Publishers should read about the impact a long on-sale for a poorly performing title can have on a newsagency.
We have had Summer Shape Up from Women’s Health & Fitness on sale in one of my newsagencies for two months. We have not sold a copy. The publisher wants us to keep the title for another four weeks. Based on our rent, this title has already cost us $12. Add to this a labour cost and a cost for the cash outlay.
This is a problem for newsagents. It is why we do not like titles with a long on-sale and which are not covering their cost and generating profit for us.
In this newsagency I need to make $6 GP per magazine pocket per month just to cover rent. If I am not getting that return from a magazine profit, the magazine in the pocket becomes loss making for me.
Now there are some who will say that I can’t look at it that way and that it is not fair to expect a single pocket to be profitable. Hmm, tell that to Coles or Woolworths. It’s how they assess the performance of products in their businesses.
Publishers who want to use my space for more than 30 days should back their request by financially covering me if their product fails to perform even at the most minima requirement level.
With various changes to be magazine distribution model being discussed and considered – margin, full copy returns versus covers, on-sale period, target sales efficiency – we need to ensure that all factors are considered in any discussion / negotiation for to make progress on one and not another could be a pyrrhic victory.
i have the same problem received 7 copies on 3/10 till to date still sell non. what i do with magazines are keep all copies on shelf toward end of the month if no sale i return all of them.
Non performing titles are returned by the end of the month regardless of the onsale to date. They must pay their way the first month to warrant any extra time as there are so many other performing titles to take their place.
On the 29th of this month all October issued magazines will be returned unless strong sales warrant longer on the shelves. Any titles from the first week of November that have not sold any copies are also targets for return.
This policy allows us to display almost all titles we receive for some period and I believe keeps the department fresh and is the reason for our strong sales growth. There is no room for deadwood.