Off to Magazine Week conference
I am off too the second day of the two-day conference in Sydney which is being held as part of Magazine Week today.
While some on the magazine publishing and distribution side are working hard to strengthen their relationships with and support for newsagents, we, all of us, are only as strong as our weakest link.
Every time magazines are oversupplied newsagents hurt, other publishers suffer and the reputation of the distributor in question is tarnished.
Every time a retail competitor of a newsagent gets a better deal, promotion of some other benefit not available to newsagents you strengthen their position and weaken that of newsagents.
Every time newsagents are under supplied you reduce the opportunity for full newsagency sales potential to be reached.
Every new title distributed without consideration of the cost of newsagent floor space, labour and inventory cost is an additional burden which other channels most likely do not have to face.
Every time a newsagent over claims on returns the entire channel suffers.
Every early return which leaves a newsagency with less floor stock than recent average sales harms the newsagency, the newsagency channel and the publisher.
The Australian newsagency channel could have a bright future in magazine sales if we lifted our professionalism, were supplied based on sales, treated fairly when it comes to returns, rewarded for our support and respected in terms of title ranging. Achieving this depends on all stakeholders having common goals. Right now, not enough of us stakeholders do.