While consumers would be happy that the Daily Telegraph has not increased its cover price for eight years, newsagents are not happy. What newsagents earn is based on the cover price. Having this fixed for eight years makes the Daily Telegraph considerably less valuable today than eight years ago. Rents are rising 5% a year and wages between 3%b and 5% a year. This freeze on the cover price is not sustainable, especially when the publisher requires newsagents to place its product in premium retail space.
The publisher can sustain the fixed cover price because the majority of their income comes from advertising which has not remained capped over the eight years.
This is a good example of poor treatment of small business by big business. Newsagents cop it because they are the weak party. They are too scared to take a tough stance in negotiations because of the fear they will lose newspapers or at least see them placed directly in more outlets.
The price of the Daily Telegraph is one reason newsagents in NSW are doing it tough. Any publisher who doubts this should take six months off and live the life, physically and economically, of a newsagent.
Have been thinking about it to. Do you send it up the back with the milk or leave inthe corner, it shouldn’t be getting prime space anymore needs some sort of soft protest to get the message through.
Mark, try and be an LPO where we haven’t had a pay rise for 16 years as our payments are linked to the bisic stamp rate which only went up once for the delayed GST increse. We have all the same issues as you do.
what is an LPO ??
Licensed Post Office
LPO
Lisenced Post Office,
Normally operated as a in conjuction business,
Newsagency, Grocery, General Store etc
OK MAKES SENCE NOW