A newsagent shared their data for Bargain Shoppers Guide to Melbourne with me today. This title a sales history of selling 25%. The supply quantity this year has not been lowered to reflect the 70% failure rate. With an on sale period of seven months, this title, if left on the shelf, is nothing short of a disaster financially for the newsagent. While the newsagent can early return the gross oversupply to the distributor (NDD) they will have to wait for their cash to be returns.
Universal and NDD claim that the ability for newsagents to early return solves any over supply issue. This is a ridiculous argument. The problem of gross oversupply should not occur in the first place. Why send stock you know will never sell? The answer is that by sending them out you get a fee for service. Newsagents do not get a fee for service. This is why they are abused as they are for poor performing titles like Bargain Shoppers Guide to Melbourne in the newsagents I looked at today.
While I am no lawyer, I would expect that continued gross oversupply of Bargain Shoppers Guide to Melbourne represents unconscionable conduct against this newsagency and, most likely, other newsagents.
As I blogged six weeks ago, we received our usual overload at our Forest Hill store. We pushed the magazine in a high traffic area. It failed. We will return more than 50% of stock received. The publisher and newsagent have this data from previous years. This makes a mockery of their arguments to me over the last two weeks.
This is another dud title from Universal Magazines.
If we could have a set amount of pockets for each distributer and they knew what was on our shelves all the time maybe they wouldn’t send it ???
A SNAP SHOT OF THIS TITLE:
03/11/2003
RECVD 28; RET 22
01/11/2004
RECVD 46; RET 27
01/12/2005
RECVD 55; RET 27
01/01/2007
RECVD 53; RET 32
01/12/2007
RECVD 55; RET 39
01/10/2008
RECVD 76; EARLY RET 60.
As you can see, quite ridiculous. No effort has been made by either publisher or ditributor to pull back supply. I know after having discussions with other newsagents that this title is one of the worst in the industry for oversupply.
I guess this is what Universal call ‘supporting the newsagency industry’.
Its almost laughable at the spin they put out to defend themselves. The sooner their hip pocket is hit the sooner we can move forward.
Vaughan, My frustrating with this title is that the publisher and distributor both have data which can guide better behaviour. They ignore this data because i suites them financially. We provide cash flow. We also provide supply numbers which the publisher can pitch to the advertiser. If access to our stores was on a fee per service basis they would not overload us as they do. Mark
Mark, I’m sick of hearing and reading about this. I know a couple of newsagents who know nothing about this blog, who as we speak, are cleaning out all of the over supplied stock because they are worried about a tough finacially summer. They need THEIR cash now.
If you’ve got all of the data there, which I’m sure you have I’m willing to contribute $500 for you to get some legal advice as to what is happening here.
Vaughn’s case is just BS. A blind man can even see it.
Michael,
I think what we each need to do in our businesses is to act on what is right for us. We need to know what titles are profitable and what are not and to act accordingly.
Over the weekend I will put together a guide of action individual newsagents could take based on title performance.
While some publishers will not be happy, newsagents cannot financially carry dead stock for no compensation at all.
mark
The way I operate is: if the subject of the magazine is far fetched or it has a long shelf life I send it straight back. If I think it might sell (Publisher note I know my customers) I’ll give it a couple of months trial then if it doesn’t sell I cut it.
I stock two of everything niche I choose to hold, G&G have worked that out and we’re both doing well out of it.
I started this after a customer abused me for not having the magazine that he advertises in. Kitchen door magazine or something. I told him I run a business too and I’m not going to lose money on a title like that.
I wonder if the irony is noted? There is no interest in ‘bargain shopping’ – yet discounting is our stock standard promotional strategy?
I’d be happy to have 75 copies of Bargain Shopper if they paid for me to warehouse these. Victorian newsagents should count how many they have,m how many they have sold and if they have more than 75% still left call NDD for an immediate credit.
mark
Hi Mark,
The other matter not covered in this discussion is that there is a transport cost of reurtning oversupplied stock. This cost is borne by the newsagents.
So, it is that the publishers and distributors can send anything and know there is a cost if the newsagent wants to early return as opposed to topping at the designated return time. Either carry the finance cost or the transport cost of early return.
I looked at a web site today which highlighted a featured title called Luxury Home Design. It claimed a distribution of 45k copies.
I noted from the MPS site that this title doesn’t rate a mention in the top 100 magazines in Australia by CAB audit.
I noted the title listed 100 has a CAB audit of 20,830 ( Title was Freerider MX)
So if the 100 top title only did 20k, how is it possible that Luxury Home design can claim 45K which would put it about Rank 66 in the top 100 magazines.
It therefore appears to me that the publisher is getting the distribution figures by oversupplying the title initially and then bagging and offering free with another magazine on a second or third offer.
I’m sure the publisher will refute this but I’d take CAB audit over publisher distribution because distribution only covers supply to channel, not readers or sales.
Or am I wrong.
Best regards,
Lorraine