The publisher of Speedway Racing News magazine issued the following apology to newsagents this morning:
UNRESERVED APOLOGY TO NEWSAGENT OPERATORS
This post has been submitted due to the understandable backlash concerning a subscription advert appearing on the back cover of issue #401 of Speedway Racing News Magazine.
I am extremely concerned by what has transpired and suffice to say the subscription advert will never appear on the back cover again. In fact, if there is to be a subscription advert appear anywhere in the magazine again in the future, it will be significantly overhauled to ensure that newsagent operators around Australia are not offended by its contents.
I do wish to extend a sincere apology to all newsagents and I can assure you there will not be a repeat performance.
Everyone in business is entitled to make a mistake and that has been the case on this occasion.
It goes without saying this is a difficult business (producing a fortnightly niche title is no place for the feint hearted).
I also regret my initial response when a newsagent wrote to me to express their concern. Once again I was under enormous pressure at the time and would handle things differently given another opportunity.
I am extremely remorseful and hope that our valued partners at retail level stick with a title that has been around for 25 years (I have been the publisher for 12 of those years).
The thing that amazes me in this instance is the “personal nature” of some posts I have seen submitted relating to this issue. People that don’t even know me have posted, in some cases defamatory comments, that are grossly inaccurate. One would hope things will be kept in perspective going foward and individuals that have made an error in judgement are not character assassinated in a public forum.
To be blunt, our sales have been impacted on due to the “internet” in recent years; which I’m led to believe has had a negative effect on almost every title on the market. Therefore, we can ill afford to endure further losses in sales.
Once again I sincerely apologise to all stakeholders.
Regards
David Tapp
Publisher
Speedway Racing News Magazine
Too late your title has been removed
Waratah News
Too little too late i think. An apology a week in the making, the complaints obviously got to the tipping point.
talk to the hand
On the basis of the (over) reaction to this magazine’s thoughtlessness (which is no worse than numerous others), perhaps this blog should be retitled “Lemmings ‘R’ Us”.
Do we intend to treat every other magazine this way that has subscriptions in them. I wouldn’t have a lot left on the shelf. I find it annoying to see Better Homes and Garden for instance adverting available at your newsagent or save…….
What is stopping (other than profiteering) a newsagent offering their own subscription.
I used to regularly get 4-6 magazines from my local newsagent – the service was great, they even had pigeonholes for regular customers for the “reserved” magazines. I liked supporting it so there was no way I was going to ask for a discount.
However I’ve moved now and the local newsagent doesn’t do it, so I just had to pick my mags off the shelf and if they were out of stock, i miss out… So I subscribed direct to the publisher for 2 of them, and I don’t bother with the rest.
But I did get to thinking, is there any incentive for newsagents to offer “subscriptions/reserves” instead of letting the customer go to the publisher.
Would you offer your customers a buy 10 get 2 free / buy 11 get 1 free (depending on the margins involved)?
I am completely of the issue but can someone in Vistoria please advise me where I can obtain a copy of the Melways Melbourne Street Directory. I have tried to special order through GNS advised product cannot be purchased. Searched on internet to no avail.
Blake most newsagents already offer what you have mentioned , the free mag the putaway these happen on a daily basis .Some customers that buy a mag that does not have a regular on sale date we even call to let them know it is in .
Carol i think we have to treat a supplier exactly how they treat us , we have the power to sell it or send it back if they treat us the way this one particular one has then it gets sent back , now that i see that they have realised that they made a mistake i accept that and we move on from there .
Just for the record i don’t even sell this mag i thought i did and sent back the wrong magazine so then i had to reorder it
how do you return a magazine without a) looking at the title and b) not having a quick squiz at the advertisement in question?
thats a bit scary shaun, hope you dont make silly mistakes like that in general day to day running of your business?
i dont stock the title, dont have any speedway fans in my neck of the woods. but i dont think its an over reaction, teach the publishers that we cant both sell their product for them, and also be used as part of their marketing gimmick to compete with us at the same time.
subscriptions come with the terrioty and i accept them, but talking us down to sell them is a no no
Scott, it was a speedway mag that i have never made a sale on just presumed it was it . i use the ALT t button on every mag that comes in and if no sales over x amount of time it gets sent back sometimes without even taking any notice of what the name of it is , as figures speak for themselves, but presuming it was the tittle it didn;t even get a chance . (b) if i had to have a squiz at every mag that has a subscription in it to see what it says i would be here for ever . The only reason i had to reorder it was because some one knows some one in it and not because of the actual mag . so it is a one off sale and not worth keeping on my shelf
You may be right in saying too little too late however at least he as apologised. Everyone is guilty at one time or another of over reacting or in some cases under reacting.
If you sell this magazine and enough of it to make a profit then is it worth cutting your nose off to spite your face? For the record, we don’t stock this one.
Not one comment here about the readers of Speedway Racing News? The publisher was wrong to respond the way he did initially, and the retailers here have all joined the crusade to run him out of town – the personal agendas are rampant. Perhaps both parties need to consider who the real customer is at the end of the day – more than likely an every day bloke who just want to ‘buy his favourite mag from the paper shop’. Sometimes it’s that simple.
Magazine.insider,
It should be that simple but the issue at hand here is all that goes on behind the scenes to get that magazine simple sitting on a shelf.
Yes all magazines offer subscriptions and do so with various degrees of intensity. The issue at hand here is the way in which the newsagency channel was used as a means to prove some sort of advantage to be gained by bypassing it altogether. One of the initial replies from David was abhorrent at best and spoke volumes of his view of the backlash. I would offer that his subsequent apology was only forthcoming and intended to be hearfelt only after experiencing the wrath of newsagents acting together.
I am a firm believer in that I can choose how to respond to a criticism. If I choose to answer in the way that David first did then I should expect all that comes with it.
I accpet his apology but I will not stock the magazine in my newsagency.
Mr. Tapp –
Have you considered full page advertisements PROMOTING newsagencies as a preferred place to buy SRN? That would be a nice gesture.
insider.
Im trying to think of an example to put it in your perspective a bit more of how we feel. say you published a craft magazine and we (or another publisher) started a new magazine to compete with yours, and took out a full page ad in your magazine (or back cover perhaps)and said “this magazine is crap, ours is cheaper, has more content,free steak knives etc. (ie. talking down your product) dont buy this magazine anymore – buy ours instead…. how would you feel?
obviously it wouldnt make it to print. so why would it make it to our shelves?
would you still print it in the interests of satisfying the needs of the end customer despite the damage it does to you?
As I said, no question that the publisher was ignorant and wrong. Just interesting that there was a huge lack of reference to the magazine purchaser – isn’t that why publishers, distributors and magazine retailers exist? If any of these links try and prevent consumers from seeking out and purchasing a magazine, for any reason, then the whole industry suffers. You are probably justified in how you ‘feel’ about this situation but your customers simply don’t care – they’ll just go elsewhere.
Most of my customers would care in my situation given that they very resistant to purhcasing magazines & newspapers from Woolies. But that’s a whole other topic.
Should I then perhaps take the slap in the face and get on with it perhaps? The subject here is niche title that in my view needs newsagents to display it in order.
The publisher know this and we all know it.
What’s happened in this situation is the other two speedway magazines we stock have now been given a free kick. If the customer knows of the other Speedway Racing News then I will order it for them or point them to the nearest newsagency that may still stock it. But I won’t put Speedway Racing News back on my shelves to be an impulse purchase any more. Cutting my nose off to spite my face it may be and not the ultimate in customer service either but I simply don’t accept what has transpired here.
you would be suprised how many actually do care. this issue is part of a wider problem which maybe you and our suppliers think that we will cop it all on the chin, and continue on our way because we are desperate for every cent, and we provide the customer service and want to keep the customers happy, and an attitude of newsagents need distibutors/publishers more than they need us – but we all need each other. but judging by the reponse from most newsagents, they are prepared to bight the bullet, take them off the shelf, lose the sale, maybe piss off a customer, but ultimately show publishers that it wont be tolerated – lessons need to be learnt – an example needs to be made.
of course some agents will put up with it, thats their decision (they will most likely see a huge increase next issue). but based on the reaction ive seen, it would be hard for a customer to go “elsewhere” and be able to pick up the magazine.
ive seen bigger newsagency issues get no reaction at all, maybe because agents think that the problem was too big for them, however this problem seems it is within their control, and looks like it worked – other publishers reading this, would they dare run the same advertising campaign?
i also agree with angelo, there will still be other titles to sell to hopefully satisfy the customers need, and whilst not the ultimate in customer service – we need to draw the line somewhere.
Publishers, distributors and retailers need each other equally – but no doubt this gets skewed on occassion, by all parties. Whilst this is a good example of how vocal newsagents can combat some publishers, it would appear in this case that Speedway News are an easy target due to the small nature of the title and its reliance on newsagency sales – which only makes the publishers actions even more questionable. But, I have to ask if you would have the same reaction to a title that sells very well in your store and brings in traffic. Would you remove Better Homes and Gardens knowing a customer could by it at Woolies?
Insider,
Woolies already do. So do Coles. Aldi don’t. They really need to sell magazines in order to stay afloat!! If they can make an extra dollar that way good on them. As I said in an earlier post that’s a whole other topic.
Magazine Insider,
Yes we will do the same to other titles.
When the SMH arrived wet a couple of saturdays ago they were left unopened, although we could have salvaged two thirds of them.
And then on Sunday when the SunHeralds arrived 3 hours late 20 bulks were taken straight to the garage for return.
Why should we put up with complaints when the publisher couldnt give two hoots…
We have left this title on the shelves. Not that it matters since we receive two copies and only occasionally sell one.
Subscriptions are important to publishers. I understand and accept that. Putting down one distribution channel to boost another is not a wise move. The publisher here has learnt that lesson I suspect.
What is most interesting to me about this whole issue is that the publisher acted. Maybe too little and too late for some. That they acted is a welcome step.
Jason’s earlier suggestion of Speedway promoting newsagents in an upcoming issue is excellent and would make good progress toward redemption in the eyes of newsagents.
I would pull a major title off if it is warranted, and hopefully strength in numbers other newsagents would do the same.
I believe everyone deserves a second chance as we all do make mistakes. At the end of the day by refusing to stock his item the only people we are hurting is our customers.
Mr Tapp learnt a valuable lesson by not biting the hand that feeds,but are our actions any better then his by punishing him further by not stocking a magazine?
If it doesnt merit keeping on the shelves due to sales figures fine. But all we asked for was an apology and to never see that sort of treatment again,he has apologised and now we wait to see what his next issue has inside.
We should show that we are bigger people,by showing we can band together and boycott you if we get screwed,but we are fair also and if treated with respect we shall give it back.
All mine back onto the shelf
Jim/anon,
At least we can count on your support. Are you also with the ANF…
greg, Gotch supply Melways
Mark is this the same David Tapp that is on page 92 of todays telegraph critical of st george ?
Andy I don’t know. I haven’t seen the paper.
Yes it is the same david tapp.
It looks like he has upset the NRL and the dragons now.
You were all warned