I’ve been contacted by more indie magazine publishers in the last 2 months about distribution to newsagents than in the last few years.
Five publishers have contacted me asking how to supply newsagents direct. There are new, launching titles, and two are existing and looking for a direct to retailer relationship.
Each conversation was interesting. It is fascinating hearing from niche title publishers. Their passion for their special interest is usually terrific.
Each of the five I have recently spoken with wanted a good relationship with newsagents. Better margin was on offer as well as flexibility for those prepared for firm sale.
Given the strong sales for niche titles, it is interesting to consider opportunities that may flow from direct supply. The challenge, of course, is the cost of managing hundreds of individual accounts along with the soft of using post to deliver titles.
Some niche titles have capacity for margin and this is where there may be opportunity for alternative supply arrangements.
Two of the titles are regional and fit with the interest today in nesting. One was arts related, writing, specifically.
Footnote: I suggested to each that for efficiency of management, distributing through Ovato was probably the best approach. I noted that while it was imperfect, it worked for plenty of publishers.
Mark, hate to say it, but they are wasting their time.
Last month I tried to buy 2 magazines in Adelaide, the Economist and a promoted Australian camping mag. In total I went to 5 separate newsagencies. Two I knew had a good magazine range, one I was unsure about, the other 2 were unlikely to help but were local so I included them.
The promoted mag I did not find anywhere and I only found travel related titles in one store.
The Economist was stocked in one store only and the issue was out of date.
3 stores had less than 100 titles. Only one had a big selection of about 500 pockets.
I hadn’t tried to buy a magazine for a long time and the experience was totally depressing.
The channel has hollowed out on magazines. There is absolutely no consistency in offering. There is no longer reasoning for the public in my side of Adelaide to buy magazines from newsagents.
In addition to this experience. I was in a busy shopping centre last weekend and yes, the newsagent was in the process of closing, no magazines, just lottery customers. The supermarket was very busy and selling about 150 of most common magazines.
I am not biased against newsagents, I have been an ardent purchasing of magazines and newspapers. But from my perspective and admittedly based on my area , the game is all but over for magazines.
Very sad.
“I hadn’t tried to buy a magazine for a long time…….” is why your choice is now so poor. In recent years you and many, many others can say the same thing, and that is why you no longer have the ability to readily find what you are looking for on the shelves.
It is just a natural progression away from print, and the non-commercial terms on which they are supplied to newsagents is the other half of the problem leading retailers to focus their energies elsewhere to turn a dollar.
The situation today is as good as it is ever going to be again, and smart retailers are continuing to shrink space dedicated to magazines.
Even keeping 100% of the sale price it is hard to make a compelling argument to stock magazines. Best of luck to these new publishers but I don’t hold out a lot of hope for them using the physical retail channel.