South Australian newsagents are revolting against distribution changes being enforced by Advertiser Newspapers, which they say could mean the end of many of the local businesses.
Newsagents across the state are battling against a new contract many see as unfair.
It includes a “migration” scheme which will transfer all newsagent clients to the management of Advertiser Newspapers.
With just three weeks to go until the new contracts must be signed, newsagents have told The Independent Weekly they feel they are being bullied into signing contracts that will reduce business profitability.
A survey conducted by the Australian Newsagents Federation (ANF) showed almost all respondents believed the new contract – which does not include provisions for a CPI increase or fuel levies – was unfair.
With many newsagents already conducting home deliveries at a loss, business owners say this is the final straw.
More than half of the respondents to the ANF survey say they will refuse to sign the contract, with another 30 per cent saying they will accept it under duress.
“I am only signing it because I can’t afford to lose my business or my home,” one said.
Another agreed: “I can’t see any way around it. It’s not a choice. It is schoolyard bullying.”
With the newspaper company offering a one-year contract for metropolitan newsagents and two years for country agents, Somerton Park Newsagency owner Martin Beyer is one of many who believe the resulting uncertainty has wiped value off his business.
“We are really in limbo for the next 12 months,” he said.
“We are not able to invest in our business because it might not be there in a year’s time.”
Other newsagents have said they will struggle to sell their rounds, with one saying he would be hard-pressed to give it away.
Many newsagents have also rallied support within their communities against the migration process, which will see all
Advertiser and Sunday Mail subscribers deal exclusively with Advertiser Newspapers and have no personal or financial connection with their local newsagent.
Subscribers will have to pay weeks in advance for their newspapers.
Andrew Barham, of the Ocean View Newsagency in Victor Harbor, said he was certain The Advertiser would lose customers, as many elderly clients would refuse to deal with a big business.
“There are a lot of people who will cancel the paper. There is no doubt about that,” he said.
“Some of our clients have been dealing with this newsagent for 30 years and they will not want to deal with The Advertiser direct.
“They are not on the internet, they are not on computers and they don’t want to deal with a call centre to start and stop their deliveries.”
A petition circulated by the newsagency has already attracted about 500 signatures against the migration scheme.
“We deal with 1300 clients on a monthly basis. Lots of them come in every week and have a chat,” Mr Barham said.
The loss of foot traffic is also a concern for Ardrossan newsagent David Kluske, with Advertiser Newspapers refusing to supply newspapers for even the retail outlet if he does not sign the contract.
“Migration will mean 100 fewer vehicles coming into the main street every week,” he said.
“They come in weekly to pay their accounts, they come in to do their stop/starts and if I don’t get newspapers, that’s 100 less people in my shop already.”
A survey sent by Mr Kluske to his 160 subscribers has seen 130 returned – all in support of his protest against migration and the new contract.
The matter will also be raised in the next Yorke Peninsula District Council meeting by deputy mayor Brenda Bowman, and other retail outlets have agreed not to stock The Advertiser should Mr Kluske cancel his connection with the business.
Neil Dyer, from the Orroroo Newsagency, has experienced a similar level of support from the town and says he will be better off financially if he stops delivering The Advertiser.
“I am losing $20 a day delivering … If I never sell any of their product again, I would be in the vicinity of $8000 better off,” he said.
Several other newsagents spoken to by The Independent Weekly said they believed many clients would cancel their subscriptions rather than deal with Advertiser Newspapers direct and many had already received upset calls from clients over the changes.
“The Advertiser operates on threats and intimidation,” says Aldgate Newsagency owner Geoff O’Sullivan.
“I have stood up to them before and I will do it again.”
Advertiser Newspapers’ circulation director Adam Everett did not return The Independent Weekly’s calls by deadline.
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