A distribution newsagent advises the cover price for the Sydney Morning Herald (and The Age?) will not provide an increase in revenue for newsagents.
Newsagent income from newspapers used to be a percentage of newspaper cover price. When the cover price went up, so did the money made by newsagents.
The model changed with to a fee for service model from what I understand.
It will be interesting to see if newsagents take action against Fairfax in retaliation against their price move since this price change announcement is a reminder to them of what they lost.
I do wonder if supermarkets have lost in the same way.
I know of newsagents who have quit papers because of falling traffic generation and falling commercial benefit to their businesses. Makes sense.
If you quit papers are you still a newsagent?
The model changed long ago, over 5 years ago or more. Inreases for Retail and sub agents -yearly same for Distribution Agents. Distribution Agents are reviewed in September every year. A newsagent can get the wholesaLe prices and/or the Commission or service fee amount (incl Delivery Fee) by contacting Circulation or their rep.
Technically/legally, you are not officially a newsagent if you don’t have a contract with a publisher/approved Distributor.
The Retail price reflects a Gross Profit margin of 19.22% in the example as of Monday Sept 8 as shown in this post.
Subagents are also posted as are the North Coast Sub-Newsagents other areas depend on arrangements made with the Distribution newsagent, usually the standard 12.5% however 10% is the norm in Qld and becoming increasingly more noticeable in NSW.
I would like to close my fairfax account in protest but I would only be cutting off my nose to spite my face. Even though its clear newspaper publishers do not value their full service newsagents at all, I still value my customers. This why I still (and some say stupidly) get up at 5am and chuck papers around town losing money for the privelage. Our over the counter sales are still very strong which is the major influence on keeping the run going for now.