Yesterday we received more copies of AWW cookbook titles for which we still had plenty of stock. Bauer would know our stock holding from their own data yet they sent us more stock. The only conclusion available is that they found extra stock and decided it’s better in newsagencies with us paying for it than leaving it on the warehouse floor and not generating cash-flow.
When Bauer purchased ACP the commentary was that they would be frugal managers of the business. To me they look mean in their dealings with newsagents – oversupplying more often than before. Their actions in the last six months have seen a return to the bad days of Network Services.
Network used to be pretty bad but through 2009, 2010, 2011 and into the start of 2012 they had, overall, improved. Now it’s worse than ever. New titles coming out when we have no room and more stock of existing titles without sales data justification.
Either the Bauer allocations system is a mess or they are deliberately treating newsagents appallingly and lumping us with stock such that it puts us at a commercial disadvantage.
Did anyone else get more AWW cookbook titles yesterday for which they still had stock?
In our case we early-returned.
We have received other titles of AWW cookbooks when we have not sold any, however Top Gear is again going stupid in SBR. We receive only 2 of this title and 1 goes to a sub agent. We then get SBR for 2 more based on our sales data and we have now received another SBR notification for 3 more!! We still have the original copy on the shelf so what data are they using? My wife has contacted Network about this numerous times and all she gets is a headache from there spin.
We only get new titles of aww cookbooks but we get far to many. They just don’t sell for us like they used to and I don’t have the space for sitting magazines so top and return.
I wonder how long Dolly Cleo and Cosmo will last, they are magazines that we get plenty of but struggle to sell.
Are customers buying them from supermarkets or have they had their day?
Ian I had the same experience with Top Gear so I early returned some and SBR replaced them. SBR should be called Early Return Replenishment.
SBR is a joke. Allocation 4. normally sell 1 so early return one. Leaves 3. Now i sell my normal one. still have 2 left SBR replacement send 2 more . I early return 2 as I still have 2 and unlikely to sell any more. If Bauer are so frugal surely they should be saving THEMSELVES money. i will continue to send back all SBR whilst I still have the mag in stock. they even do this on weeklies. Their SBR has so much potential but instead they are just dumb. Smart management ??? I dont think so.
SBR is a joke. Zoo weekly cut from 3 to 1. Sold the 1 and get 2 on SBR which arrive before the edi. This is the norm.
Street machine SBR of 2 one week and then SBR 1 the next. Second SBR done prior to first SBR stock hitting the shelf with no additional sales.
95%+ of SBR ends up being returned.
Under the new paradigm SBR on weeklies is a waste of time. I don’t need Take 5 on SBR on a Monday.
We were allocated AWW cookbooks this week also.