NANA has made the running on the issue of the proposed privatisation of NSW Lotteries. Yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald reported that newsagents support the latest changes by the NSW state government. The report quotes the ANF CEO. The ANF CEO has been silent on this matter. The NANA President has been the public face of representing NSW newsagents. NANA does not support the latest changes announced on the govrenment. Click here for a copy of their release on this matter.
The SMH report included this:
Mr Matis said wrangling over the sale had hurt the industry because finance companies were unwilling to fund potential buyers of newsagencies, thus preventing current owners from leaving the industry.
”Finance companies are loath to provide finance to newsagents, putting an unreasonable impost on them.”
I would like to see the evidence the ANF has for making such a claim, evidence of the “hurt” caused by the talk about the proposed sale so far, evidence of finance companies being loath to provide finance to newsagents” due to the lotteries proposal. Indeed, the SMH journalist should have asked for this rather than accepting the ANF press statement.
I stand to be corrected but I doubt that the ANF has any evidence to back its claim. I’d gladly publish it here if they do have evidence.
This is a state issue. The NSW state association should have the carriage of this issue, not a national body which the majority of newsagents ignore.
The question about the privatisation of lotteries is one for the politicians. They have to make a political decision based on the needs of the state. Unfortunately, the track record of privatisation, at the federal and state levels, is not good on a range of fronts.
What I do know is this, NSW newsagents receive more promotional support and in-store marketing assistance from NSW Lotteries than retailers of lottery products elsewhere. From a retailer perspective, the current situation is good for business. The government needs to understand the potential impact of its changes.
With the move of Top Gear to the front of the shop (see earlier post), we have placed Rolling Stone to at the exit of iur main men’s magazine aisle. This is a quick and dirty display for the weekend. Rolling Store is untried here so it will be ineterstingg to see how it goes – and whether the Jackson cover story works for us here.
