Baird Davis: Newsstand’s Decline Mostly of Its Own Making
August 13th, 2008
Longtime publishing industry observer Baird Davis points out that overall 6% unit sale decline was concentrated in the top twelve newsstand titles. The rest of the line (500 titles or so representing some 50% of the business) posted a unit drop of less than 2% and essentially flat retail dollar sales. Moreover, he posits that the trouble at the top was attributable mainly to wholesalers’ efficiency-boosting initiatives and the mega price increases instituted by In Touch and Life & Style, which depressed sales of those titles and competitors within their editorial categories. Macro economic factors, he believes, played a lesser role. Circulation Management (Aug. 13, 2008)