The ANF CEO has written to selected newsagent suppliers seeking participation in a workshop in February 2015 to discuss matters relating to the future of the channel.
While the idea of the ANF workshop sounds good, there are challenges. The most significant challenge is the conflict of interest of the ANF. It is a commercial player in the channel, competing with some it has invited to the workshop.
The ANF is a significant shareholder in Newspower. The areas it wants to cover in the workshop are areas of immediate interest and concern to Newspower. Indeed, the ANF participated in a similarly themed Newspower strategy workshop a couple of months ago. That workshop resulted in decisions by Newspower that they say place it on a strong footing. If this is the case, why this ANF workshop now, why not tap into the Newspower plans?
While Newspower is in decline, reportedly dropping to half the membership it had three years ago, the ANF is participating in trying to arrest the situation. It’s very ownership of a stake in Newspower is a conflict with the goals of the proposed workshop. Surely those running the ANF see this?!
The ANF also has a commercial interest in the Hubbed Connect parcel service (if it’s still operating). It also owns the Western Union agency newsagents use. Plus, though its VANA and NANA connections it has interests in insurance, training, other parcel ventures, stationery wholesaling and providing other services.
Why would a supplier connected, even vaguely, with any of these areas want to participate in the ANF workshop when they ANF could leverage their intellectual property for its own gain?
While the ANF says it’s an association, it is primarily a supplier to newsagents. You only have to look at how it uses its pages in National Newsagents to promote its commercial partners – Hubbed most recently and Bill Express years ago with gushing reviews yet without reasonable due diligence one should reasonably expect from an industry association. There are suppliers to newsagents who find themselves competing with the ANF directly or indirectly. I suspect they will not participate.
Another challenge for the ANF is its failure to act on behalf of newsagents. Three years ago it hosted a two-day workshop on problems with the newsagent magazine supply model. To my knowledge, not one recommendation from this workshop has been acted on by the ANF. While they may claim the draft code of conduct from magazine publishers and distributors is an outcome – I’d reject this as the code of conduct was initiated by publishers separately (and it is inadequate for newsagents anyway).
A third challenge is that the ANF has no mechanism for driving compliance by newsagents. There is no point in agreeing anything with the ANF as it has no means of delivery.
The fourth and probably most significant challenge is the relevance of the ANF. The most valuable opportunities for newsagents lie outside of circulation product and lottery product. The ANF has no experience in these new, high GP and highly competitive areas. If it is seeking to become involved in these product categories in some way it is late, years late. This is why I say the ANF lacks relevance.
Newsagents seeking leadership on new traffic better margin opportunities have been engaging with the marketing groups and working on their own. Those asking the ANF are late to the party and are asking the wrong body for assistance.
The ANF directors and those who work for the organisation have failed newsagents on dealing with changes to retail, disruption to print and disruption to gambling products. This workshop will not rectify the failure.
It is easy to get caught up in the major seasons and appreciate the break between them to recharge. I think there is value for our independent retail businesses to play away from the main game, to create our own seasonal opportunities.
