The Biggest Loser Couples pedometer giveaway with the herald Sun went well for us in most newsagencies I am connected with. At our Forest Hill store we received plenty of pedometers and didn’t run out until late in the day. We had plenty of happy customers and happy people dropping in to pick up their pedometer only.
We were not so happy at one other newsagency where we received 30 pedometers for 74 newspapers (we actually didn’t get any and had to go to the distribution newsagent to collect them) and ran out in no time at all. In this instance, the problem is with the distribution newsagent and the publisher.
Complaints aside, I like these promotions with newspapers. What is needed is a fix for the distribution issues we have covered here in recent weeks. I see this as much a publisher as a distribution newsagent issue.
Mark, you know full well it is a publisher issue. If the distributing agent doesn’t receive enough despite their best efforts, what is he/she to do? Give a particular sub agent sufficient quantities but leave themselves and other subbies with minimal quantities or none at all ? Any newsagent who takes the decision to cease dealing with the publishers directly and become effectively a sub agent has to expect these issues.That sounds like a cop out from someone with a full newsagency background but it isn’t.
The reality is the publishers (their accounting departments maybe?) decide how many of the freebies thay have made, and the ratios they use to supply to newsagents.We have no say in either of these things.In my experience, calls to the circulation dept and the so called rep to increase supplies are more or less pointless.
The ONLY solution to this is for the publishers to produce enough of the freebies so that they can supply the freebies on a one for one basis with the papers.How do we do this? I’m not sure, but I think this is where the supermarkets receiving the freebies may play a role.Complaints from individual newsagents,customers and by the looks, associations, mean nothing, but I have a feeling that complaints from woolworths and coles about gross undersupply would be a different thing alltogether.Controversial idea, yes, but how about we treat this a starting point for discussion?
john,
I have evidence from the last two promotions of distributing newsagents being the cause in a several instances of which I have knowledge. They had plenty of stock and refused to supply accirdingly. So, no, I don’t “know full well” as you say.
As I wrote a week ago, get everyone together and work through this. It’s fixable.
Our newsagency was well under supplied with pedometers they were a big hit with our customers .Four other shops are supplied from us and everyone got the same ratio 1 pedometer per 6 papers.A shop owner had a paper thrown back in his face and was verbally abused by 2 other reg customers.Its a sad state of affairs when shopping rage gets going over the silly freebies from the HERALD SCUM.I am starting to think i was to hasty in resigning my contract. HWT made alot of noise about fixing freebie supplies before we resigned but that was all piss and wind.When newsagents and thier subbies start losing sales through freebies something is wrong in a BIG way,so HWT start keeping your word instead of talking hot air
G’day Mark,
You claim to speak to enough newsagents that I would hope you do know this! If you in fact haven’t spoken to many newsagents on this issue then perhaps people could post in this thread the numbers of pedometers they received versus the number of papers.Or, perhaps you could set up an ongoing freebies thread where people could put their details (State/delivery/retail/number of papers/number of freebies).This would then help to build up a base of evidence.
What does your evidence comprise? Is it actual delivery docket quantities of each item provided to these distribution agents, versus their own expected/actual sales in their stores and sub agents ? I doubt it. From one of your posts, (admittedly from memory, so I stand to be corrected) part of your evidence is a phone call to your distribution newsagent seeking more freebies, answered by a junior saying they have plenty, and the newsagent over ruling the junior. I know from my own experience that juniors often don’t know the full story.I’m sure your experience in your own outlets is the same. If your evidence is similiar anecdotes passed on via word of mouth from other newsagents without you sighting at least the delivery dockets for the freebies and paper, then it is worthless.Also, what would you say is plenty of stock?
An example from my own experience.On a Sunday, we typically receive around 800 Sunday Teles.When there are freebies, we get between 300 and 350.No amount of phone calls gets it any higher than this. This gives a ratio , at best, of around 0.45. We then distribute the freebies accordingly (ourselves included)on this basis.If a subbie gets 50 papers, they get 22 freebies, if they get 25 papers, they get around 11 freebies and so on and so forth.That way, everyone is treated equally.
We have also been accused by subbies of withholding because they see with their own eyes that “we have plenty”, when the reality is, we only have the same ratio that they received, we only physically have more because we sell more papers and based on the ratio method we will always have more.
Thanks to your great software, we have the history of our sales and that of our subbies, and it is rare that we or the subbies sell out of papers. We, and our subbies, ALWAYS run out of freebies well before we get low on papers.What do we do? There is simply no way of keeping anyone happy and it generates lots of bad blood.
I agree wholeheartedly with your final sentence.We need to put pressure on the publishers to increase the number of freebies they actually produce so that we have a more reasonable ratio.If we can provide suitable evidence to the relevant government body, we can show that the offer isn’t genuine and shoot down the
“while stocks last” disclaimer they use with the contempt it deserves.
Cheers Mark!
John,
As I noted, I have information from several newsagencies. I also have four newsagencies – two I own and two I have a half share in.
I have evidence of several distribution newsagents being given enough stock and them not passing it on in equal ratio to newspaper supply to large sub agents.
The situation with these freebies is quite different between the states,
I actually was in the queue at a supermarket on Saturday and the person ahead of me bought the paper. The checkout person then told them if the wanted the pedometer to go and get it from the newsagent! I am sure this doesn’t help! I asked her if it was normal to direct people to the newsagent to get the freebies and she said because because the supermarket doesn’t have them it was just good service to tell them how to get one!
Mark, I’m aware of that, I’ve been reading your blog for some time.
I’d be interested on how:
“I have evidence of several distribution newsagents being given enough stock and them not passing it on in equal ratio to newspaper supply to large sub agents.”
Surely the newsagents concerned did not give you such information?
John,
It is disappointing that you do not trust what I say.
I know from my personal experience and from a couple of others I have been told about by affected newsagents
Mark, I’ve just learnt over many years to question everything, and it’s now part of nature, please don’t take it personally!!
I still struggle to see how you can make a claim that a delivery agent has”been given enough” stock and imply a bias against subs (not saying this doesn’t happen, these people simply don’t understand the role of subs) when there is simply no way you can know exactly what has been supplied to the distribution agent from the publisher- unless of course the agent concerned has allowed you to see the original delivery dockets, in which case I apologise.
There is always another side to the argument, and I have tried to present that of a newsagent who supplies to 16 subs, just as you have presented the side of the subagent relying on a full newsagent for supply.
What it comes down to is that we are complaining about the same problem, and ultimately we are seeing newsagents of all types from ALL states in the couple of threads you have started on this topic complaining of the same thing: chronic undersupply of freebies.I think it is obvious who is ultimately responsible for this!
Cheers!
John,
As I have said, I know that in several instances distribution newsagents received plenty of stock, enough for every copy of the paper, yet they grossly undersupplied a large sub agent. It is this behaviour which will see newspaper publishers supply such freebies direct.
Its good to see (not really) that at least our couterparts down south experienced some of the angst we did up north for the Australia day promotion…
We did not have the promo so hopefully they ran out and will save us from more abuse… Perhaps it was an evening up…
Either way its crap.
Cheers
Peter
So now it’s SEVERAL instances where delivery agents got better than 1:1 supply of freebies? Ok…….
I’m obviously not going to get an answer to HOW you know that, so may I suggest that you, or the agents affected, have a word with the distribution manager of the publisher concerned and present your evidence, because the driver that delivers to these agents is obviously getting some sort of kickback and disadvantaging others.I have never heard of any agent receiving a legitimate delivery of a 1:1 ratio for freebies, not even close to it.But thats just my experience.
What would be so wrong with supply of freebies going direct? It would then be the case that each outlet is responsible for trying to get what they feel is an adequate supply of each item.But of course, it still comes back to how many the publisher has had made.You can request as many as you like, but they will still allocate as they see fit.Once again, the only solution is 1:1 supply for all outlets.And I’ll leave it there.
John,
I’ve said several several times.
I know from personal experince – I’ve said that previosuly – and from what other newsagents have told me – I’ve said that before.
Yes, you have and I’ve read that line several times.But I think you have missed my point Mark.How do you know the actual quantities received by the DISTRIBUTION newsagent direct from the publisher, in order to make the authorative statements that you have concerning the distribution newsagent/s?
I’m done.
John, I am certain of my facts. I do not publish false information here.
The DVD promo up here has, as usual, attacted the ones who bought their paper elsewhere, and rock up for their freebie from us.
I’m now pointing out that we get billed for these, and if we don’t sell the paper, why should we give them the freebie?
At least the ones they have to buy gives us, what, a whopping 10%?
Mark, I take on good faith that you know of Distribution Agents that received the freebies on a one for one basis.
That’s what annoys me. Why did they get looked after whilst most newsagents didn’t?
We got 250 pedometers for 900 papers, and that doesn’t count the 150 herald Suns at Coles…a hundred meters away!!!
Two frustrating Saturdays in a row.
Peter, rest assured that most of your “counterparts down south” (well in Melbourne that is) experienced the same angst as you with the Australia Day hats.
Trouble is, we copped it again on Saturday with the pedometers!!!
Bob…In regards to your post re: supermarkets directing customers to get freebies from a newsagent. I work at a coles store and we are a sub (obviously) for the newsagent next door who will not supply us with freebies, preferring instead for us to direct them into the newsagent. This works for both involved because we dont waste time stuffing around with freebies, he gets another customer into his shop that wouldnt normally go in there and he wont have to come and get more from us if he runs out through the day and vice versa. It isnt always a newsagent vs. supermarket situation. We have a great relationship as two businesses dealing with each other…….without all the hostility.