If you are in a newsagency marketing group, get out the contract you signed and read what it says about termination.
Be sure you understand the term of the contract, whether you have to give notice and if so what length of notice is required and whether there is a period after the end of the contract in which you are not permitted to join another group.
If you are not sure about these things, seek professional advice. Indeed, you should have sought advice prior to signing the contract. It is never too late to seek advice.
TERM.
Newsagency marketing group contracts vary from one year to six years from what I have seen. Personally, I think anything more than one year is too long. Aren’t you better off staying with a group because of the value gain from it rather than because they have legally bound you in a contract? Shouldn’t groups want you to stay because you want to stay.
If they really trust what they offer and the benefits they deliver for you, why lock you in?
Oh, and I do understand the need for an initial term when you first join, to learn from each other, to unlock value for each other.
NOTICE PERIOD.
Some contracts require you to give notice months ahead of the contract renewal period and your failure to do this locks you in for, sometimes, another long period. In my opinion, a notice period of two months is reasonable and anything more is unfair for the small business retailer.
AUTO RENEWAL.
I think auto renewals in a contract are a gotcha, especially if the auto renewal period is long, like a year or more as is the case for some newsagency marketing group contracts I have seen.
I suspect businesses put auto renewal and a long (like a year or more) lock in period in contracts because they know people will not realise they need to give notice to not renew. They are businesses. It’s all about their revenue.
LOCK OUT PERIOD.
Another thing I have seen in newsagency marketing group contracts is a post contract termination lock out period. I have seen them make this case to protect their intellectual property, which I think is a joke. What intellectual property? Okay in the first year maybe, but what after that time? None of the newsagency marketing groups has a system with training, regulation, branding requirements and more like you see in a McDonalds.
If you are happy with your newsagency marketing group contract, this post is not for you.
If you are unhappy, please dig out your contract and look at your options.
If you have been given a newsagency marketing group contract to sign, please read it carefully. Some have worse provisions than the few I have mentioned here, provisions that are very expensive – like demanding you access some products / services only from the supplier they dictate. I saw one newsagent recently pay thousands of dollars more for something than they would have paid had they not been in that group.
Buyer beware is the point here. Do your homework. be sure you fully understand the contract. Be sure you are happy with all terms prior to signing.
Not all newsagency marketing groups are the same.
I know of at least twenty newsagents currently in groups they want to leave but cannot. Some have received legal letters threatening against leaving and others have received less formal yet equally distressing communication. In most cases, that communication was the first time i a year their business received direct communication about their business from the group to which they belong. These newsagents would leave in a heartbeat if they did not feel trapped. None of them want a legal fight, and I suspect some in the marketing groups know this, and use it to their advantage, and the disadvantage of their members.
If you are in a newsagency marketing group, get out the contract you signed and read what it says about termination.