Here is an update from within Gordon and Gotch late yesterday about the Art Therapy partwork:
Part 2 stock was based on their retention curve (the curve of the publisher) but due to the early sales data we presented last week to the publisher they are air-freighting some more stock from the UK today of Part 2 that we need to finish before sending out to cover any back-orders. The publisher has just confirmed to bring forward part 3 supply to next week and we have also managed to secure a bit more additional stock for this issue. We will send a further newsagent update by the end of the week.
The supply situation newsagents are experiencing with this title are a function of supply decisions by the publisher. I feel for the folks at Gotch as they are the servant of the publisher.
To those newsagents complaining about supply – there is nothing new here. We have seen it for years – an amazingly successful partwork for which we cannot get enough stock and where supply drops dramatically as we get deeper into the series. We have to manage the opportunity expecting this, making the most of what we can. This is why I said I think newsagents early returning part one were nuts because they missed the opportunity of leveraging that traffic into other products.