Bauer Media is trialling a price increase for Woman’s Day to $4.40 in Western Australia while at the same time offering it through Coles for half price and continuing to chase sales by including it in a discount pack at 33% off.
What makes the WA price increase trial worse is the poor and after the event communication by the company and their appalling handling of the trial from an operational perspective – disrupting customer service in retail and home delivery newsagencies because of a fundamental lack of understanding of how newsagents manage each of Woman’s Day through their businesses for home delivery and cutaway customers.
Bauer created a new title code for the eight week trial, disconnecting from the usual title code which is used in newsagency software systems for managing deliveries and putaways. From what I understand they did not tell newsagents until after it started.
If what I am told is true, those isresponsible for newsagent liaison for this trial ought to be reprimanded for a botched job as they have failed newsagents and their customers.
I can confirm no information on the WA price increase trial was seen until after it started. And yes it does have a different code so as fas as our POS system is concerned it’s a new title.