Magazine publishers who want to extract cash from old stock which did not see the first time around might want to consider the retro market. Given the interest in all things retro at the moment, go into the warehouse and find your oldest stock (it would need to be ten preferably more, years old) and consider packaging this for newsagents as a retro offer. This would not work with all categories. I’d see it working best with: food, fashion, home and living.
Given that fashions change quickly in some areas, retro items could be just a few years old. Take food. Given the current interest in this category, driven by many new readers, there may be a market for five year old food titles.
Likewise there could be an interest in return visits of other titles.
The way I would do this if I was in a publishing business is that I would create a website of my inventory and invite newsagents to directly order. Proactive newsagents building a point of difference would use the website to help drive their pint of difference.
The current magazine supply push model encourages newsagents to not engage in expanding their range and specialising in certain categories. If only publishers and distributors would realise that there are some proactive newsagents out there who would use a pull model if it was made available to them.
I don’t know if my retro idea would work or even if enough stock is in warehouses to make it work. What I do know is that a radical re-thinking of the magazine push model could deliver a better publisher / newsagent relationship and help newsagents reinstate their position as the local magazine specialists.
I reckon universal magazines would have a pretty big warehouse mate. Dya think people would pay extra for yellowed paper and dogears?
….but wouldn’t the customers delight… “Hi I’m hoping you can get me a copy of the Princess Di and Charles Wedding edition of the Women’s Weekly and a Family Circle Mexican Fiesta cookbook. I got one copy in 1978 or 1979 and I’m hoping to get another for my daughter but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere…..
surley they do not hold on to mags for years . i understand an issue or 2 but i wouldn’t think for years . the cost involved would be huge just for storage alone . considering bagged mags with one new and an old one tucked in behind it dosn’t make them sell i would not think there is a demand for it at all .
Just my opinion …
I had a customer yesterday who wanted last months Better Homes & Gardens. They said they had already phoned G & G Only to be told that they do not keep back issues. Why then are we required to send back full copies of this title? Do they go straight in the bin when they get them back?
I’ve already received magazines that are 8-12yrs old bundled in with the current mag – I can only wonder how many times they have been sent out & returned!