Please see below comment from Tyler Brûlé, editor in chief of Monocle in response to comments attributed to him by B&T and commented on by me here.
As Australia is one of our most important markets (third biggest in the world) it’s clear that that most in the trade do a very good job and it’s hardly in our interest to criticise an important franchise of independents who’ve been critical to our growth. You will note that the headline in B&T does not reflect the content of what was said in the interview. The point being made is that everyone in the magazine distribution has to work hard at innovating and we cannot simply blame all things digital for this industry’s woes. Just as magazines have to deliver good editorial and outstanding covers, paper companies need to keep innovating with stock, distributors need to deliver on time and retailers need to keep pace with shop designs that are welcoming and encourage consumers to linger and spend more.
The comment was provided to me last night in an email discussion with and started by the Communications Director for Monocle. The discussion was useful. I made this point:
Our channel is made up of around 4,000 small businesses. We have no control over the magazines we receive. We make 25% gross profit off each magazine we sell. More than 5o% of magazines sent to us are unsold and have to be returned at our cost.
For most newsagents, magazines are a break even service at best. For decades we have fought for terms which would allow us to compete with massive supermarkets but have been unsuccessful. This is why newsagents are reducing their commitment to magazines.
I accept that the reporting may not be what was intended – a point made by the Director of Communications in one email:
I wanted to drop you a quick note regarding your blog and your post yesterday re: Tyler’s interview in B&T Weekly. We woke up to see the dramatic headline that B&T Weekly had chosen and were disappointed.
Australia is our third biggest market and we have invested a lot of time in both visiting newsagencies and finding ways to work with newsagencies more effectively. It’s very important to us.
We also want to make it clear that Tyler was commenting on some newsagents, not all newsagents. Some are brilliant. Some are not so great.
The point we were actually trying to make is that ‘the internet’ is not the only problem when discussing the future of newspapers. It’s the entire chain – paper companies, retailers, transport, prices – as well as the environment you buy them in.
so he didn’t say this part ?
And, he says, he’s eyeing-up the Australian market because our newsagents are, basically, all a bit crap.
I like that you contacted them Mark. You have a great commitment to teasing out all the detail. 🙂
When we talk to suppliers they comment on how so many newsagents they visit look dirty, worn down and just not welcoming at all. There are several factors from newsagent fatigue to lack of capital to improve the store as reasons but this in turn creates a vicious cycle for those stores. It does not take much to turn a store into a welcoming environment, even just a good clean helps! Tyler is entitled to his opinion and unfortunately it is the opinion that is gathering momentum. I would love to be classified under another banner now as the term Newsagent is not one that creates a positive image.
Talking of magazines, we are part of the MPA trial and in my opinion the Publishers and Newsagents are trying to create a more viable future but the distributors are not budging so we are still getting oversupplied. Yes the distributors have reduced the none selling titles but they have increased our supply of titles we sell past the point of any increased sales and it is hard not to think it is blatant oversupply.
Chris
Just curious to know did the MPA come in and relay your magazines ?
There’s a article in the National Newsagent where a Newsagent who is in the trail says they came in and relayed his magazines giving all their titles all full face exposure .
Whilst this is all good how would the MPA ever be able to replicate this through out all Newsagencies in Australia ,if the trial rules became a code of conduct for the industry ?
We did the relay ourselves as I felt more comfortable being in control, the MPA rep came in afterwards and looked at what we had done. A mag relay is sooo easy that every agent should do it and it does not cost anything other that 2- 3 hours. We can not do full facing as we have too many mags to make this effective. The plan is to reduce our supply so we can full face but my issue is that reducing niche titles will affect my USP as a magazine specialist so lets just say it is a work in progress!
Well the publishers blame the distributors, I blame all above us in the chain, so with a return rate of 50% why don’t the publishers just reduce their publication numbers by 50%.
Life could be that simple.
So publishers get to it!!
For a trial that is supposed to be testing rules that can roll out to all newsagents it sounds unrealistic.