A decision is expected very soon in the UK about changes to the distribution of magazines and as this report from the Financial Times shows, the proposals from the Office of Fair Trading are bringing together people usually at opposite sides of a debate.
What is happening in the UK is of interest in Australia not because we have a similar magazine distribution regime but because you have regulators playing with a model without consideration for the small businesses and their role in the community. My understanding is that if the FT rules are adopted we’re likely to see fewer independent retailers and more clone businesses.