Here’s a short video about the impact of magazine oversupply and why newsagents early return. It was shot in my newsagency on Thursday last week.
If you work for a magazine publisher or distributor, please watch this video and learn more about the #1 issue that makes newsagents less competitive than they could be, the #1 issue that leads newsagents to quit their businesses.
I made the video because I care about the channel and I care about magazines and the vital role they play in the channel.
While I write about oversupply often, the here are not getting through, the problem we see today is worse in my view than ten years ago as we are made to look worse that our competitors.
Through the video, I am hopeful that showing is more effective than telling.
This video is the type of communication newsagent associations ought to produce. Instead, they attend meetings that achieve little or nothing for newsagents on this mission-critical issue.
We are approaching a tipping point on this.
Excellent video Mark.
This is even more important moving into 2015 than ever before with the changes being made by Tatts Lotto is NSW.
The core products of a Newsagency business 20 years ago are now LOSS LEADERS. Newspapers, magazines and perhaps soon Lotto?
Previously my store stocked up to a dozen newspaper variety, we now stock three.
Previously my store had 1600 magazine pockets, we now have 750.
Furthermore i could go to a website like iSubscribe or groupon and purchase a magazine for 50% less than what i pay as a retail distributor selling to the public.
Accepting 25% commission as a retail channel is rubbish.
ALL publications should be 50% commission, both newspaper and magazine.
Well said Mark
Associations definitely need to work alot harder on this issue
Very happy day when we boxed up our last magazine return ever…
Very Happy Day indeed.
Merry Christmas All
David , the associations have proven to be nothing but useless and powerless on the issue again and again. It’s only if we as the individual retailers stand up and do something en mass that action may be taken.
Thanks for making good point, we all understand but feel helpless and accept it’s a part of Business.
It’s possible, if we have negotiate a standard agreement which gives Newsagent right that if same magazine is returned in full in last 3 issues that should stopped
Whilst it’s easy to criticize the ANF over Magazine supply, lets be very clear, the ANF has little or no sway in Magazine over supply. I was an ANF Director, Mark was also and we never succeeded in changing the model.
Magazine Distributors are just that – distributors, they make their money by scaling out a magazine for a customer (the publisher). Now Supermarkets have been clever in coming late to the magazine market – they have been able to negotiate both title and quantities.
NS, G&G & IPS all say they support the Newsagent Channel – well they need to start to look at their respective long term annual profit projections, rather than the short term game they are now playing.
Once Newsagent stores disappear in enough numbers and the Majors, Coles, Woolies and P&C’s own the market, they will screw the distributors to the wall.
Magazine selection will be a thing of the past and the customer will suffer.
Newsagents and subagents should carry a range and quantity of titles that suits their clients within their location.
I’m surprised by now that no one has played the “green” card against Distributors – all that greenhouse emission trucking mags around Australia for sell through of 50-60%.
Many Distribution Newsagents have already given up their Magazine contracts – and here is the message for all Publishers and Distributors they all sing from the same page – it was the best business decision they have made, how sad is that?
I have crystal balled the Distributors future if they allow Coles and Woolworths, to become their major customers, now how many of the Distributors will be prepared to say to your shareholders – profit is down due to industry investment – if we don’t do this there will be no profit in five to ten years.
The answer will be none – they will just continue to abuse the system until it falls apart.
I hope I’m wrong – I believe in the Newsagent Channel.
Merry Christmas to all. We continue the the good fight in 2015
John, the ANF held a two day summit and out of that came an action plan. My criticism is that they have not acted on it. They have also failed to take newsagents with them on the issue. Instead, they have focussed on parcels and other commercial activity which is not as important as magazines.
In the year I was a director, 2003/4, practical progress was made in several fronts and communication with newsagents was good.
As I see it today, re magazines, the ANF has no plan yet it remains the issue of most concern among newsagents.
Pressure needs to be applied to publishers to change their business model so that distributors no longer earn money for the oversupply of magazines. And publishers need to change the way they calculate how many copies to produce to prevent the problems of oversupply in the system.
Advertisers need to be putting pressure on magazine publishers to change the way advertisers pay for ads so that the publishers are no longer encouraged to over-produce magazines to get more advertising dollars.
Jonathan, the pressure is there in the form of newsagents reducing magazine pockets. I think this will increase in 2015.