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magazine distribution

Will IPS be a casualty of the Nine takeover of Fairfax?

It is hard to see magazine distributor IPS as having any future, in a Nine controlled Fairfax business or even in Fairfax itself if the takeover collapsed.

With magazine sales continuing to decline and the category of less interest to retail newsagents than at any time in the history of the channel, it is hard to see upside for a business as small as IPS.

IPS comes up in discussion because of the proposed Nine takeover as Nine would be keen to resolve business performance challenges. I could be wrong but I suspect IPS would be a low hanging fruit opportunity it terms of tidying up IPS.

It will be interesting to see how this part of the takeover plays out.

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magazine distribution

Have you been overloaded with Frankie magazine?

Several newsagents have reported being overloaded with Frankie magazine in recent months. Here is data from one store. Outside of the Christmas issue bump, the numbers are clear. The oversupply for issues 83 and 84 is obvious. Whoever is in control of setting supply, the publisher or Gotch, owes an explanation.

Other magazine publishers take note – oversupply like this gets newsagents cutting magazine space allocation. Based on the history for this business I’d say supply of 40 to 50 copies is reasonable. 115 is bad. 130 for the latest issue is ridiculous.

Newsagents face considerable costs in oversupply situations due to the out of date and broken magazine distribution model.

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magazine distribution

Gordon and Gotch dumps awful Mother’s Day gifts on newsagents

IF YOU ARE A MAGAZINE PUBLISHER, READ THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE IS A REASON NEWSAGENTS EARLY RETURN, IT IS WHY MORE ARE REDUCING MAGAZINE FLOOR SPACE AND EVEN QUITTING THE CATEGORY ALTOGETHER.

Gordon and Gotch sent Mum’s Gift Pack 1 to newsagents yesterday. It is priced at $14.99. Inside is a collection of what can best be described as junk. The random and unconnected items look like they are freebies collected and put into a pack.

Check it out.

This is junk. Newsagents contacted me saying they would be ashamed to put it out which poses the question: WTF GOTCH?

Pushing junk like this on newsagents, stealing their time and space, holding their cash, it makes a mockery of the magazine distribution model.

Whoever signed off at Gotch on this Mum’s Gift Pack going out to ought to explain to newsagents why they thought out was a good idea.

I have seen photos of packs from several newsagencies, as I did not receive this at my own stores, and I cannot make any sense out of this move, none whatsoever.

Having to put up with nonsense like this gets newsagents reconsidering their commitment to the category. That ought to worry legitimate publishers and have them calling on G0tch to explain what they have treated newsagents so appallingly, again.

In my opinion, the supply of this pack by Gotch to newsagents through the magazine distribution model is unethical, socially irresponsible and ignorant.

If the folks at Gotch are true to form they will remain silent on this issue. They do not engage. It’s a single lane one-way road on matters like this. And that is another reason newsagents look at cutting back on magazines. It is almost impossible to have a conversation with the company and when you do it usually costs more than the amount you are fighting over.

Things were supposed to improve when Network Services closed. They have not. They are worse.

This Mum’s Gift Pack represents another failure baby Gotch to understand the newsagency channel, another failure by Gotch to demonstrate respect for newsagents.

I urge magazine publishers using Gotch to approach their Gotch account manager and seek an explanation. Gotch needs to get its magazine distribution model right before distributing other products and even then they need to talk to newsagents before making that move.

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Ethics

What’s going on with magazine deliveries?

I have heard from ten newsagents, in several states, in the last week that magazines are either arriving very late or not at all.

In one case yesterday, a newsagent was without weekly magazines for half a day. In their particular business, based on sales history, the revenue loss will be significant.

In a case last week, the freight company has been changed and magazines are arriving twelve hours later than they used to. No announcement. No ability to easily adjust staff rosters.

This post is placed here for newsagents affected by magazine delivery challenges to comment. Publishers read this blog – let them know if you are being impacted and what it means to your business and their business.

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magazine distribution

Magazine distributor IPS

I have heard from several newsagents in recent weeks of issues with IPS an, in particular, data. My understanding is that IPS has been no help in resolving the matters. I have posted this, here, so people may comment about their experiences with IPS.

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magazine distribution

Unplug magazine from Bauer Media reflects a problem with the magazine supply model

Unplug magazine was released in late January. We received 17 copies. We have sold two copies. This makes the title unprofitable for us. It is not even paying for the space necessary to store the seventeen, thick, copies.

There is no evidence in our data to justify being sent 17 copies of a launch issue in the crossword / puzzle space.

I am over magazine pub fishers using small business newsagency channels as their bank and business partner in the launch of new titles. Rather than testing and topping up if a title sells well, they load us, make us responsible and apply onto our businesses costs that see us carrying a financial burden that is unreasonable.

I would have preferred to receive no more than five copies of this launch issue. Given the transparency back to the publisher of sales, replenishing supply is easy. Instead, they load us and add to our costs of their launch.

On the magazine itself, I look at it and ask why was this even launched. We have been flooded with similar titles. Unplug looks like a copy of Breathe and others in this mindfulness puzzle segment. As a retailer looking at efficient assortment, I don’t see a need for the title. If I was a buyer in control of what I buy to stock in my business, given what I already have, I would not buy this title.

Unplug is not a bad magazine. However, it has entered a crowded segment, late. This is why I have no interest in stocking it.

We do not have the luxury of choosing the magazines to stock. This makes us weak. It positions us as victims. Okay I accept we get new titles. What frustrates me is the volume. The seventeen copies of Unplug is too many. It is an abuse of my business. Shame on the magazine model that allows it to happen.

It is 2018 people. More of this and more newsagents will cut back magazine space as doing this is the key step we can take to control what we receive.

Other magazine publishers need to take note.

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magazine distribution

Lovatts increasing magazine supply without justification

Lovatts Media has increased supply of several titles in situations where data show there are consistent returns. I see no evidence in sale or return data supporting an increase in supply. I see no evidence in current issues indicating a supply increase was warranted.

Lovatts senior management had previously advised they do their own allocations. Assuming that is the case, Lovatts has failed my small business, and maybe many others. Check your data. If my assumption is wrong and Gotch controls  allocations, then it is Gotch that has failed newsagents with unwarranted increases in supply.

Every magazine publisher needs to understand their situation on the shop floor in newsagency businesses. Every time a newsagent sees unjustified oversupply it encourages them to consider other steps to fight back. These other steps can include moving the location of magazines and cutting floorspace for magazines.

You could look at the screen cap I have included with this post and say: hey, it is only four extra copies. The is true. However, it is four extra copies soon top of what is being returned. This title from Lovatts has a 50% failure rate.

Their increase in supply increases the extent of the failure. It extends the financial risk to my business as I carry the cost fo theft. I also carry the cost of labour for product management and the cost of space for placement of the extra stock, which will not sell.

The problem here is a problem for every magazine publisher to contemplate and act on.

Newsagents are not the compliant agents of yesterday. Today, newsagents are more likely to be retailers looking carefully at what they make per square metre of floorspace. The failure of a single magazine to sell is far more a problem today than a few years ago. This is because more and more of what we sell has a GO% of 50%, sometimes more. The 25% from magazines puts the category more under the spotlight.

Lovatts needs to take control of this issue and immediately audit all supply situations. Given data available, Lovatts management could have an understanding of the scope of the problem in a few minutes. It will be interesting to see of Lovatts acts, to see if they care about newsagents.

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magazine distribution

Is there a supply problem with Big League?

I have heard from a couple of newsagents this week about delivery problems with Big League, the NRL magazine. In one case the problem occurred for much fo last year with Gotch unable to resolve it.

The time involved is considerable and it is billed. The newsagent has to say it did not arrive and that process, as many newsagents would know, is inexact and can lead to a time consuming fight to get a credit for stock never received.

Are you experiencing supply issues with Big League magazine?

I connected with the publisher yesterday on Twitter about this:

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magazine distribution

Gotch rejecting returns

Newsagents are having returns submitted to Gotch rejected by the company. Tower support people have check rejected files as have XchangeIT people – both parties say the returns files are to standard. The problem appears to be at the Gotch end. It looks like something has changed at Gotch over the weekend.

UPDATE: 4:35pm. Gotch says the number of stores affected is 36, that they do not know the cause and that they are working on it at their end.

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magazine distribution

Gotch lets newsagents down with My Little Pony Adventures part series from Eaglemoss

The My Little Pony Colouring Adventures part series launches next week. I expect issue 1 will sell out quickly for some stores while others will have returns.

I say Gotch has let newsagents down because of their typically poor and one size fits all approach.

I have had My Little Pony products from multiple suppliers in store for ages, products that appeal to kids and adult collectors of the licence, yes adults. I also have a permanent unicorn department in-store, which appeals yo MLP shoppers too.

Stores with this level of engagement could do far better with the launch that will permit with its one size fits all approach.

I’d prefer Gotch to:

  1. Invite store engagement months out.
  2. Allow us to set supply quantities, without argument.
  3. Give us a better price for firm sale.
  4. Guarantee replenishment through to issue #12.
  5. Guarantee minimum supply for the run of the series where we have confirmed putaways.
  6. Help newsagents with allied product supplier suggestions. While engaged marketing groups will be onto this, Gotch could too.
  7. Make it very easy for shoppers to find stores.
  8. Provide pre-launch collateral to facilitate preorders.
  9. Provide demographic and other insights to help newsagents understand the broader opportunity. My Little Pony has a broader appeal than as a kids toy or kids character.

Sure Gotch is a magazine distributor. See their website and see their claims of being specialist. A specialist business would do more than they have done in the lead up to the launch of this title. It is not enough in my opinion.

We are going all out as My Little Pony Colouring Adventures will drive traffic in-store. I say this because support for the MLP brand is strong, I do understand the demographic and I am already setup to leverage that into deeper basket opportunities.

To anyone at Gotch rolling their eyes, frustrated, angry or annoyed at this post – all I want is for newsagents to make the maximum amount of money possible. Your poor execution will not see this happen.

Check out a TVC from the UK launch to see why I think this part series will be a bit.

Check out collateral Gotch has shared with the public via their Twitter feed:

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magazine distribution

Every newsagent needs to be across Gotch product code change

Here is the text of an email from XchangeIT to newsagents yesterday.

Dear Newsagent

From 13th February 2018 you will be receiving DD2s/Files from Gotch, via XchangeIT, that contain their new 10-digit Product Code format (an update from their old 5-digit codes because they are running out of numbers).

To make this change possible, your POS provider has been contacted and they are developing processes to implement the new 10-digit Product Codes and update the product inventory in your POS.

On or before 13th February, please look out for any instructions from your POS provider.

NOTE: If you are not on support with your POS Provider you may have to manually update each Product Code from 5 to 10 digits across all Gotch products.

Between now and approximately 5th February, your POS provider will be preparing for the change, as will XchangeIT and Gotch. We will update you on approximately 29th January as to progress.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please call us on 1300 551 212.

Best regards,

The XchangeIT Team

All the Gotch products codes are remaining the same except they are adding 10000 to the start. The change has been in the works for several months with software companies involved in the discussions.

The change means that products arriving with the new codes will have to be matched to the old code. Engaged software companies will make this easy for customers with the latest software.

All returns data going back after February 13 will need to use the new product codes. Otherwise, returns will be rejected.

The change has come about because of the expansion of the Gotch portfolio moving Network titles in and the introduction of giftware.

Newsagents cannot ignore what is happening here. It is essential that every newsagent is on top of this, following exactly the advice of their software company. If this is not done, credits could be lost.

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magazine distribution

Gotch decision on Christmas returns cutoff expected to increase early returns

Gotch has advised newsagents 1pm December 22 is the last date/time for submission of returns for December. I expect this will result in a higher than usual early returns. It is disappointing Gotch is pushing on to small business retailers the burden of the week earlier than usual returns processing cut-off. This is poor customer service.

UPDATE: I have been contacted by newsagents who have received an updated email with a cutoff of December 28. If this applies to everyone it is good news.

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magazine distribution

No, Gotch, we don’t want your low-margin bracelets

Magazine distributor, Gordon and Gotch this product these to newsagents this week with magazines. I highlighted magazine distributor because they should get that right first.

I, like plenty of newsagents, already had the product, sourced direct.

From Gotch I’d make 25% whereas from the direct supplier my GP is twice that.

What a frustrating situation!

So, I am returning the stock to Gotch. Here is the unopened box. Dead stock.

A waste of money for me and for the supplier who paid to get it delivered to me any many others.

Dumb.

However, I should not have to return it. Gotch should not have sent the stock. It is not magazine related. The margin is appalling, offensive even. Their arrogance is sending it lands my business with a returns cost that is unfair. They decided to risk this new products, a product from a category unrelated to their core. The problem is theirs, not mine.

It is situations like this that get newsagents closer to thinking why bother with magazines?

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magazine distribution

The challenge of launching a new magazine in Australian newsagencies

The days of newsagents allocating a third of their retail floor space are long gone, and with that the space to easily accomodate new titles.

Today, magazine space is tight, usually taking 20% and less of floor space, often floor space that is less prime than the magazine bays of years ago. Whereas in the past the volume of stock received managed newsagents, today newsagents are far more protective of their assets, as they should be.

With the scale back of space allocation for magazines is the almost elimination of power end displays promoting magazines. They don’t provide the financial return necessary in Australia’s high retail space and labour cost climate – when you compare the cost of retail space and labour to other developed countries.

I consider any new title on the basis of what it can bring to my business, like I do for any product. While adding a new magazine that leeches off existing traffic is okay, it is not as beneficial as the magazine that helps attract new shoppers.

This is on my mind today because Lovatts Media has launched Teen Breathe. I have read the material and while I appreciate 30% gross profit compares to the usual 25%, there is nothing indicating what adding this product to my business will do to grow the business. What is offensive is that the 30% is tied to newsagents not early returning the title. That is, an extra 49.75 cents per copy sold, but only if we hold the title in-store for two months. This is disrespectful. It is of no interest to me.

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magazine distribution

I was wrong about Gotch, they don’t care about newsagents

In my post last week about the missteps by XchangeIT and Gotch on the data handling for the new Gotch gift offer, The Market Hub, I said that I thought the issues wold be resolved at the Gotch end, negating the need for newsagency software change and therefore costs falling to software3 company owners and newsagents.

Thankfully, it appears that The Market Hub from Gotch will be established as a separate supplier through XchangeIT, negating the need for any software changes. Why is this relevant? In my opinion it reflects the poor preparation by Gotch and XchangeIT for this project and an arrogance that they expect others to invest capital on their behalf. But they are from the magazine distribution side of the business so I guess that is their usual approach.

Turns out I was wrong. Gotch does not plan to operate within the IT standards they helped to establish. They have advised they will use the magazine file structure to send gift produce delated data, breaking the standards. They will do this with XchangeIT watching them, yes, the same XchangeIT that fines newsagents for poor data management.

I think this disregard by Gotch of the IT standards they imposed on n newsagents speaks to their views on the future of the channel and, in particular, the distribution of print product.

If they believed in the channel they would invest in the right tech approach to their data challenge.

If they respected newsagents they would follow the IT standards they themselves helped to bring into place.

If they believed in their own future they would invest in that. Instead, they have invested in product and marketing but not in ensuring data flow within the standards they established.

I think this looks bad for Gotch. However, I suspect most newsagents will not fully grasp why this is an issue. This will make it easy for Gotch to say I am wrong and that my software company is the problem.

Here are questions and answers that define what is happening and why I have written here and previously as I have:

  1. Does the gift product data from Gotch and sent through XchangeIT meet the data standards they participated in developing? No.
  2. Can Gotch fix the problem at their end? Yes.
  3. Will Gotch fix the problem at their end? They have said no.
  4. What does Gotch want done? They want the software companies to change how the magazine data file is used, to enable the misuse of the file structure by Gotch to work with established newsagency software.
  5. Who does Gotch propose pays for the software changes? So far, me and the other software company owners.
  6. How could this problem have been avoided? Through discussion with the tech stakeholders long before launch as that would have taken away the time challenges given that the Gotch gift product range has now been launched.

Gotch may defend their position by saying my concerns are driven by my work with newsXpress. Such a statement would be untrue. My concerns here, as explained, are purely tech standards related.

If Gotch cared about newsagents they would respect the IT standards as much as they expect (and demand) newsagents respect them.

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Ethics

Gordon and Gotch moves into gift wholesaling and fails to adhere to data standards (with the help of XchangeIT)

Earlier this month, Gordon and Gotch launched The Market Hub, a wholesale business offering toys, gifts and other items.

In my opinion, Gotch should get its magazine distribution business right first. There are too many mistakes, too much oversupply, poor newsagent customer service and a poor tech platform through which newsagents connect.

As I have noted previously, Gotch could grow magazine sales for publishers by providing better service to newsagents, through a better tech platform. Indeed, the poor Gotch tech interface is a big barrier to newsagents taking on new titles.

There are items offers by Gotch through The Market Hub with a suggested retail price that is higher than the original supplier suggested retail. This potentially sets the participating newsagents as expensive and creates a false margin perception in my opinion.

Some items in the Gotch offer need understanding and support to drive sales success. Simply purchasing product and stocking it is not enough for such items.

FAILURE TO ADHERE TO DATA STANDARDS.

It is in the data side where I have concerns with how Gotch has gone about the launch of The Market Hub. Gotch sent to newsagents an EDI file using a format designed for magazine data. XchangeIT passed through the file, without testing.

The file contained errors. Gotch and XchangeIT people were clueless and, in my opinion, disengaged. It fell to the COO of my newsagency software company to detail the errors in the Gotch file sent by XchangeIT.

A big challenge was that Gotch was the supplier. The way the standard plays out is that having one company provide data for two very different types of products through one file format is problematic. yet, for several days, Gotch and XchangeIT resisted establishing a second supplier for Gotch to send through their data for The Market Hub. 

While I don’t know about other software companies, XchangeIT agitated my newsagency software company, Tower Systems, to change its software to serve the approach Gotch and XchangeIT wanted to take. What this meant is they wanted me to personally fund, to the tune of many thousands of dollars, changes so they could bend XchangeIT data to work with standards not designed to accomodate the data they wanted to send.

I made it clear to them that out of all of us at the table, Gotch, XchangeIT and Tower, only I was being asked to personally fund any work. I refused. Instead, Tower outlined an approach they could take with no cost – by sending the data from a separate supplier.

Thankfully, it appears that The Market Hub from Gotch will be established as a separate supplier through XchangeIT, negating the need for any software changes. Why is this relevant? In my opinion it reflects the poor preparation by Gotch and XchangeIT for this project and an arrogance that they expect others to invest capital on their behalf. But they are from the magazine distribution side of the business so I guess that is their usual approach.

What should Gotch and XchangeIT have done differently? They should have engaged the software companies before sending the file. They should have followed the standards. The should have established a separate supplier for this new Gotch business. They should have thoroughly tested the data they sent.

Instead, they worked in secret and rush to newsagents flawed data, compromising the integrity of the data standards that XchangeIT ferociously protects when it comes newsagent data. It is a pity they are not as tough with themselves and Gotch as they are with newsagents.

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Ethics

Gotch and XchangeIT fail newsagents, again

Gotch, not content with its broken magazine distribution business, has branched out into supplying gift related product to newsagents. Some of the products have suggested retail prices that are higher than supplier suggested retail, giving an inaccurate impression of margin.

XchangeIT has sent out a invoice file from Gotch for this new gift product venture that is riddled with errors. The experts at XchangeIT were clueless about the file they sent. They had not checked it.

An expert at my newsagency software company checked the file and listed for XchangeIT the problems in the data from Gotch that they sent through their facility. This was done because XchangeIT people were too lazy to do they work they should have done.

XchangeIT take a big stick to newsagents on compliance yet appear to accept no responsibility for their own lack of compliance.

XchangeIT has one job. They failed.

Gotch should have one job – distributing magazines based on what will certainly sell. They fail weekly.

People in both companies will be angry that I am writing this, they will have their excuses. In  my opinion, the excuses will be baseless.

If Gotch has the time and money for a new venture they have the time and money to stop gross oversupply and to stop the distribution errors that cost newsagents a ton of money.

If XchangeIT can send out a data file riddled with errors and that they have not tested they have no right penalising newsagents on their compliance.

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Ethics

Is Bauer considering closing and or replacing the Connections program?

Rumours are dangerous things as they come without firm evidence. Hence, they need to be treated with care.

A rumour put to me over the weekend is that management at Bauer is actively considering closing the Connections newsagent promotional campaign and replacing it with something promoted as better and more relevant to today but which would have a cost to Bauer that is a fraction of what Connections costs today.

The cost of Connections on the Bauer P&L is considerable. Without a satisfactory measureable income benefit it would be understandable the company is looking at either changing, closing or replacing the program.

Remember, the CEO of Bauer last week the magazine distribution sand sale process had to change.

“Magazines and newspapers have a great future, they have a very important social future, but for both newspaper and magazine companies, the model under which they operate doesn’t work anymore.

Changing Connections could be part of that.

As the impact of staff changes is felt through the Bauer company, the known history of Connections diminishes, along with the known history of dealing with the newsagency channel. This will bring the performance numbers of Connections into greater focus.

In my own opinion, it is time for a fresh approach to driving retailer engagement as posters, power end displays and the like are not appropriate for driving incremental purchases of magazines. Just as Bauer is looking to approach magazines differently, newsagents need to as well. This includes how we engage with promotions, where we locate the department and how we leverage other foot traffic to get the magazine add-on.

These are challenging considerations that we need to have in our businesses and in the networks to which we belong where such strategy matters are discussed.

I have not published here everything put to me about Connections as I don’t think the other points in the rumour are relevant to the core question about the future of Connections.

Comparing Connections to the Pacific nexus program, Connections is more one-way whereas nexus has considerable regular activity run by Pacific to drive traffic in-store, activity that is sent under the name of newsagency businesses. The two serve different purposes. The two have served newsagents well.

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magazine distribution

Menzies’ UK newsagent terms change set to impact small business cash flow

A colleague newsagent from Ireland emailed me yesterday about a significant change in trading terms by their managing and newspaper wholesaler. Here is their story, which I have edited slightly to remove identifying information:

I am the guy who gets up early in the morning, every morning, to haul the bundles of magazines and papers into my store where I carefully and proudly display title after title, many full facing to entice the reader, your customer…to buy. I am the store they love to go to, to browse the hundreds of titles on display.

My store and many more like mine is where your products reach their buyer.

Menzies Distribute your product in Ireland and recently bought out Easons from the EM News Distribution in Ireland. It would seem that they are deploying new tactics too.

We have been newsagents for decades. We have always paid our suppliers on time and the same applies to Menzies. For the record we do not owe any outstanding invoices over 30 days to Menzies.

However I recently received an email from Joanna Nizynska, who represent the accounts department in Menzies in Edinburgh, informing me that our payment terms are now changed to the following:

“all invoices within a calendar month due on the 1st of the next month.” So we are invoiced every Saturday for the current week and all invoices then in August, must be paid on September 1st.

This is effectively a reducing credit term with the last invoice of the month possibly having only days credit?

Without access to the standard terms of 30 days credit most retailers would close.

I am asking for your help where possible to make representation on this issue.

It has been implied by Menzies representatives that If i don’t meet these new demands that i may suffer disruption to the supply of papers and magazines to my store. In other words they suspend or close my account. Bullying me into accepting new terms and conditions or face no supply as they have a monopoly in Ireland.

Is this how we want the industry to go, is this what you the publishers want? is this what you the trade representatives want? We all know the stats in terms of print media but a bigger issue in my opinion and a factor in the whole story is how Newsagents all over the World are being treated by the industry.

Encourage us instead of badgering us, incentivize us instead of penalizing us, help us to help you grow!

Is this the end of the road for Newsagents in Ireland?

How would Australian newsagents feel if any of their suppliers introduced such a change to trading terms?

My opinion is this move by Menzies in the UK is bad. I agree with the newsagent who originally wrote about it. Eliminating usual business trading terms will hurt small business retailers for sure.

If costs have increased, suppliers need to have their customers, the magazine publishers, pay. It is unreasonable to force small business owners, those located at the bottom of the food chain, to pay.

We see this in Australia with uneconomic terms of magazines causing newsagents to react by reducing their space commitment to the category.

At some point publishers and distributors will wonder what happened. Them being disrespectful of small business retailers is what happened. That is what I think is happening here in this story from the UK.

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magazine distribution

Gordon and Gotch gets the most basic task wrong, still

The most basic task magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch has serving newsagents and publishers is to accurately and ethically supply magazines based on sales data. I regularly receive evidence from newsagents of the company’s people or systems or both failing to do this.

The image shows the worsening situation regarding People’s Friend for one newsagency.

The graduation of supply suggests that the problem here is systemic rather than human error.

It looks to me like Gotch has stock it has to move, regardless of sales. I would love to be wrong but the evidence suggests I am not. There is no reason for the ramping up of supply as Gotch has done.

This action disadvantages newsagents. It makes them less competitive. It is unfair. Yet here we are in July 2017 with a post about an issue that I was writing about here back in 2005 when I started this blog.

Magazine publishers, we need your help.

It is action like this that causes newsagents to cut space for magazines, thereby forcing Gotch to cut the range of titles carried. I have written about newsagents doing this, and why, yet no one appears interested enough to fix the most fundamental problem: the continuing systematic oversupply by Gotch.

What happens here is that each oversupply has a cost to newsagents of labour, space and freight. All of these costs are borne from an acton over which the newsagent has absolutely no control.

There are not many businesses where poor (or deliberately harmful) supplier practices lead to significant loss making activity for the recipient business.

The newsagent who sent me this screen shot has good data, reliable data, provided on time. The actions of Gotch have nothing to do with recent returns notification changes. No, the actions here go to the core of magazine distribution, they reflect decades-long problems that are a blight on the newsagency channel, but not supermarkets it would appear.

That magazine publishers remain silent on this issue is appalling as their interests and newsagent interests are aligned. Only over the counter sales matter. Everything else is overhead to be kept as low as possible.

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magazine distribution

So much for the commitment about magazine reissues

This issue of Digital Photography magazine was sent to newsagents by distributor Gordon and Gotch as if it is a new issue. It is not. This issue was sent out a year ago. What Gotch has done is re-send stock newsagents returned, stock that failed to sell.

This is an appalling abuse of small business newsagents. Shame on Gotch for letting it happen. This is wasting time and money. It should never have happened.

I expect the folks at Gotch will have their excuses, excuses we have heard before. It is tiresome. No wonder newsagents are angry about Gotch and angry about the magazine distribution model.

It is 2017. Gotch should be better than this.

It is things like this that disadvantage our channel, that make us less competitive than other retailers of magazines. But those of us who have been around for years will shrug our shoulders, say this is what we have come to expect and then wonder whether it is time to trim more space from magazines in our business.

Yes, it is that frustrating … because it happens too often. We are disadvantaged and no-one, not the distributor, not publishers, care enough to actually fix the situation. You will all look back one day and wonder why. Well here is one of the many reasons why.

Cracked record. Yes. Why even bother writing about this? And therein lies the problem – we care less about this stuff today because we have worked out how to rely less on magazines. Because of screw ups like this.

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magazine distribution
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