The Rotten State of Newsagents – Is it any Wonder Publishers Are Pushing Digital? By John Freeman is an indictment of the state of newsagents in the UK. While I have challenged him on some points, he makes other points all newsagents need to consider.
Freeman needs to look at why newsagents cram magazines into less and less space. Next, he needs to talk about how to address the issues to respect newsagents and publishers. His article misses some key facts.
I agree with what much of what Freeman has written about UK newsagents. Plenty of shops are tired and not up to current retail standards. However, part of the problem could be the return achieved from the category by retailers in the UK. My experience with retailers is they invest based on the financial return.
That some WH Smith stores have untidy display’s is no surprise, that’s what happens when stores are run by employees with inadequate oversight. What is surprising is the repeated fact that WH Smith are paid by publishers for shelf space. If they get that in the UK you can be sure their pushing publishers here for the same, if they haven’t already got it.
WHS is the last man standing in the UK. Their only competitors for magazines are the supermarkets (which frequently offer a far greater range of magazines than in Australia) and convenience outlets (including newsagents), who tend to operate small stores and need to concentrate on, soft drinks, confectionery, groceries, alcohol …whatever, anything that makes a financial return
This is not an overstatement. I lived there and do not recall the last time I bought a magazine somewhere other than WHS or a supermarket.
So Mr Freeman’s real gripe is against a retail model that provides only one outlet for specialist magazines.
Mr Freeman should be grateful WHS are prepared to stock his “comics” (most seem adult to me) …even if it is for a fee. Many of the titles are so niche, they will never see the light of day any other way.
There are only a few Newsagents left in UK – the vast majority of independents have become convenience stores which sell News / Mags. Newspaper publisher indifference & regular terms cuts, magazine supply favoring Supermarkets & multiples are major contributors.. Fortunately I saw the signs 12 years ago & sold mine
Steve it is a sad situation as there was once 50,000+ newsagents. Leaders took them down the road of convenience, a road cluttered with better resourced big competitors.
Thanks very much for the comments, indirectly, about the article. I did update it after some feedback but if, as Mark Fletcher says, his experience with retailers is they invest based on the financial return,then why compromise the chances of making a return with shoddy displays? It’s not just comics – magazines are similarly crammed because shelf space has been reduced. I do appreciate that if you are making more money selling pens, you’ll push those over magazines, but looking at WHSmith latest financial report they don’t seem really great, either. The displays in Australian newsagents look a lot better. There has been some interesting feedback in the comments, too.