The most concrete proposal came from Jean Paul Bailly, president of the French public postal service. He said La Poste – France’s main newspaper distributor since it delivers all subscription newspapers – would investigate the possibility of selling newspapers within its own offices.

France’s distribution system isn’t too inefficient (on average it costs 36% of the price of a single copy) compared to the rest of Europe (48% in Great Britain). But newsstands’ marginal profitability (less than 15% of the price of a single copy) is causing them to run out of business at an alarming rate – 500 stands per year.
The larger consequence threatens the whole newspaper industry, which relies on these specialized locations for most of its distribution.

The main actors of the press, editors, publishers and distributors, made a bid this weekend to join forces in order to reestablish newsstands and their owners’ profit – maybe too little too late considering these stands sell 30% fewer dailies now than they did in 2000.

The participants insisted on the importance of creating specialized press stores, which could serve as local beacons for the neighborhood. Unfortunately, this seems like a retroactive reminiscence of a past era.

Editors and publishers also agreed on the – perhaps more realistic – necessity of increasing distribution in wholesale and franchise locations. Up till now, these giant potential newsstands only distribute 5.5% of papers in France – compared to half in the Netherlands.

Making the distribution process more efficient, in terms of cost and wingspan, is only one of the keys needed by the newspaper industry right now.

Source: La Tribune