Could selected magazines be "vended" to travellers?

Photo: (RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR)

Since there now is a book vending machine at Billy Bishop airport on Toronto Islands, could we be too far away from a vending machine for some of Canada's best magazines? For instance, winners at the National Magazine Awards. 

According to a story in the Toronto Star, there are 20 independent titles available in the machine put in place by Literary Press Group, a collective of about 60 independent Canadian publishers. Carry On Books is a summer-long experiment running from June 1 to Aug. 31. The project was funded by the Canada Book Fund, which is part of the federal Department of Heritage.

Inspiration for the machine came in part from the Biblio-Mat at The Monkey’s Paw bookshop on Bloor St. W., which provides used books, as well as short story machines in Edmonton and Paris airports that dispense a story for those in need of a quick read.

 “We thought Billy Bishop was the best place to launch a book vending machine because there’s no real entertainment options on the flight,” noted Thomas. “We often see passengers reading the literature on the plane,” [said Christen Thomas, the organization’s executive director.]

The battle continues for space at the checkout

Magazines have for a very long time been a staple of the checkout line at grocery and other stores. The major reason is that they are the most profitable items, ahead of (among many other things) gum and candy. Yet, according to a post by Jerry Lynch of the International Periodical Distributors Association (IPDA) in Publishing Executive  Mars Inc. the owners of Mars bars and Wrigley candy and gum brands are putting on a concerted effort to push magazines out of the space and, of course, take it over themselves.

Research shows that magazines are the most profitable item at the checkout ($1.07 true profit per unit), bring in 5 times the revenue of candy and are 14th in profit among 229 total store categories.

In my view, the Mars push should be taken as a call to action. In response to competitors’ intensifying efforts to secure more retail display space, magazine publishers, NDs and distribution partners should all be intensifying our own efforts to shout our category’s documented strengths from the rooftops.

Flare is being pulled from the newsstands

Come January, Flare magazine will no longer be available on newsstands. According to a story in the Globe and Mail, Rogers Media has decided the plummeting sell-through on the magazine no longer justifies the cost. The fashion magazine's single-copy sales have fallen from 12,000 a month in 2012 (where they represented 9.6% of total circulation) to an average 2,600 in the first six months of 2015 (or 2.8 per cent.) By comparison, Flare's digital circulation has grown to average 29% of its total circulation. 

Publisher Melissa Ahlstrand said newsstand sales -- once a bellwether of readership -- is no longer thought so. 

“Whether it be through Texture or Snapchat or Periscope or print, we want to have people connect with our content and the work we’re doing with advertisers, on any platform where they want to be,” she said. 

Ms. Ahlstrand said Flare’s editor Cameron Williamson recently met with a group of university students who told him that they read the magazine. “Ten minutes into the conversation, he realized they were following us on Instagram and Twitter, they didn’t actually read the magazine. But they called themselves readers,” said Ms. Ahlstrand. “We love that, and we want to engage with that demographic on whatever platform they’re going to come to us on.”

Source Interlink newsstand wholesaler files for bankruptcy

Source Home Entertainment, operating as Source Interlink Distribution, until quite recently the second-largest magazine wholesaler in the United States market, has filed for bankruptcy, owing $290 million on assets of $205 million. The company had been losing money on trucking magazines to retailers for years (the bankruptcy does not involve the separate, related publishing company Source Interlink Media which publishes special interest pubs such as Motor Trend, Automobile and Hot Rod.)

According to court documents and reporting by the New York Post, the company -- which is owned largely by a hedge fund -- owes Time Warner Retail Sales $54 million, Curtis Circulation Company $49 million, CoMag Marketing Group (national distributor for Conde Nast and Hearst) $33 million. In addition, there are other claims, some disputed, totalling $40 million. 

The company closed a month ago, putting 6,000 employees out of work, after its biggest client, Time Inc., pulled it titles, saying it hadn't been paid. Bauer Publications had pulled its titles only weeks earlier. Time moved most of its titles to Jimmy Pattison's News Group TNG which, with Hudson News, now remain the last two major single copy wholesalers available to magazine publishers.

Benjamin News shocks creditors by saying it can't or won't pay its bills

Benjamin News Inc., the wholesaler which closed in March, has advised its creditors to expect only 25 cents on the dollar, at best, on money the company owes to distributors and, through them, to magazine publishers. In a letter to publishers from Coast to Coast Newsstand Services Partnership's (CTC) CEO Glenn Morgan, he said that when Benjamin closed on April 4 (some 1,400 of its 4,000 retail clients were picked up by Metro News), Paul Benjamin said, in writing that all outstanding payables would be fulfilled in whole. 

"We were, however, advised today by Paul Benjamin, that BNI will now be unable to fulfill its financial obligation to CTC and the other NDs [national distributors] primarily due to BNI being unable to collect all monies owed to it by its customers and many of its jobber delivery agents. In fact, BNI has furnished us with copies of the lawsuits it has filed against all of these parties, but time will tell as to whether any of these lawsuits will produce a successful outcome.... 

"This is new information today, and obviously has come as a great shock.I did want to get something out to all CTC publishers so that you are aware of this sitaution and to advise you that we have flatly refused the proposal and are about to enter a negotiation with the goal of maximizing our recover. We do have some unique leverage in this situation and will do everything in our power to use it to our advantange," the letter said.

It's not known how much money BNI owes, but the announcement will be significant blow. It is known that BNI represented upwards of 18% of CTC's business. 

The intended closure was announced in mid-January. The almost-100-year-old Montreal based magazine and book distributor was founded in 1917 by a blind news vendor who sold newspapers on the street in Montreal. At one point the company handled over 4,000 magazine titles, delivering them to 7,500 retailers in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.

There are now essentially only two English-language wholesalers in a market which 20 years ago had more than 30. At the time of the announcement, arrangements were said to have been made for publishers and retailers previously served by Benjamin News to be served by Metro News, Toronto, and TNG (The News Group), Burlington, Ontario, Socadis, Montreal, Metropolitan Distribution Services, Montreal as well as Les Messageries de Presse Internationale.

[Update] Newsstand wholesaler Source Interlink to go out of business after Time Inc. dumps it

[This post has been updated] 

[Update: Source Interlink Distribution Company, one of the largest newsstand wholesalers in the U.S., faced with losing some of its biggest customers in a dispute over price and payments, has decided to discontinue operations after 20 years in business. Michael Sullivan, the CEO, sent a letter to distributors and customers saying, in part, that 

While we have made significant progress in finding mutually agreeable solutions with publishers and national distributors alike, one of our largest suppliers has recently decided to cease supply and move in a different direction. As such, it's with a heavy heart that I am writing to advise you that Source Interlink Distribution Company will be discontinuing all operations in the near future... 

While this is truly a sad day for Source and its roughly 6,000 employees, we are hopeful that we will be afforded the opportunity to wind down our operation in a smooth and orderly manner. In the coming days, we will do our best at keeping you informed as things progress.]

Time Inc. has dumped its 2nd largest single copy wholesaler in the U.S. and switched business to a rival. It became known as part of a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The jilted wholesaler, who had been demanding a price hike, was reported to be Source Interlink, the second-largest wholesaler of the company's publications. The filing said that the decision was made because Source Interlink owed $7 million in receivables. 

The company that replaced it was reported to be the News Group, owned by Canada's Jimmy Pattison, who was already Time Inc.'s number 1 wholesaler, according to a story in the New York Post.

Source Interlink was probably betting that Time Inc., only days from being spun off from Time Warner into a new public company, would fold and accept more costly terms, one source said. 

“The feeling on the street is that this is a new Time Inc.,” said the executive. “The old Time Inc. would have folded.” 

Time Inc., headed by CEO Joe Ripp, said the dumped wholesaler was responsible for approximately 2 percent of its revenues — or just about $67 million of its $3.3 billion in 2013 revenue.

The story said that in the mid-1990s, there were 300-plus wholesalers in the U.S. but now there are three major players: News Group, Hudson News and Source Interlink.  (A similar consolidation took place in Canada during the same span.) 

Read more »

Salt Spring Books named Magazines Canada retailer of the year

Salt Spring Books from the village of Ganges, in the heart of the vibrant BC island community, has been named Magazines Canada retailer of the year.

Adina Hildebrandt and her knowledgeable staff will set you up with what you need. Choose a magazine, listen to the ocean and relax into the land of reading. It's the Salt Spring Books motto: "Eat, sleep, read. Life is simple."

The store regularly participates in various Magazines Canada promotions, including the Newsstand Markeeting Project; they consistently carry over 100 Canadian titles.  

Though announced now, the Magazines Canada Retailer of the Year Award will be presented at the Magazines Canada luncheon on Thursday, June 5, 2014 at MagNet: Canada's Magazine Conference in Toronto.

Magazine distributor Benjamin News is closing down by April

Benjamin News Group, which has been in the magazine and book distribution business for almost 100 years, will close down in April. The family-owned business, which is based in Bois des Filions, Quebec, was founded in 1917 by Charlie Benjamin, a blind news vendor who sold newspapers on Notre Dame Street in Montreal and whose grandson Paul made the announcement. The closure will result in 225 people losing their jobs.

"Quebec is probably the most expensive market in North America to distribute magazines and books. It has the lowest density,” [Benjamin] told CTV Montreal. “The sale of the printed word, especially magazines, has decreased radically."

He said that a variety of deals had been made to allow other companies to take over his distribution to 7,500 retailers in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario. Benjamin handles over 4,000 magazine titles. 

NOW magazine will distribute 20,000 copies on the Toronto subway

NOW magazine, which has for several decades relied on street boxes and racks throughout Toronto's core to distribute its weekly magazine, has struck a deal with Gateway Newsstands. Starting January 23, 20,000 copies of NOW will be distributed at Gateways' 65 newsstands throughout the Toronto Transit Commision subway system. It will continue to be available free every Thursday from over 3,310 racks, boxes and newstands across the GTA, online at www.nowtoronto.com and on the iPad. 

"We are all very excited about this new distribution deal with Gateway, it's yet another way for NOW to engage with our dedicated readership base both within, and outside, of the downtown core," says NOW Editor/Publisher, Michael Hollett [in a release]. 

NOW Editor/CEO, Alice Klein, agrees saying "We are beyond thrilled to say that after 32 years of publishing NOW, our paper will be available in the TTC for readers to pick up and enjoy while riding the subway and going about their daily routines."

Coast to Coast outsources regional sales and back office functions to Jim Pattison-owned Comag Marketing Group

Coast to Coast Newsstand Partnership (CTC) has announced that it is outsourcing most of its  back office accounting functions to Genera Solutions LP, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based company owned by Comag Marketing Group (CMG) of Princeton, New Jersey, which is co-owned by The Jim Pattison Group (JPG) and Hudson Media. Genera will be handling all billing and collection, print order and galley preparation as well as other administrative functions. North American field force distribution services will be provided by Comag Marketing Group. 

The changes, which are effective January 1, are understood to affect 14 of the 28 employees, though some of the regional sales managers will be moving to CMG. Although a special announcement circulated to customers yesterday did not say so, effectively CTC, one of Canada's leading national distributors, has been taken over by Comag. Details of the deal were not available. 

Glenn Morgan, the president and CEO, will continue to run the company, and it will maintain its headquarters in Toronto; from the perspective of publishers who are clients of CTC, it is said to be business as usual for now, with all manager, account execs, the marketing department, IT and publisher payables remaining in Toronto.

Headed by Canada's fifth richest man, according to Canadian Business magazine, with a net worth of $7.4 billion. JPG bought CMG from Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast Publications, Inc. last January. CMG had been jointly owned by the two publishing giants since 2000, providing sales, marketing and promotional services in the mass market, direct-to-retail and specialty market channels. CMG represents over 20% of the single copy market for magazines in North America.

JPG is a privately owned BC-based conglomerate which also owns North America's largest magazine and book wholesaler, the News Group.It is involved in automotive, media, packaging, food sales and distribution, magazine distribution, entertainment, export and financial industries and with more than 35,000 employees, the Jim Pattison Group is the second largest private company in Canada. It owns TNG, North America's largest magazine and book wholesaler as well CMG.

"Like all in the newsstand, network distributors are actively seeking ways to cost effectively streamline operations. Utilizing the collective experience and abilities of Genera and CMB affords Coast to Coast the opportunity to realize significant efficients and economies of scale," said the announcement.

Quote, unquote: Controlling the narrative about single copy sales

“The perception issue is that we are going away; we’re dinosaurs, and we have horrible press. We also seem to be our own worst enemy, because in the name of transparency we now trumpet our sales results on a quarterly basis, so news writers – who don’t really understand the business – can write articles about the ‘Continued Problems of the Newsstand: What Should Be Done!’"

-- Joe Berger of Joseph Berger Associates, a circulation marketing and consulting firm in Chicago, quoted in an excellent summary article about the newsstands by Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni in the July/August issue of Publishing Executive magazine. Berger says that change needs to happen by having the magazine distribution industry control its own narrative.

Racy "lads' mag" publishers defy demand for coverups; pull titles from 4,000 British stores

The publisher of racy lads' mags Nuts  and Zoo are pulling them from the shelves of the Cooperative Group's 4,000 stores in Britain,according to a story in the Guardian. It is a response to the Co-op's demand that such mags as Nuts, Zoo, Front and Loaded be given "modesty covers" to hide their explicit, lurid front covers or be banned from its stores. IPC Inspire, which publishes Nuts, is the first of the titles to refuse, saying that the Co-op is trying to prevent shoppers from freely browsing a legal magazine. "Co-op's knee-jerk attempt to restrict access to a product that consumers have enjoyed for nearly a decade is wrong,"  said Paul Williams, managing director. 

Bauer, which publishes Zoo, had been attempting to respond to the Co-op's ultimatum by toning down its covers, but said it, too, would now boycott Co-op. [Photo: Dave Thompson/PA]

Tesco, a leading grocery chain in Britain and one of its biggest retailers, had  demanded that the lads' mags "tone down" their covers. The retailer and others were trying to meet demands of consumer groups such as UK Feminista which were lobbying for such magazines to be removed from the shelves altogether. 

U.S. Armed Forces dump 891 newsstand magazines citing declining demand

AAFES store at Dyess Air Force Base
near Abilene. [Dallas Morning News] 

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (what, at one time was called the PX) is permanently removing 891 magazine titles from its stock, about 33% of the total. According to a posting on the website of the U.S. Department of Defense, the shelf and floor space saved will be given over to other in-demand products and services, such as electronics. 

AAFES officials say there has been a sustained decrease in demand for single copies, with sales of all magazines at exchange facilities down 18.3% between from 2011 to 2012. 

“According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, digital magazines continue to expand their presence in the industry,” Army Lt. Col. Antwan C. Williams, AAFES public affairs chief, said in a statement. “Like their civilian counterparts, exchange shoppers' increased reliance on digital devices to access content virtually has resulted in a sustained decrease in demand for printed magazines.” 

Consistent with its mission to provide quality merchandise and services to its customers at competitively low prices and to generate earnings which provide a dividend to support morale, welfare and recreation programs, Williams said, AAFES is adjusting its stock assortment to align offerings with industry counterparts.

Read more »

Read's Newsstand and Cafe of Fredericton named MagsCan retailer of the year

Read's Newsstand and Cafe in Fredericton, New Brunswick, has been named Magazines Canada's retailer of the year for 2012.

The downtown Fredericton store is the flagship of the Read’s/United chain of stores, with other stores in Moncton, Riverview, St. John and Halifax and in addition to the best selection of magazines for miles around (including most Magazines Canada-distributed titles),  also sell books, have a healthy foods section and a full-service café with sandwiches and a patio on Main Street.

Jeff Magnusson, who co-owns the chain with John Devona and Mark Smith, has been managing the Fredericton store for nine years, he and Devona designed it when they moved from a location down the street in 2004.  

“Our idea at the time was to get away from the convenience store end—tobacco was getting trickier and we wanted to offer a different experience....We’re specialists and proud,” Magnusson says.

Read's joins a select club of other recent winners of the retailer of the year award, including Book City (Toronto Danforth), McNally Robinson (Winnipeg), Spruceland News (Prince George, B.C.), Mags & Fags (Ottawa) and Atlantic News (Halifax, NS). 

Quote, unquote: On the checkout line attention deficit

One of the reasons given for the precipitous fall in newsstand sales is the "mobile blinder", the name given to the habit people now have of using their mobile phone while waiting to pay in the supermarket, where once they would have browsed magazines or picked up some chewing gum.  

"We do find a number of people, if stalled for a minute, will steal a look at their email or news feed," David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, told the FT. "Everyone that has products at checkouts has to battle for consumer attention," he added.

-- Linking the drop in US newsstand sales to mobile phone use, the so-called "mobile blinders" effect. [from the site of research firm, WARC]

World's Biggest Bookstore -- and magazine rack -- likely to close next year

It's not only the self-proclaimed World's Biggest Bookstore, but it is also one of -- if not the -- largest magazine store in Canada and word that it may close will be shaking up the industry. On the other hand, it may be merely a lease negotiating ploy by Indigo Books and Music.

A story on Quill & Quire, quoting the Toronto website Yonge Street, says the lease on the 25-year-old, 64,000-square-foot bookstore which goes back to the days of Jack Cole and Cole Books will not be renewed and the Cole family is looking for a single retail tenant to take over the space, possibly a "big box" store.

"Indigo Books & Music, which owns the bookstore, had been seeking a “significant” reduction in rent from the store’s owners, citing a downturn in business. And while the lease on the iconic property near Yonge and Dundas Sts. doesn’t expire until December 2013, the property is already in play," said a story in The Toronto Star.

It says a condo developer is reported to have already offered $38 million for the site.

“The decision to not renew the lease at the end of 2013 was based on a thorough review of every facet of our World’s Biggest Bookstore business,” Indigo spokeswoman Janet Eger said in emails to the Star.

“In the meantime, we’ll be working towards a seamless transition for our valued customers and employees, the details of which are being finalized.”

Book City Danforth named magazine retailer of the year by Magazines Canada

Book City Toronto's Danforth branch and its magazine manager June Shoji has been named 2011 Retailer of the year by Magazines Canada. The award will be presented this week at a luncheon being held as part of the MagNet conference.

Book City is a mini chain, owned and run by Frans Donker, and carries a comprehensive collection of magazines from a diversity of distributors.

The Danforth store, managed by Patricia Magosse, is the quintessential Book City: great books, great remainders and, in a small, efficient space, a spectacular selection of magazines. Somehow in this ever-changing retail landscape, Book City has found the right combination of factors to survive. Obviously this includes having a great location, a hands-on, knowledgeable staff and carrying a good selection of Canadian magazines.

What has evolved into Magazines Week in Canada begins tomorrow, with the first event in the four-day MagNet conference in Toronto, managed by a consortium of industry associations.

Momentum converts to paid newsstand magazine

Momentum, the Vancouver-based cycling lifestyle magazine has converted from being mostly controlled to being a paid bimonthly newsstand publication. beefed up by 40 pages and with a $4.95 cover price. The first newsstand issue was released March 1. It will continue to have a digital edition.

“Our small team has worked incredibly hard to bring Momentum Mag to the 100-page newsstand magazine that it is today,” said publisher Mia Kohout, quoted on the Bicycle Retailer website. “It is exciting to see the bike industry take more interest in city riding, commuting and, most importantly, women. We feel our publication is starting to show its potential as the leading lifestyle magazine in the cycling marketplace and we are even more excited about the path ahead.”

 Kohut said that the redesign of the magazine has increased advertising revenue 100%  since March 2011.
Until now, according to the magazine's media kit, the magazine has distributed 15,000 copies in Canada and 25,000 in the U.S. The total newsstand draw has been 6,000. Its rate card is not available online.

Time Inc.'s Maghound single copy sales venture is closing

Announced with considerable fanfare in 2008, Maghound, the Time Inc. venture to sell single copies of magazines at a discount, is to close. According to a story on Folio:, the division will be closing soon to focus the company on digital subscriptions (all 21 Time Inc. titles have now been digitized). Current users will be allowed a grace period and be advised to subscribe directly to their titles.

The Maghound service allowed people to buy subscriptions to mix and match individual titles, without locking into a subscription. At launch, it had 240 titles, somewhat less than it had projected when it announced the venture. Members of the service could sign up to receive up to 15 magazines from a range of titles and get one set for a monthly fee. The monthly fee was tiered depending on the number of titles: $4.95 for three; $7.95 for five, $9.95 for seven and $1 a title for eight or more.

Jim Pattison Group buys Comag newsstand distribution firm from Hearst and Condé Nast

Two of the pillars of U.S. magazine publishing, Hearst and Condé Nast, have exited the magazine distribution business and sold their share(s) in Comag Marketing Group (CMG) to the Jim Pattison Group (JPG)of Vancouver. It should have a major impact on the single copy sales and marketing business.
JPG is a privately owned BC-based conglomerate which owns the News Group, North America's largest magazine and book wholesaler.

The deal involves entering into a long-term distribution agreement with the two publishing companies and letting them concentrate on their core competencies, , according to a company release.The CMG headquarters will remain in Princeton, New Jersey.

"JPG's purchase of CMG represents a watershed moment to enhance the current supply chain model by properly aligning the economic models, which will better serve the needs of publishers, wholesalers and retailers. It is designed to migrate focus from inter-channel tension to a renewed collaboration with the retail trade on brand marketing and consumer promotion, ultimately growing the magazine category -- which is our overarching goal."

CMG has been jointly owned since 2000 by Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast Publications, Inc.providing sales, marketing and promotional services in the mass market, direct-to-retail and specialty market channels.

Hearst is one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with 20 U.S. titles and more than 300 international editions, more than 28 websites and 14 mobile sites and has published more than 150 applications and digital editions for mobile and tablet media.Condé Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, four business-to-business publications, 27 websites nd more than 50 apps for mobile and tablet devices, all of which define excellence in their categories. The company also owns Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM). 

JPG is involved in automotive, media, packaging, food sales and distribution, magazine distribution, entertainment, export and financial industries and had sales of over $7.2 Billion in 2010. With more than 33,000 employees, the Jim Pattison Group is the third largest private company in Canada.