agree an action comitee might be the way to go. After an email I rec from an ANF rep this morning, it seems thay will be picking and choosing what they will be saying in the future and to whom, sounds very cloak and dagger to me-not the honest discussions we are having here. We may be small bussiness but there are alot of us, surely we have to be heard
Tammy, it must be concerning seeing the ANF being more concerned about their image than the substance of the issue. This is how they handled Bill Express last year.
Will someone list here what the ANF has said or is the ANF banning you from saying anything?
I once did multiple territories but was crushed by customer bad debts and poor cash flow and I finished with massive losses over $100,000 and a News Ltd debt to match which I’m still paying off.
Dont worry about them replacing you on the Distribution as in the 2 months since we finished our last extra territory NewsLtd has had 3 “distributors” to replace us and there is a good chance that theres now a fourth. Fairfax is doing even worse as thier product delivery stopped with me and may not yet be being delivered. They can’t replace you and they know it, it seems the only ones who dont know it are the newsagents; wake up to yourselves its time to play hardball against them, for now they need us more than we need them, but that wont last for long as they’ll roll out e-papers in the next few years and we’ll all be history as far as the newspapers are concerned.
As for customers coming into your shops to pay the bill each month, I can tell you from experience most will post or pay electronically if they can, of those who do come into pay they will only pay their paper bill and go very few will buy anything whilst in the store.Better the paper companies carry their own debt instead of us carrying it. We are not and shouldnt be their banks.
Once a customer gets the paper delivered you have lost the customer forever, their impuse buying habits quickly change and thier gone.
For your imformation I once had 5 territories all in the Sydney Metro area and if they can’t replace a newsagent in Sydney they can’t replace one anywhere; we have the whip hand and its time to use it
Mark,
Until all facts are flushed out do you think that your bashing of the ANF can be toned down a touch.
Lets give the new CEO an opportunity to prove himself.
Chris
reservoir
Yep OK Chris but if they stuff this one up i’m out for here!!!!
Chris, The ANF wanted me to tone down my comments last year on their handling of Bill Express. History has shown my comments to be accurate. The ANF failed newsagents on Bill Express.
On this issue, the behaviour on the ANF on this issue so far are speaks volumes. Thye are concerned about their image. I hope that they redeem themselves tomorrow and next week on this issue. If they do I will ask why they did not get their response right from the outset.
Leadership requires you to lead.
Chris,
Considering the QNF is meeting with Queensland Newspapers to discuss what the issue could mean in the future in QLD following the announcement in SA I think the ANF should already have some advice issued for agents. At the least the ANF should send an email/fax saying when they are meeting with the Advertiser and what they hope to achieve in the meeting.
It doesn’t look good for the ANF.
First time commenter. Why is it I find out more here about what is happening than national newsagent or the ANF and why do you get material which appears to be kept quiet?
Jodie, welcome. national Newsagent is a print publication with deadlines and costs in terms of production. Also, it is published by the ANF and so will reflect their obligations and positions – remember their coverage on Bill Express? No balance, no due diligence and no disclosure of the financial terms which drove publication of endorsement.
People send me things all the time to blog about and I apply a reasonableness test in considering whether to publish this.
On the Advertiser issue, the ANF has not helped their case by their own comments to newsagents. Poor decisions, poor subsequent damage control, poor leadership.
Tourists come into our shop wanting to order a paper to be delivered over the long weekend – in future I will have to refuse them if they have not made arrangements with the Advertiser – now that’s great service – NOT
If this change goes through newsagents will lose a fortune. I have written to the anf asking why they think it is a good idea.
The QNF sent out a bulletin about this asking us what we think. I haven’t seen anything from the ANF other than something last week indicating that they did not see this as a big deal. My queston for you Mark is this – is this a beat up? Why are only you and the QNF concerned?
Frank anyone concerned about newsagents would be concerned about the changes planned by the Advertiser.
I think that the ANF and those advising them that the move has more positives than negatives, as appears to be their position based on their communication thus far, are ill-informed.
Newsagencies with retail and distribution businesses stand to lose considerably if the changes proceed as announced. My understanding is that at least one or two representing the ANF only considered Adelaide based distribution only newsagents. This would be a selfish view.
All newsagents need to engage on this issue and debate it with publishers. otherwise, it is more traffic lost. One day, someone will ask what we did and we will have to say … nothing.
This is no beat up.
We recently went to 3 big banks looking to finance a new department we are looking at and was told by all three that they will only lend 20% on newsagencies because there is no stability in the industry, no long term future as they see it.
The manager stated that with lotteries going private and newsagent not holding long term contracts that newsagents are a high risk option.
Even though I think this is a load of BS, by removing newspaper control from newsagent back to the publisher this only strengthens the argument that we are in decline.
What we have done is introduced new departments to ” replace” the tradition ones that I see will soon vanish ie lotteries, cigs, newspapers and to a lesser degree mags.
If you are getting paid direct from news how will the ATO see this in regards you getting your income from one company only .is it not some thing to do with sub-contractors
Luke
They are really scary comments coming from a Bank Manager, they must receive some sort of intelligence from their paid consultants.
I do believe their is a long term future especially if Specialist Newsagent diversify like some are doing now, however if some Newsagencies do not change now I have real doubts that they will be able to get the return on the investment they originally made for their Newsagency.
Should these changes go ahead in SA, they are also likely to go ahead everywhere News Ltd has publications. Make no mistake, it WILL affect the goodwill value of EVERY newsagency that engages in distribution of these products. No wonder the banks think newsagencies are high risk! Traditional newsagency product is no longer exclusive to newsagencies and we are being forced to redefine ourselves as an industry. We are (or soon will be) in limbo, with businesses worth LESS than what we paid for them. No amount of due diligence would have prepared me for that.
Also, on the subject of publishers going direct to the customer, magazine publishers have been doing it for years (although we did, once upon a time, handle subscription distribution). Slowly, slowly, our very own industry suppliers have been draining our bank accounts while they aid the devaluing of the entire industry.
Forgive me my rant, yes, I am angry.
Derek, I honestly think most people see newsagencies as they were 20yrs ago relying solely on mags and newspapers to survive. This is far from the cas ein todays newsagencies, our so called core lines only amount to about 20% of our turnover with the rest coming from new lines ie ink, books, gifts and stationery. The problem is that banks still see us as newspaper shops and nothing else.
This is why I stated that I think it was BS what I was told but we need to be in there changing perceptions. I am in the industry for the long haul but I’m no longer a paper boy
Wendy & Luke
You are right no amount of due dillengence could prepare you for is happenning today and tommorrow. I am certainly no intellectual person but if you do continue to change and diversify I believe you will get your original investment back, like Luke said he is in for the long haul and will evolve and diversify into what lies ahead.
I agree the Banks have to be shown how Newsagencys that are moving with the times are still a good investment.
Hear your pain Wendy!
On a personal note I have a passion to upgrade to a reasonable Newsagency business however what i am struggling with is what Wendy is worried about. I could not buy a Newsagency now without evidence that their store is evolving and diversifying, buying a Newsagency still stuck in the past means in my humble opinion could mean a bad investment.
Derek, the keys are to not overpay and to look for opportunities for big and small change.
Hi Guys,
Yes newsagencies are changing, they have been for the last 20 odd years.
Yes you can buy almost anything newsagents sell in other stores.
Yes you can buy lottery online;
yes you can subscribe to mags;
Yes you can buy stationery online and from other suppliers.
My question to all of you is, why are you all so surprised about the EVOLUTION of our industry, when it has been going on for many years.
Surely you all cannot be dinosaurs? Change is inevitable!!
Surely all the blogging Mark has done on this site re; the changing nature of our industry and indeed most industries, all of you who are surprised have not picked up on what Mark is saying.
Change your businesses to reflect modern retailing, change your operations to reflect modern mangement.
Join a marketing group, get used to publishers telemarketing. Guess what, no one will stop them from telemarketing etc. They are programmed to chase business, thats what they get paid for.
And for all those who complain about Associations, if you do not belong to one, then why whinge so much about them, when clearly you have made your decision to not belong to one.
I would rather belong to an Association and demand from them the best possible outcomes, because I am entitled to this expectation. But if you do not belong to an Association then you are not entitled to those expectations other than to coast along the SLIPSTREAM of any inroads members of Associations make for themselves.
To quote some bloody confuscious (If it is to be it is up to me !)
Join your Associations;
Join a marketing group, and support them so that they can support you.
Chris
Reservoir
Chris
You are entitled to your opinion- Take a breath and understand many Newsagents are suffering, fantastic your not and all is perfect in your world, in others it is not.
Mark- I am looking but trepitous of falling into the trap of buying overpriced and then investing more to continue change and diversifying. Advice is good.
Derek
Chris, Associations need to attract people with their actions. Look at the QNF, it is growing because of this.
Chris, I see where you’re coming from with regards to the association thing.
However, as newbies to the sector, we wanted to see what we were paying for, before committing. We figured that since, to our knowledge, this store hadn’t been a member for quite some time, we’d reserve our decision to join until we’d observed some actions.
With few exceptions, what we’ve seen hasn’t been terribly inspiring so far.
Chris, I have just had this discussion with my partner. We have diversified into party ranges, inks, gifts, chocolates ets as I’m sure alot of newsagents have. We do okay in these changes, customers love it. I consider we move with the times, always lookinf for new ideas. The dinosaur here is out in our shed that bleeds us every morning at 12.30am. Our round. As with alot of NA, we sit on a fineline of covering costs, or losing money. We only need the slightest thing to change on the round and its a loss. We are members and we will be attending the meeting tommorrow.
Y & G
Knowing you as a Queenslander, I believe that the exception you are making must be that of the QNF – the Queensland Association that is growing steadily each month as more and more Newsagents express their dissatisfaction with the ANF.
(Comments 34, 39, 50)
For information, membership is now rapidly approaching 500 (about 2/3rds of Queensland Newsagents), whilst the ANF struggles to get to 100 or so.
Being the Association which had the ACCC take over the Billexpress debacle whilst the ANF ridiculed the effort – the Association that is in the business of caring for and helping its members – being one of the two State Associations that is attempting to see the establishment of a well run National body that Newsagents can be proud of and join with confidence – being the State Association that approached QN to commence talks rather than hear second hand what was proposed – I could go on………..
All Queenland Newsagents should join to hear first hand the truth about their industry problems.
Why not ask other QNF members?
Yes, Lance, you are correct in your assumption. Are you connected with QNF yourself?
Y&G,
I also not only joined the QNF but sought out and won a place in the team itself.
Simple logic, I wanted to be part of the solution and the QNF was actively seeking solutions too.
Y & G
I am proud to say that I have been a Director of the QNF since early last year – about the time that major changes started to be seen.
I have had my eyes well and truly opened by some of the things I have seen from our competetive organisation.
If you would like to leave your phone number with reception at QNF I would be happy to call you, or they will give you my number.
Hope to hear from you!
Hi Lance,
Good to see that the QNF is going along swimmingly well.
I suppose when you enter into NATIONAL negotiations with the publishers, you will also be speaking on behalf of ALL Newsagents across the country.???
I am certain that the publishers will want to negotiate on a NATIONAL level? Would this not be the case? Help me here on this one.
Can the QNF speak on behalf of every STATE??? If not then you might want to rethink what it is that you can actually offer your members on a NATIONAL level.
In any case the fact that you offer them something is better than nothing, and every newsagent should be encouraged to join any Association of their choice.
I would urge all newsagents considering joining an Association or Marketing group to do some research, and speak to members from all parties concerned.
I also suppose you will be hanging your HAT on the BILL XPRESS fiasco in ten years time???
New people New beginnings!! ANother confuscious proverb! I think?
Cheers
Chris
Reservoir
Chris,
This is the kind of snide politics which newsagents don’t like.
The QNF is growing because newsagents like which it is delivering for them. This is all that matters.
Mark,
I would not call it a snide remark just an observation of how well Lance was quick to discredit a fellow Association.
I just believe that newsagents who are considering joining an Association or Marketing group do their groundwork and source views from all parties concerned.
Newsagents Do Like to hear from all groups so they can determine what best suits them.
If the QNF grows that is great for them, it will mean that they are doing something positive. But Lance also sought to discredit another Association, so he must have been indulging in snide politics?
Views from all parties are good for newsagents, and may ALL Associations grow to be strong and viable.
Chris
Reservoir
If the ANF were to get a satisfactory outcome for retail/dist agents in SA i.e. make
the new rules for dist. only and
allow the retail/dist agents to maintain the status quo then I would consider re-joining, but they (ANF) have called a meeting
for tomorrow night and it is ONLY for ANF members. How sad that they don’t consider that
a few newsagents??????? do not
belong to the ANF in SA but they do have ideas and opinions??? and some of them might be useful. It is very very short sighted of them to make this unpalatable decision for ALL of us. I, personally can tell them what happened to my retail shop
when I sold my round a couple of
years ago. It became unviable
and I had to shut it.
Luckily, I had another shop in the
nearby mall and was able to continue and make the shop larger and change the mix (dramatically) to reflect the changes in the newspaper industry, but had I not had the second shop it would have been
a totally different story.
I think it is very sad for all of us
that the purported!!! NATIONAL
body continues to perform without transparency and with no
consideration for its future membership by having a closed shop on such an issue.
I would have thought they would
be grateful for input from agents
with the experience that some of
us have to offer.
Thanks Lance very encouraging and hope you trailblaze with transparancy and openess.
Derek
As a former SA newsagent with a round and a shop I applaud you Mark. The concerns you have written here are concerns I would have had if I still had my business today.
I have spoken to a friend in the city who owns a round and I can understand why he is happy with the changes by the Advertiser. I showed him what you wrote and he now understands that the issue is not just about his business.
I was in the game four years ago when the ANF took over NASA. I said at the time it would hurt newsagents. It appears I was right. Membership in SA is down 75%. Chris Rankin at NASA would have handled this matter differently. Newsagents would have been better off.
Keep up your work. Newsagents need an alternative voice and a place where they can discuss issues like this. From what I am told, the ANF is as secretive and arrogant as ever.