Magazine Distribution in 'Constant Cycle of Crisis'

MIAMI—Over 300 attendees gathered here on Monday for the 2009 MPA Retail Conference to discuss the changing retail landscape and how publishers and retailers can work together to ensure success—or, perhaps more accurately, survival—this year and beyond. Speakers representing the entire distribution channel—from publisher to retailer—once again decried the state of the newsstand market, but focused on the need for systemic change.

During the opening keynote, Cosmopolitan editor Kate White addressed the ongoing debate on whether print is still viable. White shared with attendees what one of her bosses told her when she started at Cosmo 10 years ago. “Multimedia means ‘multi,” she said. “In other words, the digital generation likes a lot of sources and print is one of them.”

White also shared the results of a study that Cosmo did recently on how readers viewed the print magazine versus the Web site. “Overwhelmingly, our readers preferred the print version,” she said. “And we got some interesting answers as to why, including ‘I can search for old articles’ and ‘it’s quicker and easier to find stuff.’ When I saw this it just reinforced for me the importance of taking what we do, building on it and making it better.”

Better Data Sharing Needed

The discussion then turned to the relationship between retailers and publishers and how the two should be unified in the goal of connecting with the retail customer. In a panel session entitled “New Realities for Magazines: Where the Opportunities Lie,” Lee Nichols, President and CEO, Dechert-Hampe & Company, said that retailers and publishers are both looking for direction from each other on how to improve sales, but aren’t giving each other the right data.

“Retailers are saying to publishers, ‘Help me tailor these titles to my store,’ but publishers want to know things like how the changes in daily traffic at the stores will affect how many titles are sold,” he said. “But they won’t know these things unless they’re given the right information.”

While another panel, “Evolution and Revolution in Publishing,” was supposed to address how new business models are affecting single copy sales, the discussion quickly turned to the current distribution channel chaos, and how publishers really feel about the future of the newsstand.

'Constant Cycle of Crisis'

“We’ve seen a constant cycle of crisis and accommodation and it’s not healthy,” John Griffin, president, magazine group, National Geographic, told attendees. “Each side is worried about how they can get more money for themselves instead of what they can do to help build the business. I hope we can move towards a solution. I hope we get away from the fighting and move towards selling.”

Dwell publisher Michela O’Connor Abrams agreed. “I want to see some innovation,” she said. “I want to know that when we stop the mental fisticuffs we can go back to thinking about the consumer. We’ve spent the last two months thinking about every other stakeholder. Let’s get together and think how we can get closer to the consumer.”

The wholesalers also had a chance to offer their own perspective. News Group U.S. president Dave Parry gave attendees an update on how the company is operating now that it has acquired assets from Anderson News. Now, Parry says, is a time for unity, growth and vitality. “We need to get product flowing,” he said. “We need to get the right product to the right distributors in the right quantities as soon as possible. We’ve got to get out there as a single voice.”

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