A category worth fighting for

So the first thing to say is that I love magazines. Don’t get me wrong, I love the internet too. For ordering the groceries, booking a holiday or tracing the discography of Toots and the Maytals, there’s nothing better than the web. I love books as well. For reading on the beach on holiday or to fall asleep to each night, nothing beats a ripping good yarn. And newspapers are still the only sensible way to keep up-to-date with Norwich City results and our nerve racking attempts to get back into the Premiership.

But magazines are different. Magazines are a tactile, visual, disposable medium that can cater specifically for my every need. Whether I’m looking for technical information about how my motorbike compares to other models, or a more general browse through a men’s magazine to check out which of the latest films, music, fashion or gadgets might appeal to a bloke of my age. Whether it’s the visual treat of a quality travel magazine or the more serious collection of articles thoughtfully assembled for me each month in Vanity Fair, magazines are a whole different and entirely pleasant experience.

And with magazines, I’m in complete control. I decide when I pick it up and put it down, what I read and what I skim. This is an entirely different level of control to that supposedly given to me by the TV remote. With the television, I don’t really decide when I watch what I want to watch. I know I nearly can, but not really, not quite yet. And the TV remote has a deeper, more mysterious power over me which means that I sit in front of something, whether I’m watching it or not. That doesn’t happen with magazines. Either I’m right in there or I’m somewhere else entirely.

So, if magazines are so special, the way we can make over three thousand regularly published magazine titles available to the consumer has to be special too. This is a business that makes nineteen regional editions of Autotrader available to an extremely tight schedule each week, as well as getting Tropical Fish Hobbyist to its’ enthusiastic and loyal readers. This is a business that can carry hundreds of thousands of copies of a new partwork, as well as making a few tens of copies of an imported Italian fashion magazine available to those in the rag trade (incidentally, have you seen some of the fantastic fashion, art and lifestyle magazines available in really small numbers through specialist and independent shops?); and all of this with remarkable levels of availability and reliability. OK, so we need to work on the returns levels, but otherwise the system is pretty good – and worth fighting for.

How things have changed

Because fighting seems to be what it takes these days. I’ve been involved in the distribution of magazines long enough to remember a time when most of our decisions were taken over a convivial lunch. This didn’t mean that we didn’t do good work, because we did. In many ways it was more productive too. No worrying about retail multiple commitments, barcodes or bloody early returns. Just a bit of creativity and some graft to put the right copies in the right place at the right time.

How things have changed. Now it is all about fighting. Now we are fighting on a daily basis for shelf space for the titles we represent. To be fair, I don’t really begrudge that bit because one of our key roles as a distributor has to be to act as product champion for the magazines which are entrusted to our care and that implies a certain amount of the rough stuff. In fact, I think we need to be honest about that aspect of our role instead of masquerading as even-handed, benevolent category captains.

These days we also seem to be fighting for magazines as a category, with more retailers exploring their product mix options. This is particularly scary in the context of the acceleration of retail consolidation, or the big grocers buying out every chain in sight which is what appears to be happening at the moment. Whilst I understand why they are doing this, I am concerned, and not just because they are likely to import the sometimes poor operational standards and aggressive buying behaviours that supermarkets are famous for, although that is a bit worrying in itself. My real concerns are that these mini-supermarkets are more like cut down versions of their big relations and that their presence can drive other independent stores out of an area. In my view, both of these things are fundamentally bad for the variety of titles we try to make available. I think it is bad purely in terms of the choice we offer the consumer, which is one of the real strengths of magazines as a medium. Some would argue that it is bad in the context of the freedom of the press or diversity and pluralism.

Competition law

And that’s not the only fighting going on. Only three years ago, we were fighting to ward off the threat of National Distribution, which could have inflicted serious damage to our industry and mortal damage to many of the magazines we distribute, as well as to many of the outlets we rely on – as consumers as well as publishers and distributors. Now we are fighting the possible end to the protection our supply chain needs to ensure it can get the biggest newspaper and the smallest magazine to every shop in the land; whether it is a busy city centre travel point or a remote rural general store.

This harmonisation of European competition law is tricky. Yes, it is right to ensure that the industry is acting in the interests of the consumer and that competition is possible, but the issues here are complex and can be a tad subtle for the huge and necessarily hurried eye of government to appreciate. In many parts of Europe, the diversity and pluralism I referred to is protected by some form of right to display. This doesn’t mean that retailers are forced to carry magazines that don’t sell forever, but it does mean that every magazine gets a chance. Whilst I don’t think we are quite at the stage where this form of protection is necessary, that time may not be far off. At the moment, I hope and pray that the efforts of all of those involved through the PPA and NPA, together with our wholesale friends and possibly even some enlightened retailers, will pay off in the form of an exemption to this element of the competition law for our industry.

Four necessary steps

So, in the meantime, what do I think we can do to secure the future of this industry and of the magazines I believe to be so important? Well, I think there are four simple (or not so simple) steps:

Firstly, this may sound obvious, but publishers must produce the best, most attractive, most compelling magazines it is possible to produce, as editorial quality is the beginning and end of success for our business. This is a fantastically adaptable supply chain but it can’t work miracles. We can manage the distribution of a very specialist fashion, hobby or business title, but we can’t support magazines that are not good enough to sell and whilst there are many wonderful magazines being published every week and every month, there isn’t half some rubbish too!

Secondly, for the poor retailers as well as the number of trees we are getting through, we have to be better at managing waste. Industry returns levels averaging around a third of what we print just aren’t sustainable any more so we all have to get more realistic with our targets and more effective with our copy management.

Thirdly, retailers must concentrate on what makes them good or what makes them different. High street magazine retailers mimic supermarket ranges at their peril. Local independent outlets cut back on their customer service at their risk. The real message has to be that for this supply chain to sell so many titles, through so many outlets to consumers with so many different requirements, retailers need to differentiate their offer.

High street stores need to be destination outlets to give people a reason to shop there. Supermarkets are volume retailers but this is a category where you shouldn’t under-estimate the differences between products. A customer may buy own-brand baked beans if you haven’t got Heinz, but they won’t necessarily buy Superbike just because you haven’t got Motorcycle Sport & Leisure. Local independents (and this might just be the most important sentence in this piece), must develop and cherish the best possible relationship with their customers and the local community. This might mean home deliveries, shop saves, promotions or just good communication, but that relationship is all that separates you from the supermarket or convenience store (which may be the same thing by now) and may be the most important asset that your business has.

Finally, all of us engaged in the supply chain parts of this trade need to carry on the excellent work being done in the interests of protecting the delicate structure of our industry. Moving on from there, just as different retailers need to understand and promote what makes them different, the rest of us need to understand our role, compete where we need to compete and co-operate where we don’t. Only in this way can we make our business more efficient, remove unnecessary duplication and secure the future distribution of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure, Wanderlust and Tropical Fish Hobbyist (as well as Vogue, Good Housekeeping and Heat!).