“Despite an urgent meeting between the NFRN and News International on Friday September 17, the company chose to ignore the pleas of retailers and pressed ahead with its 20p price hike and retailer percentage margin cut from 25% to 23.5% on the Sunday Times from September 19 2010. Whilst the retailer cash margin on the title has increased from 50p to 51.7p, retailers are losing out on a much needed 3.3p increase (i.e. 5p in total had the publisher kept faith with pro rata terms) whilst News International is greedily keeping 18.3p of the increased cover price to itself.
Says NFRN National President Parminder Singh (pictured): “Our meeting with News International was a real eye-opener for me. I was amazed at the gulf between the view held by News International that retailers should regard the 1.7p margin increase as a positive move, and that of retailers who have been waiting four years for the Sunday Times to increase its cover price and margin in line with inflation to help retailers meet increased overheads.
“How else are retailer’s going to survive,” asks Mr Singh, “when sales are declining and costs, including carriage charges are increasing? I am not sure whether this is just naivety on the part of NI or that it simply couldn’t care less whether independent retailers survive or not. It seems it is OK for News International to replenish its coffers to meet its own increased costs, yet is thinks that retailers can cover their increasing costs with the crumbs it offers.”
Whilst over the past week the NFRN has met with a delegation from the Press Distribution Forum and is being encouraged to engage, this latest blow to our members can only damage the prospects of our joining.
Says Mr Singh: “Whilst the NFRN has been developing some extremely good bilateral relationships with publishers and wholesalers since we decided to withdraw from the Joint Industry Group in August 2009, News International has now made it clear that we need to be selective over choosing our friends, and focus on those who genuinely want to support independent newsagents. Whilst it is good to work together, this must be for mutual benefit and it is entirely futile for a publisher to say “we want to work with you” and then pull a stunt like NI has just done on the Sunday Times.”
Mr Singh adds, “News International’s action on the Sunday Times terms sets back any early prospect of the NFRN joining the Press Distribution Forum. If this body is to gain any standing amongst the Retail Associations, it must operate on the basis of trust between its constituent parts. How are we supposed to sit in a room having proactive cross-industry discussions, when one or more people sat there are poised to stick a knife in our back?”"
