At one of my newsagencies yesterday morning I counted thirteen different sudoku titles.  Thirteen! Obviously, the magazine distributors think that is not too many.  If I complained, I am sure they would claim to have sales data showing that this level of supply is justified.  In my view, this level of range of sudoku titles it is not justified in my newsagency.  If I carried half the range I bet my total sudoku title sales would not change.

Distributors say we can early return product.  Sure we can, but we pay the freight.  They say that we can control supply through their website and other processes.  Nonsense.

Australian magazine publishers often complain that newsagents don’t engage with their titles and miss opportunities to grow their businesses.  That is because we are drowning in junk, like some of the sudoku titles in this photo.  We need these Australian publishers to help us to get distributors from abusing newsagents.  If they can help reduce the overseas junk for a start we will have a publishing and retail businesses.

We also need to take firm action ourselves to exert more control over our assets.  We pay the rent and wages bills after all.  I hold no hope at all that newsagents will do this though.

Sure we complain.  But we don’t organise ourselves.  Too many industry leaders are seduced by a nice lunch, sponsorship for an event, a trip or some simple ego stroking to deliver the strong leadership newsagents need on this issue and to push back against this appalling behaviour.

In today’s marketplace, with magazine sales falling, newsagents must act on inefficient supply.  Too many newsagents are losing too much money for the current situation to continue.

We compete with supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol outlets and others for magazine sales and while the newsagency channel accounts for 50% of all magazines sold in Australia, I suspect we have the least control over supply.  That is how it feels at least.