Dear ozmandos-ga,
You have asked this question at a very important time as the Office of
Fair Trading has just announced important proposed changes as to how
magazines and newspapers are distributed in the UK. It concerns
removal of what is known as ?the Vertical Agreement (Exclusion)
Order?. These are agreements which currently mean that ?a publisher
assigns a nominated wholesaler sole rights to supply their newspapers
and magazines to a given geographical area, 'an exclusive
territory'.?(1)
Under the current system there are three main wholesale distributors
and 22 independent distribution companies.
The Association of Newspaper and Magazine Wholesalers (ANMW) is a
trade association representing over 99% of wholesalers of newspapers
and magazines in the UK.
Their web site goes on to state that,
"Members range from the three large multiple companies ? WH Smith
News, Menzies Distribution and Dawson News, which between them account
for 87% of the market - to 22 independent companies.
Operating about 140 depots across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern
Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, our members deliver
to retailers within their territories from the largest supermarkets to
major high street stores and to thousands of independent newsagents
and convenience stores. The newspaper or magazine publishers decide
these distribution areas and contracts are awarded for each area
individually."
http://www.anmw.co.uk/
A full list of the companies and the contact details you require
appear on this page.
http://www.anmw.co.uk/members.html
The independents are represented by the ?Independent News Distributors?,
"(INd) was founded in 1993 as a vehicle to give independent newspaper
and magazine wholesalers a focal point and to disseminate Best
Practice [...] There are 23 companies operating out of 30 depots
delivering to a customer base of some 15,000 retailers."
The 21 companies are listed here (repeat of the anmw site).
http://www.ind.org.uk/
Other sources you may find helpful are:
National Federation of Newsagents.
"Newspaper and magazine selling in Britain and Ireland has a complex
structure. (Technically it is a complex oligopoly.) It involves a
small number of national newspaper groups supplying a mere 3
wholesalers who together have about 79% market share (Newspaper) and
85% (Magazines), with only 21% (15%) held by 26 independent
wholesalers.
These three large wholesalers supply many thousands of newsagents.
Some have their own chain of shops. But around 20,000 are independent
newsagents who are members of the National Federation of Retail
Newsagents [...]
Magazines Market Share
WH Smith News 36%
John Menzies 29%
Dawson News 20%
Independent Wholesalers 15%
(Source Wessenden marketing 2001 reports, July 2001)"
http://www.nfrn.co.uk/
Useful links page
http://www.nfrncommercial.co.uk/links.asp
The Periodical Publishers Association publishers some very useful
advice and guidance.
http://www.ppa.co.uk/
For instance, a page of advice on launching your magazine and distributing it.
"If you intend to sell your magazine to the public via the newstrade,
it needs to be distributed to newsagents and other retail outlets.
For the vast majority of small publishing companies it is not
practical or advisable to attempt this without help and there are
distribution companies that specialise in this field, functioning as
your sales and marketing department. Go to the PPA Supplier Listing to
find a list of service suppliers
[...]
Trade structure
The magazine distribution chain consists of five levels, starting with
publisher, through distributor, wholesaler, retailer and consumer. It
is, however, possible to undertake your own distribution, although you
will need considerable resources to do so.
If you decide to adopt this route, you will have to negotiate terms
with wholesalers, arrange the physical transportation from your
printer, arrange invoicing and crediting, sell copies to wholesalers
and retailers, monitor sales and employ the staff to perform these
functions.
More information on newstrade can be found in the area for new publishers."
http://www.ppa.co.uk/cgi-bin/wms.pl/83
This page has a very detailed guide for new publishers. Start here.
http://www.ppa.co.uk/cgi-bin/wms.pl/118
Office of Fair Trading ?OFT?.
Office of Fair Trading press release
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press+releases/2005/35-05.htm
Source referred above as (1)with additional information on the OFT Review.
Free and Diverse Press.
Faqs page http://www.freeanddiversepress.com/
I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder
Search strategy
By sheer coincidence I read an article on the OFT Review this morning
in the Daily Telegraph, so I started with: oft magazine and newspaper
, which led me to the above sites and used their useful links page for
additional information. |
