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Gotch and Network fail publishers and newsagents on partworks allocation

There is no better illustration of the diversity in the newsagency channel than partworks. Some newsagents hate partworks with a passion. Some newsagents love partworks with a passion.

The newsagents who hate partworks tend to display them poorly if at all and early return – angered at the freight cost. Newsagents who love partworks often sell out and vent anger at the delay in getting more stock to sell.

A smart magazine distributor would give newsagents control over their partworks allocation. I suspect that if they did this the channel would sell more partworks. Newsagents would be happier and publishers would be happier.

Why is it so hard to implement smart partworks allocation?

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magazine distribution

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  1. shauns

    I would think those that hate partworks are those that have been F$%êd around that much with short supply, over supply, no supply, damaged the list goes on and have just had enough . EG I am still waiting on a standing order for Batman and that was going off a sellout on #2 and from #3 onwards they stopped my order ,no not cut back but deleted completely . So all on back orders and no idea when they will come in . Then theres the rocks etc still waiting on backorders .

    2 likes

  2. Mark Fletcher

    Hey Shaun I certainly understand why newsagents have become angry about partworks and agree it’s 100% the fault of distribution (publisher and distributor shared sometimes). It’s very easy to fix.

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  3. Bretts

    We will almost always do a full facing of new part works on our Lease for about 1 week. If it is a good selling part work Locomotive, it will sell out from that alone.
    We USE to offer putaway but I am so disapointed in our supply of late that I am no longer offering it.
    We have gome from
    15 Locomotive putaway to nil why?
    not 1 copy supplied to me this week.
    Pocket watches 7 to ? yes nil
    again not 1 supplied this week.
    Frustration much.
    And that is just the tip of the Iceburg.
    If I had some control over this with deliverys confirmed I would hold more then my average customers to the end of the part work.

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  4. Gregg

    Just about over partworks and doing putaways for them. The lack of supply issue as Bretts point out is becoming a real problem for us, and trying to get any sense out of G&G is just time wasting as they do not give a stuff at all about our requirements, they are interested in gouging as much money out of you by over suppling magazines you will not sell.

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  5. Mark Fletcher

    Gregg this will continue as long as newsagents do not act against them.

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  6. shauns

    Act against them? what are we supposed to do about it . I don’t really think old mate on the other end of the phone cares a great deal when I say I have customers complaining and want to know when back orders will turn up . There is a plan when it comes to partworks and it is plain as day , DIRECT sales . Newsagents cannot get stock in but I am sure they can set up a direct supply with a subscription with no shortages at all . When you get 30 part ones and 5 part2 you know exactly what the outcome is . Issue 1 and possibly issue 2 should be 50% profit because all it is is cheap advertising for subsciptions for them ….

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  7. Mark Fletcher

    Shaun … Legal action. If you really have a case, make it.

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  8. Gregg

    What G&G and Network fail to understand is we as a channel are their clients, yet this treat us as rubbish and their cash cow, and are publishers aware of this or just as complacent. Without us they would be dead in the water and it is about time that the associations got of their fat arses and actually do something about this long standing matter on behalf of their members rather than selling agents the idea of Hubbed as another revenue stream without fixing the current revenue streams.

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  9. Gary

    lets start a class action

    4 likes

  10. Mark Fletcher

    Gary the best place to start is through your small business commissioner or a local administrative tribunal.

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  11. Brendan

    So what we need to be doing is compiling a case (the data in our POS software does this) and submitting to the parties you suggest Mark? I frequently forward such data to both Gotch and Network so it should not be hard to include another party or two.

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  12. Jonathan Wilson

    I dont have any evidence for this but I suspect publishers of partworks deliberately push lots of supply of the first few partworks then constrain supply to retail channels of the later parts in order to push people who want to be guaranteed the whole set into subscribing (which is presumably more profitable for the publishers)

    Get em hooked through impulse buys and things at the newsagents (coupled with a lot of advertizing on TV etc) then once they are hooked, force them to go through the highest-profit channel to get the whole set.

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  13. Bill

    Jonathan you got in one we now remove subs from the partworks, should post them back maybe all agents should do this, time to stop getting crap all over us

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  14. Mark Fletcher

    Jonathan I operate on the basis of chasing the best result possible for the early issues and who cares how the publisher and or distributor screw us over after that. Yes I think there is evidence they work against us but there is money to be made wile the new titles are on TV if we get enough stock to make the most of the opportunity and we have enough shopper traffic to drive this.

    2 likes

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