According to the NFRN, the member, from the North of England, had returned extra copies of the publication to his wholesaler last Sunday (31 July) in protest at the Sunday Express’ swingeing reduction to retail margins whereupon the publisher instructed his wholesaler to discontinue supplies.
Sam Whiteside, Chairman of the NFRN News Operations Committee said: “This simple story speaks volumes about the determination of publishers to exert absolute control over the market by whatever means, including what can only be described as bullying. What an outrageous situation when a retailer can’t decide what he will or won’t sell in his shop and a wholesaler can be dictated to as to what he can and can’t deliver to his customers. The OFT has already clearly stated its concerns about the anti-competitive workings of some aspects of this market and should note the lengths that publishers are prepared to go to in order to maintain this.”
Whiteside continued: “On this occasion praise should be extended to the wholesaler who refused to inflict the Sunday Express’ instructions on its customer. However, this entire episode serves to highlight the urgent need for a Competition Commission investigation into the abuses of these too powerful publishers.”
