There is no reason in our sales data for magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch to increase our supply of the air-freighted Heat magazine. With our sales data showing that we sell 2 copies, occasionally 3 (twice our of the last 12 issues), Gotch has decided to increase supply to 6. No phone call asking if they could borrow our cash, just an increase in supply.
It is behaviour like this which makes newsagents hit back at magazine distributors and, inadvertently, some magazine publishers.
Gotch should have a system which advises my of a planned increase and I should have the opportunity to say yes or no. It is my money, retail space and labour they are taking advantage of after-all! Why not ask my permission? Because that does not suit their model which requires the trucks to be as full as possible.
Gotch will say it is a ridiculous idea to let newsagents say yes or no to a change in supply. They will have reasons why it will not work. Smart technology which respects newsagents and the investment they make in magazines could help better connect newsagents and the category and lead to an increase in sales.
What happened to my newsagency with Heat magazine this week is just one example of poor magazine distribution management by Gotch. Publishers of popular titles need to be aware of the damage this behaviour is having on the newsagency channel and on their titles.
AND IT IS ALSO A 5 WEEK MONEY GRABBING MONTH JUST TO TOP IT OFF
We had 5 extra Melbourne kitchen & bathroom design and 2 Melbourne pool its stock that was not needed as we had plenty .Full returns for both these titles is going to be costly
readthe AFR yesterday regarding ACP parent Co.?
what will happen to ACP???
On the other hand they cut our Zoo back so we do not have enough to supply sub agents and still have stock for ourselves.
I know why the increase, because they can. And until we take control back they all ways will.
Why is it that Supermarkets are treated differently to Newsagents in supply and return and credit ?
My Coles has enough Womans Day to last a lifetime. I would assume they never run out.
Wonder what their credit terms are as well ??????
The other side of this argument. I rang GG this morning to request extras of Better
Homes & Gardens Xmas issue which only came in today but when I checked my supply from last year we ran out with extras so I thought I would order 30 more
straight away as our centre has now opened and we are quite busy again.
The lass did ring me to say I might not get any but she would try to get maybe 10 for me.
This is the most frustrating part of this argument. There is always plenty of rubbish for them to send but when we request (one day 1) extras we can’t get what we require.
This is what is causing the downfall of this
industry. The distributors need to rationalize the product they are distributing and concentrate on the top titles and getting the quantities right and
the demographics right .
If the niche titles are upset, so be it – they will end up digital anyway, if they want to survive.
The Newslink way is by far the best. They have plenty of all the top sellers but no niche titles at all.
Why can they demand that model and we can’t???
June,We did not sell out of last years supply, we returned some, yet today I received 45 more copies than I received last year. These will end up being topped and thrown away as my sales figures show a slight decline in sales this year for BHG. Why they sent so much extra when they know my sales figures is beyond me. What a waste ,when other newsagents can’t get enough supply
I want to know why my Retailer system
does everything the distributors ask for
me to be compliant – edixchangeit – etc etc
and yet they can’t allocate accordingly when they have daily/weekly/monthly sales
figures.
The figures for BHG show my consistent sellout at Xmas and yet I don’t get any increase. Why the threats to non-compliance I will never know.
Maybe we should have our own “compliance
program” for them. Another potential ANF
initiative.
If a magazine is returned twice with no sales recorded it should be deleted automatically from my invoices.
If a magazine is sold out twice with sales
recorded it should be increased automatically on my invoices.
Problem solved – why is this SO SO HARD?
June,
That is so hard, because it is common sense and logical.
So what’s the solution? Considering all my distribution options now for my small niche title currently with Gotch I’d like to hear your opinions as newsagents – who offers you guys the best distribution and why would you recommend them to a publisher?
What can small publishers do to actively engage in all facets of the supply chain and make the newsagents more receptive to our stock?
One newsagent says IPS are better than Gotch and then the next one says stick with Gotch and that IPS are no good – aaagh!
Who should I trust to get my mags where they are wanted, sell and are delivered in quantities that meet the market?
Ideas?
Lucy , hmmmmm i was going to give you a sensible answer with out any smart!@## comment but that would be impossible for me to do . really it would be impossible to recommend any of the 3 . If you were to ask who is the worse out of the 3 well then you may get some answers this month it is GG but that changes depends on there cash flow and how close to bonus time it is .
Lucy
Accept that the distributors are hopelessly compromised and work around them until you find a long-term solution:
1:) Release magazines on the 1st week of the month, never the last week. That way, newsagents are more like to stock them
2:) Provide POS material and information sheets on the publications
3:) If you’re launching a new magazine, provide incentives such as increased commission rates and delayed billing.
4:) Never provide incentives to the supermarkets that you don’t provide to the newsagents
5:) Whenever you walk past a newsagent, go in and engage with them. Ask about your magazines, what’s good and what’s bad. Use the knowledge gained in your dealings with all newsagents
I’m sure others can add to this. Also look at companies like Morrison Media that are actively engaging with the newsagent channel.
Thanks Miles
Yes I eventually discovered the 1st of month factor 3 issues in, so hopefully that has solved the early returns problem.
Re: POS would it be worth sending any out if most newsagencies only carry 2-5 copies of the mag?
As far as increased margins and delayed billing go – I was not aware that any of that was up to me and they are set by the distributor.
I have been out talking to agents and all I can gather is that nobody is truly happy with any of the options currently available.
I’m almost on the verge of just posting them out directly with an increased margin and no returns but then a couple of agents I have spoken to say they only deal with distributors, not with publishers directly so that shot that idea down.
Looks like I’m stuck with the Big G’s for now…
While some here may disagree with me – stay away from direct supply! No newsagent has the time to be dealing with 100 individual publishers – especially for niche titles.
As far as delayed billing goes. Some newsagents like it because it assists with cash flow (if that is an issue) – others don’t (me included) because it’s often more difficult to keep track of from an admin POV.
Increased margin generally appeals to everyone.
Only send POS to a store when their sales justify it. An agent isn’t likely to allocate display space for a niche title for which they only sell a few copies.
I’m not sure how many newsagents are not signed up with IPS but the reality is they don’t reach as many agents as their two competitors. We don’t receive supply from IPS and don’t have any plans to until they either change their supply terms or become big too big for us to not use them.
Jarryd, You’re spot on in your observations,
But we need to go one step further to find solutions.
Both sides ( ie publisher and retailer) seem to accept that the current distribution model serves no-one well.
Like you I’d hate to deal direct with individual publishers. It would just add layers of complexity that we don’t have time for.
What about if the Newsagents “owned” the distribution. eg If a newsagents’ buying/marketing group dealt directly with publishers and managed distribution on behalf of its members, then the scales of reason would fall the way of the members, as opposed to today’s self serving behaviour of the existing distributors.
By the way we have given IPS a real fair go, but most of their titles simply aren’t relevant to us. In an attempt to rationalise we cancelled a number of titles. Their response is to now load us up with another list of different but equally irrelevant titles.
Some titles eg Sporting Shooter Gotch Code 10727 I cannot even get up on the Gotch website in order to correct my standing order, it is oversupplied to me constantly, as is Ride Cycling Review Code 29061
Why is this so ?
IPS has been a waste of time. It’s take 4 months to get them to stop supplying me as I didn’t want nor signed their contract. I have a small mountain of their mags surrounding me out the back in my office (which you can’t swing a cat in normally anyhow) and have been invoiced yet again. This is after I was told after the last email/phone call that the account would be zeroed and to destroy the magazines. Luckily I haven’t destroyed them all yet (destroyed about a third as I had no more storage room) as they’re now sayingh they may need to collect them !
The accounts person I spoke to was wonderful and I feel so sorry for her if this is what she has to deal with all day but IPS appears no better than the existing two distributors. Plenty of oversupply with the regular two culprits today too. “The Week” mag which I normally receive 4 of rose to 6 a couple of weeks ago and turned up as 9 today based on the same sales figures (1 or 2 copies) as always !
I think the Distributors have us bugged……2 days ago a customer asked if we had Audiotechnology magazine. I looked it up and have never had that title. I told him i could get it but he said he was only passing through town. Guess what turned up today ?????? FREAKY !!!!!!