The days of newsagents allocating a third of their retail floor space are long gone, and with that the space to easily accomodate new titles.
Today, magazine space is tight, usually taking 20% and less of floor space, often floor space that is less prime than the magazine bays of years ago. Whereas in the past the volume of stock received managed newsagents, today newsagents are far more protective of their assets, as they should be.
With the scale back of space allocation for magazines is the almost elimination of power end displays promoting magazines. They don’t provide the financial return necessary in Australia’s high retail space and labour cost climate – when you compare the cost of retail space and labour to other developed countries.
I consider any new title on the basis of what it can bring to my business, like I do for any product. While adding a new magazine that leeches off existing traffic is okay, it is not as beneficial as the magazine that helps attract new shoppers.
This is on my mind today because Lovatts Media has launched Teen Breathe. I have read the material and while I appreciate 30% gross profit compares to the usual 25%, there is nothing indicating what adding this product to my business will do to grow the business. What is offensive is that the 30% is tied to newsagents not early returning the title. That is, an extra 49.75 cents per copy sold, but only if we hold the title in-store for two months. This is disrespectful. It is of no interest to me.