Gordon and Gotch has once again showed their skill at magazine distribution by increasing our supply of Quilts & More magazine by 50%, two copies, with the latest issue. Any reasonable assessment of our sales history (click on the image to see this) indicates that an increase in supply is not warranted. All I can think is that Gotch wanted to place the stock somewhere and not in their warehouse.
The CEO of Gotch claims that the company does not oversupply newsagents. Here is one more example of oversupply. Sure it is only small, two copies. Multiply this across hundreds, if not thousands, of newsagents and you get a feel for the impact it could have, the cost it could impose, on newsagents.
Gotch says we have control through early returns and their website. This is not true. Control would be me having absolute control over all titles and quantities and nothing being supplied outside of this. Gotch refuses to give newsagents this level of control yet they use it as a defence to the ACCC and the like to hit back at complaints such as the one I am making on this blog.
In 2012 we need to focus our attention on this behaviour as it is financially harming the entire newsagency channel and costing us millions of dollars.
Every day this week i have sold TWICE the usual daily quantity of magazines, yesterday 2 and a half. In early Dec I am slow to remove stock from the shelves, my mag racks are stuffed with titles. We have worked by word of mouth now for a number of years talking about Xmas day and how nice it is to have time to relax and read something different. Now folk are coming in to get a magazine each for everyone in the household for after Xmas and on Boxing day. There are still people who do not want to be attached to a screen all day over the holidays, and they are so happy to still shop in a Newsagency. An extra Quilting mag doesn’t bother me one bit at the moment. I keep wondering why I only rarely have supply problems, compared to many others. I will work on my returns on Wed Thurs and Fri next week to keep the month under control. At least mags are sale or return, I am grateful for that compared to other retail items.
Must away, Merry Xmas to all.
Your right Andrew, that Early Returns and Over Supply are the biggest issues facing Publishers.
When you’re looking at your sales data, do you cater for seasonal increases? (YOY, closure of nearby retailers)
Cover mounted Issues?
A local on the cover or featured in the publication?
Advertising from the publisher about the publication?
Exclusive content that’s been promoted to readers?
When the competitor title goes on sale? if at all
(just to name a few)
I know you’re frustrated, along with many other newsagents and business owners.
I get frustrated when I preview supply and sales data of many newsagents early returning more stock then they’ve previously sold, again and again. With our publications and reader being punished due to cash flow. Cash flow and storage, probably the two main reasons and an issue all business in every industry face on a day to day basis.
Then there’s the issue of not being able to get enough stock of titles.
If distributors cater for this and provide you with an additional copy or two (relevant to your previous supply and sales) publishers are noticing that they get early returned.
The outlets sells out of stock much faster than anticipated, and we all lose. The customer loses, the newsagent loses and the publisher loses by having valuable stock in transit on the way back to the warehouse while customers/readers and other retailers are looking for stock.
I hope this comment isn’t taken out of context, but especially at this time of year (with copy sales of most titles on the increase) is the reaction to what could look like oversupply from a distributor, result in early returning stock?
Would every newsagent have time to personally approve every increase/decrease in supply for every publication, without knowing each publication as well as the publisher?
I know my thoughts in this opinionated comment, aren’t a reflection of every publisher/distributor and Newsagent, but with thousands of individual decisions made from these industries on a daily basis, it’s difficult to forecast and act on opportunities for every business.
If any retailer has a situation with the supply/sales of Morrison Media’s publications, brands and products, and would like some support in resolving it, we are available to talk to via Phone, Email and in Person.
Alf Santomingo
Circulation Manager at Morrison Media.
Alf I think we could establish rules and processes to provide newsagents with more control on demands on their time and space.
hz, this increase is not gross oversupply. Rather, it is an unwarranted increase in supply which, when multiplied across the channel, becomes a huge impost on our businesses.
Explain if you would Alf, why newsagents can’t get the trading terms given to Woolworths and Coles? Is this the sole decision of the Distributor? How much control do you as the publisher have?
Is it because then the distributors could then not use us as banks and wharehouses?
Steven: from my knowledge, this isn’t the desicion of a publisher or distributor.
What is the business model for all major retailers and what power do their suppliers have when it comes to control?
I’m happy to get a few extra magazines at this time of the year, and my returns reduce accordingly. However some magazines have been coming in in quantities I know I can’t sell. We’re in a country town, and while we do get some tourists at the moment its not our peak season. Some mags have been early returned, some have been stored to re-stock if I need to.
My biggest issue is the international rubbish Gotch foists onto us. In an Aussie summer do we really need engish and us mags telling us how to knit our winter woolies, make a warm winter quilt, cook a hearty stew or take photos in the snow??? I am not ashamed to say I send them back and support the aussie publications instead, unless I have a regular sale for a particular mag. I’ll be sitting here cancelling my allocations online over the next few days, but it will only hold them off for a month or so, and then it starts again…
Distributors have the capability to inform newsagencies why supply is increased, such as – promoted with cover mount, Xmas special, 25% more pages, craft category up 15% in Nov, etc. So why don’t they?
With today’s communication capabilities, no newsagency should ever be surprised about their allocation levels. Knowing why (a supply has been sent/billed) removes the mystery. If a distributor cannot or will not explain, it shouldn’t happen.