It seems that everywhere I look in Germany and Switzerland most magazines are displayed the same way. The magazines which sell in volume, usually ten to twelve titles, are displayed flat andd the rest and fanned out – as this photo I took earlier today in an outlet in a suburb of Geneva.
The owner tells me that he has no complaints from shoppers and that magazines account for 40% of his sales.
Maybe we have educated our shoppers to want a magazine retail experience which cannot be justified – at least in shopping mall situations where retail space costs $1,300 per square metre a year and more.
If I was to display the number of magazine titles I saw in this store in the way which we display them in my newsagencies I would need at least four times the retail space. As the retailer asked my today with a shrug of his shoulders – but would you sell any more?