I have received a copy of an invoice showing that a major supermarket chain receives 16% commission on Vodafone recharge business. Newsagents have just been cut to 5% from 8%. Australia Post licenced outlets have just been cut from 8% to 7%.
While supermarkets offer starter kits to attract new customers I doubt this warrants a 16% commission. If I offer these kits in my newsagency I can get 8% commission. Supermarkets (based on the invoice I have) get double that and I doubt they do great starter kit business.
This invoice tells me how much Vodafone values the 3,000 newsagents who offer convenient recharge for their customers; how much they respect the capital investment newsagents have made so they can offer efficient recharge service. Vodafone prefers supermarkets and Post Offices over newsagents. Vodafone prefers big business over small business. Or, maybe Vodafone was just out negotiated by the supermarket chain.
Vodafone has judged the newsagency channel, those who work in it and those who shop there by their actions. 5% commission is less than minimum wage. It is offensive compared the 16% paid to this supermarket.
On this invoice I can see that the supermarket did around 60 Vodafone recharges. There are newsagents who would do this volume of business.
The other difference seems to be payment terms. Newsagents pay their recharge aggregator daily. This supermarket seems to pay weekly if not monthly. This provides them with cash on which they can earn interest.
None of this is good corporate citizenship by Vodafone. It increases the divide between big business and small business. It demonstrates lack of respect for the small business channel. It puts at risk jobs in the small business channel.
Vodafone is a guest in our country. They have an obligation to be socially responsible. The only way they can redeem the situation is to urgently review their newsagent commission position.
greetings from irish republic.The Irish Retail Newsagents Association had a battle with Vodafone over 4 years ago.The commision for e-top up had stood at 10%.Vodafone reduced the commission paid to the suppliers of the terminals(our suppliers),this was passed on to us.The I>R>N>A> led the way in recommending a handling charge,equal to the lost margin to all e-top up agents.The retailer still gets their 10% margin,his trade did not desert him(it is a convenience item) and despite High Court threats,extensive and expensive campaigns against the extra charges from Vodafone ,attempts to divert trade away from our members(we control over 85% of this trade)websites from Vodafone to sell their top-up,links with banks to provide through ATM s we still manage to sell the vast majority of top ups in the country.If airlines,ticket agencies and other enterprises,many of them with greater opportunities for profit than our sector can implement handling or service charges why not the newsagent?The great are only great because we are on our knees,let us arise!
best of luck vincent jennings,
c.e.o. I.R>N>A>
irna@iol.ie