The ACP Magazines owned Magshop operation has setup an outpost in the shopping mall in which I have one of my newsagencies.
The very professional looking outpost has been in place for several days now leveraging Christmas shopper traffic to drive subscription customers for ACP titles. If you sign up you get a free Women’s Weekly cookbook valued at $29.95 and an entry in a competition to win one of ten Hawaiian holidays valued at $12,000 each.
While I understand and support the role subscriptions play in the overall circulation model for magazine publishers, I do not understand why a publisher would so directly and aggressively pursue customers in my backyard.
This outpost is leveraging shoppers which I help to bring to this centre through considerable external marketing as well as through thousands of dollars paid to the landlord for centre marketing. These shoppers which I and my fellow tenants attract to the centre are being offered a service which is fulfilled outside of the retail channel, outside of our centre. This type of outpost which does not add value to the businesses in and facilitate the overall health of the shopping centre should not be permitted in my view.
One could argue that if successful, this outpost could reduce traffic to our newsagency and thereby financially harm our business in this centre. Unfortunately, I will not have access to the data which would be needed to thoroughly research this.
ACP could argue that subscriptions are often purchased as gifts and that their outpost will therefore have little impact on my newsagency. I don’t have that data and so cannot comment. All I can go off is the fact that this outpost is a short stroll from my front door, it’s competing with me and turning some of my magazine readers away from getting their fix at my newsagency.
As for the decision by ACP to so directly and aggressively compete with me in this way, all I can say is that I am disappointed. We work hard on magazines as anyone reading this blog would know. Our hard work is paying off with good sales growth … considerably above industry average sales growth. Comparing December 2011 with December 2012 our magazine sales are up more than 30%. Some of that growth is being achieved for ACP titles.
Irrational as it may sound, it feels as if ACP is rewarding our success in growing magazine sales by trying to convert some of our shoppers, or their interest in magazines at least, into subscription sales.
Other aspects of this outpost frustrate me – like the amazing subscription deals, the free gift and the Hawaiian holidays. I’d love to see a similar amount invested in the newsagency channel in a practical consumer promotion. To me, the ideal investment would be a margin bonus for growth.
ACP representatives regularly tell newsagents how important they (we) are to ACP and how much they support the newsagency channel. Today I am not feeling that.
Wow, what a slap in the face from ACP. They really know how to bite the hand that feeds them!
Make that 2 centres where you have newsagencies Mark. There is one of those set up in Watergardens too, I noticed it late yesterday. The difference here is that the outpost is set up in the phase 1 part of the centre, very close to the other newsagency here and a good walking distance from our store.
Absolutely heartbreaking. I”m so sorry that this has happened to you.
Is this going to be a permanent one or temporary during Christmas and New Year period?
“Irrational as it may sound, it feels as if ACP is rewarding our success in growing magazine sales by trying to convert some of our shoppers, or their interest in magazines at least, into subscription sales.”
Pretty much says so on the NDC website, I’m afraid.
The bigger slap seems to be from the landlords. I imagine this takes sales from newsagent tenants but also from booksellers, gift stores, department stores and the very supermarket the kiosk is outside of.
we all do (including ACP) what we must to survive……so i guess they can’t complain if we cut our magazine range as well…after all….. we all have to look out for our own interest first……
While I agree that there is a landlord issue here, ACP’s behaviour is of equal, if not more, concern.
If our channel is important then show us rather than chasing our customers.
Mark is this different to alowing srevice stations and supermarkets direct supply?
Andy that was many years ago. But, yes, it is different for the reasons I have explained. This is retailer space, not a space for catching sales which could otherwise have been won by retailers. Also, they are doing this in our own back yard, right in front of our newsagency in one centre.
I wonder if ACP would have been better off entertaining the idea of allowing (selected) newsagencies to operate and profit from temporary holiday outposts?
Create a highly structured program and offer it to specific target newsagencies. Let them profit from selling subscriptions (and possibly the same current issue mags/cookbooks as well) fom such outposts.
When I first read this I was shocked. Why would acp do this in a shopping centre? I get that they want to promote subscriptions but why in a place which is all about over the counter product sales?
Their words of support for newsagents are hollow. It’s acp first. It has to be when you think about it. They are fighting for their survival thanks to billions of dollars in debt taken on when the business was purchased from the Packers.
Maybe acp will be cut out of nine entertainment and sold off. Maybe some of those at acp who make decisions like this will lose their jobs. The trouble is they will be replaced with more bean counting people who do not care about newsagents.
We are not important to acp as this decision shows.
Mark – yes this is massively disrespectful not only to you but to all newsagents.
Jarryd – I bet they considered this and decided against it.
This is a dog eat dog world. We have to put ourselves first and stuff companies like acp.
Why couldn’t they offer Magshop Gift cards via Newsagents, and give the newsagent x% commission on every gift card sold. It would work just like the Sanity, Myer or other gift cards sold in Aust post.
long time, yes. There are several options they could have considered – including just talking with us before trying to switch our retail customers to subscribers.
It would be a better so lution for all if Newsagencies were also agents for subscriptions. Indeed many of our customers think so to.
We’d be very happy to handle subsriptions. The typical magazine reader usually likes to read several titles casually as well as the one or 2 they might subscribe to.
Being a subscription agent could give us one more link to the customers.
Having said that what they are doing here with these kiosks is just bloody disgusting. I hope its a failure actually.
no way do i want to offer subscriptions to any of my customers . these customers that come in every day to buy there weekly or monthly mags also spend on other item while they are here , why would i want to see my customer on every 12 months ,makes no sence at all
Just been to carindale and had alook at their goings on ,watched for 1 hour while the better half spent had 1 looker all others walked past takeing no notice of the 2 peaple on the stand,big flop i think sooooo sad
The disrespect for this channel is just
astounding. A phone call this morning
(22nd) to ask if we have paid our Network
account. I said “yes” and was then asked
what date I paid it and how it was paid.
I pointed out that I was a retailer at a front counter at Xmas time and I had lots
of customers waiting for attention and that maybe I was better off at the counter
trying to sell network product than listening to someone on the phone.
In 33 years they have NEVER not been paid in a month (maybe twice a few days
late) so one can only assume that the CVC asia thing is impacting on THEIR cashflow just like they impact on ours with
unsolicited and unwanted product and then they demand payment for said product.
I reiterate that our ANF leaders need to
change our trading terms with these companies to reflect these changing times.
Maybe newsagents would then join and
unity would, at last, be achieved.
WE NEED AN OUTCOME TO GIVE US CONFIDENCE IN OUR FUTURE.
This is inexcusable by ACP. I challenge them to defend themselves here. I know they read the blog. So how about it ACP people?
June I don’t think it is the role of the ANF to negotiate for us. The issue here is one of respect. Suppliers who tell us they respect and appreciate us need to show this in their actions.
david, while people at Ap do read this blog, I don’t expect them to comment here. Suffice to say that they think they have not done anything wrong in running these outposts.
I hope the outpost fails Mark. That they did not discuss this with you or other newsagents affected is disgusting. If I were you I’d be more angry than you appear to be.
West Australian offered my customer a subscription to have newspaper delivered after filling in a competition form at my store. hecould buy at a better price than me and have delivered to the door. Same kind of people
My initial reaction to this was shock. Why would cap compete with newsagents like this. It’s different to the subscription ads and flyers in magazines. Mark I hope you made your case to the landlord and to ACP.
Thinking about it more I am shocked they didn’t ask you to be part of the promotion.
Talk about a lack of respect.
I did David. Both parties said it was not their actions – pointing the finger elsewhere.
I have been a supporter of ACP for many years and am an active champion of their Connections program. I won’t put my name to this comment because I’d rather it be anonymous.
I am disappointed to see these outposts being run by ACP. There are ten newsagents who had ACP competing with them in the week before Christmas and if they went through what Mark appears to have gone through then the competition would have been in your face and unnecessary.
I am beginning to wonder in ACP loves newsagents as much as they keep telling us they do. Every Connections conference it is the same. They tell us how important we are and how much they want to help us.
Then they do this.
I think that ACP management has some tough questions to answer. Mark I hope you get the answers. I sincerely do.
I am going to have to think about how much I support ACP. I hope that they make a public response so that I can consider that.