Retailers welcome Sunday Mirror and People margin move Print
12th May 2021
Newspaper publisher Reach will include pro-rata terms for newsagents as part of its price increases for the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.
On Sunday 16 May the cover price of the two newspapers will go up by 10p to £1.90 and the profit paid to retailers on each copy sold will also increase to 38p.
The change applies to all of the UK apart from the Channel Islands, where the price of each title increases by 20p to £2, with retailers receiving 40p profit for each copy sold.
NFRN national president, Stuart Reddish, said: “This is great news. When publishers put the prices of their titles up, there is always a danger that retailers will suffer because of reduced profits. But it is pleasing to see that Reach recognises the efforts of independent retailers to keep the news trade going during what has been an unprecedented and difficult time.”
NFRN issues warning over deposit return scheme for Ireland Print
6th May 2021
The NFRN has warned the Irish government that its timescale to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) may be “too ambitious”.
The trade body, which supports the Irish government’s plans to introduce a deposit return scheme, believes lessons learned from its involvement with a similar scheme in Scotland point to the planned implementation of a deposit return scheme in Ireland by the third quarter of 2022 as “extremely challenging”.
In its response to a consultation on the legislative framework and scope of the scheme, the NFRN said it is mindful of the challenges that lay ahead in producing an effective and robust scheme that works for retailers and producers, both large and small, and that gains the support of the wider public across Ireland.
Government confirms new date for carrier bag charge extension in England Print
28th April 2021
The new 10p carrier bag charge in small shops in England will now come into force on 21 May.
The new date was confirmed by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in an email to the NFRN this morning (28 April).
The charge was originally due to take effect in smaller stores from 30 April, but a Defra spokesman advised the NFRN that it had been delayed until late May “due to the current restrictions on government communications as a result of the pre-election period, and to give businesses more time to prepare”.
The Scotsman makes positive margin decision Print
28th April 2021
The Scotsman will maintain retailers’ profit margins when it increases the cover price of its weekend and weekday editions.
From Saturday 8 May, the price of the Saturday paper will rise by 5p, from £2.15 to £2.20. On 9 May the price of the Scotsman on Sunday rises 10p to £2.40. In addition, the new price of Monday to Friday editions increases by 10p – from £1.70 to £1.80 – from 10 May.
NFRN national president, Stuart Reddish, said: “Just recently we held an industry forum with Scottish newspaper publishers to discuss ways of boosting sales of the printed copy so the Scotsman’s announcement that it is maintaining retailers’ profit margins alongside price increases on all its editions is a great confidence booster for our members in Scotland.
PayPoint vows to reinvigorate relationship with NFRN Print
PayPoint chief executive Nick Wiles has pledged to reinvigorate the company’s relationship with the NFRN.
Wiles, interim corporate affairs and marketing director Steve O’Neill, and head of retail proposition Anthony Sappor held a “positive and constructive” with NFRN national president Stuart Reddish earlier this week.
Reddish said: “The meeting was called so the NFRN could share our members’ concerns. Mr Wiles listened carefully and stressed that he was keen to restore the relationship between PayPoint and the NFRN.
“I will now be working on a plan that meets with the Federation’s ethos to help make and save members money and make it easier for them to do business with PayPoint.”