Australian Newsagency Blog

The Mastering Digital Photography Guide distributed today by NDD is a perfect example of newsagents being abused by poor distribution practices.  We are well serviced with Digital Photography titles.  This publication, at $14.95, is expensive.  It is also small and not suited to our magazine fixturing.  It is easily stolen and therefore presents a higher […]

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Click here for a copy of the magazine cash-flow study I first published in March 2006.  This outlines the cash-flow implications of the current magazine distribution. I am posting it here in response to an earlier comment.
We are soon to hear about the magazine publisher / distributor code of conduct which is being prepared […]

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Universal Magazines is not showing signs of learning from the frustration expressed by newsagents about over-supply, long shelf life and heavy returns costs last year.  Take Luxury Kitchens and Bathrooms released yesterday - UM already has significant space allocated (for a long on-sale period) in this low volume category.  Now, we have to find room […]

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I have been thinking about Quadrant Editor, Keith Windschuttle’s comment published here last night since I saw it come through at 9:30pm.
Dear Mark,
Thank you for drawing attention to your concerns about the wording of the subscription form in the current Quadrant Magazine. I can understand why you and your colleagues are upset about it.
It was […]

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Our supply of the latest issue of Cruzin magazine, out today, is up by 33%.  There is no justification for this in our sales data.  The only explanation can be that NDD, the distributor, has been sent stock by the publisher and has to get it out of their warehouse.  I checked the magazine out […]

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NDD increased our supply of Two Wheels by one copy to eight.  We sell two or three per issue.  There is no justification for the increase by 1 copy.  Why complain about one extra magazine you say?  Imagine the cash rake NDD achieves by increasing all newsagents by this quantity.  Then factor in the theft […]

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I Like Limelight magazine, but not enough to forgive an unjustified increase in supply by magazine distributor NDD.  If anything, we should have had supply cut by 10% instead of the increase we found today of 27%.  Limelight sales fluctuate significantly in our newsagency based on the cover - this appears to not be allowed […]

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Amazon started shipping the latest version of its Kindle reader late last week.  All initial stock was sold out in three days according to Information Week.
While note avauilable here, the buzz is building demand for the Kindle or similar devices here.  I’d expect the eventual launch to be like the iPhone which was delayed in […]

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Newsagents are taking action against Quadrant magazine and its shoddy treatment of these small business owners used for the retail and distribution of the magazine.  I have heard from many who are now refusing to carry Quadrant on their shelves.  Some are writing to the Chairman of the Quadrant Magazine Ltd Board of Directors - […]

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Inside the latest issue of Quadrant magazine, the publisher blatantly disrespects the newsagents who are crucial to its business model.  here is what they say:
If you bought this magazine from a newsagent, you are missing out on a lot.  Subscribers get so much more.
This paints newsagents as expensive, unable to provide the benefits of subscription […]

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The supply quantity for Australian Sky and Telescope is another example of over supply by the magazine distributor and or publisher this month.  I know I bang on aboutt the same stuff, over supply, often.  Sometimes, publishers engage, make contact and engage more in the scale out of their product.  Most who do this say […]

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The magazine distribution model is hard to fathom sometimes.  While I am happy to receive more stock of what is selling, I am not happy to receive more of a title which does not sell in the quantities we already receive.
This is the case for Australian Woodsmith magazine - supply quantity increased this week for […]

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Independent magazines must be of interest to one or two university lecturers based on questions I have received in the last couple of weeks.  At least one business course appears to be using the challenge of the distribution of independent magazines as a case study.  The questions from some of the students are excellent.  A […]

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I was talking with a newsagent last night who received a porn pack to sell, seveal magazines bagged together.  Inside the pack was a title which would be, I am told, at least ten years old.  You have to wonder how many times some magazines will go around because they are eventually pulped.

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Art Almanac does not sell in our newsagency.  The sales data shows this to be the case yet we continue to receive plenty of stock of this title from NDD.  Indeed, we receive plenty of art titles from NDD, none of which pays for the space they use.  I am happy to carry special interest […]

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The new issue of Vogue (British edition) went on sale this morning.  The old issue is not due to be returned until next month.  We don’t have the space to have two issues on the sehlevs.  While the distributor, NDD, will argue that the old issue may sell, I doubt they would take the risk […]

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The Sydney Morning Herald today reports that Metcash is considering acquisitions in the newsagency channel among others.
THE food and beverages wholesaler Metcash is examining acquisitions worth up to $1 billion as it seeks to apply its expertise in distribution to industries such as pharmaceuticals, newsagencies and hardware.
Gotch could be a target given the challenges at […]

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Australian Business Solutions is not performing for us.  We are lucky to sell one copy per issue yet the distributor (Network) has increased supply.  We have supported the title with a good location, tried co-location and also promoted with posters.  It is time to cut our losses and quit the title.  I wonder if sales […]

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Magazine distributor NDD sent the following to newsagents in the Newcastle area this week:
NDD will undertake a trial delivering NDD product into the Newcastle area via Australia Post for both newsagent and supermarkets for a three week period for onsale Wednesday 3 Jun; Wednesday 10 June and Wednesday 17 June 09.
It is anticipated that your […]

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We have been early returning Swank porn magazine to NDD because it did not sell.  We expected that supply would be reduced as a result of no sales recorded - trusting the magazine distribution system.  Well, not really.  Here we are, months on, zero sales and we still receive the title.  The NDD system is […]

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Embroidery & Cross Stitch is another Express Publications title with problems.  We received 9 copies of the last issue and today returned 8.  It is junk like these triple packs from Express which detract from beautiful cross stitch titles which look more appealing and often sell better.  With a sell through of just 11%, I […]

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The issue of Fishing Knots & Rigs which went on sale this morning has a barcode which the publisher reusing a barcode which has been used for two other titles in the last year.  Express Publications are behind this - the same people who waste our space with double and triple packed bags of magazines […]

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Art Australia does not sell in our newsagency.  We return what we receive.  NDD knows this yet they continue to send the title - as a demonstration of their distribution skills (not!).  The best way for NDD to respond to this blog post and other complaints about oversupply is for them to fix the problem […]

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Sales of Handyman magazine have collapsed in our newsagency.  Yesterday we returned all but one copy of the last issue.  This is at a huge cost to our business.  The segment is over satisfied with local and overseas titles and the differences between the titles is not great.  We will try and cut titles but […]

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Given the interest here in my EDI post from two days ago, click here for a copy of the ten-page EDI compliance document being provided by Tower Systems at the national EDI / XchangeIT compliance training workshops currently being delivered to 1,600 Tower Newsagents nationally.
While parts of the document are Tower Systems specific,there is […]

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