GNS in Victoria has announced discounts on some stationery items exclusively for Newspower members. As a GNS shareholder of 11 years standing and owner of a newsXpress store I am disappointed that I am locked out of this pricing. I note that when newsXpress approached GNS to negotiate pricing arrangements a year ago GNS advised it would not offer pricing which disadvantaged any of its newsagent customers. I guess time has changed for them.
What is interesting to me is the third line forcing situation – that I have to pay money to company A (Newspower) so that I can get a discount from company B (GNS).
The lack of generic/Sovereign items in the proven top performers list begs the question – are sales of these unlisted items so strong that there is no need to discount them – or is it because they are truly non-performers?
Jim, I’d say they were non performers. More than that, I’m continually appalled that every catalogue is at least 30% of the Sovereign rubbish.
I wonder if the next Newspower catalogue for Christmas will have Sovereign junk included or focus on the top brands as it should.
I all of us already know the sad answer to that question Lorraine.
GNS are not only cutting their own throat with the crap they place in catalogues, they are cutting the throat of the newsagents that buy from them.
In my opinion there should not be a “generic” calalogue for newsagents. Each marketing group should be developing their own catalogue to create points of difference. That GNS continues with this old model of marketing is more evidence that the current board is out of touch and needs to be replaced.
Sovereign product makes good money for the owners of the Sovereign brand. It would do newsagents well to understand the ownership of Sovereign and therefore who benefits from the inclusion in catalogues of sub standard expensive China made product.