The ANF sent a notice to members yesterday apparently in response to some of the questions I have raised. Their repsonse included:
Yesterday ANF CEO Alf Maccioni sat with David McLean from Hubbed to once again go through the CONNECT contract which is going out to newsagents. He asked a number of questions and suggested changes to the contract. The main cause of concern was a clause which made it seem like this was an exclusive agreement and that the newsagent had to ask permission from Hubbed to allow competing services. This clause has now been removed from the updated contract.
The ANF membership has a 5% stake in CONNECT to ensure the interests of newsagents are paramount and Hubbed will continually work with members to ensure that their questions are being answered. There is an extensive list of Q&As on the ANF website.
ANF CEO Alf Maccioni said he believed that the CONNECT suite of products will add a new dimension to the newsagency channel and will ultimately attract younger customers.
As previously stated, the ANF strongly recommends that all agents should also get independent legal advice on the CONNECT contract and any other contract in relation to their current business and personal circumstances. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable about signing or you are not sure if this system would work in your store then don’t sign.
I heard about this from an ANF member. The ANF, as with Hubbed, is welcome to respond here to the questions I have raised.
If the ANF thinks newsagents will believe that their 5% stake is to ensure the interests of newsagents are paramount and Hubbed will continually work with members to ensure that their questions are being answered then they must think we’re stupid.
Once again we have a company that wants to use our businesses as an opportunity for them to make money.
If these so called “opportunities” are what Hubbed says, “money making”, then maybe Hubbed should be funding the opportunity, not newsagents, again.
I for one will not be putting my business at risk, again, for someone else.
Surely newsagents are not going to sign up to a scheme that puts all the risks on them, again!
Oh, and last time I checked I was a Retailer; I can make more money on a single spinner of plush than I can with this.