These are the most common ‘newsagencies’ on the streets of Paris and suburbs from what I have seen today. These ‘kiosks’ are efficient – they allow for the display, Parisien style, of 250 magazine titles, all major dailies and another 20 or so imported newspapers. They also offer tobacco, candy and, in some cases, calling cards. Newspapers, magazines and tobacco products account for 80% of all sales. High street newsagencies have not been forced to retreat to these kiosks – I’ve been told this is how it’s always been for the sale of newspapers and magazines. It’s certainly efficient. These Presse kiosks are everywhere.
Seeing so many Presse kiosks today made me wonder if we (newsagents) have got too greedy. Have we taken on operational costs which in turn have forced us to broaden our product range – for which we take on more costs? By staying small these French ‘newsagencies’ have contained costs and remained at the hub of street traffic.
By pursuing a shopping centre tenancy for a newsagency we immediately fix the business with a $200,000+ annual rental cost. Add labour of between $150,000 and $200,000 and you have a newsagency with some challenges. I wonder whether a kiosk selling the top 200 magazines, newspapers and some candy would be more profitable. Of course, landlords will have none of that. They want newsagencies as in-line tenancies to draw traffic for other stores nearby. Unfortunately, they are not offering rental terms which respect our tighter margin compared to others. So, if we are greedy in chasing revenue it’s because the circumstances demand it of us.
The other party in our size is magazine publishers and distributors. They created our channel in the 1800s and for the years since have relied on us to provide a cost effective distribution channel and free retail real-estate. They’d choke if we said we would only stock the top 200. The reality is this will happen unless we are paid to carry titles outside the top 200 which do not pay their way.