The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) has welcomed the announcement by newspaper publisher JPI that it is to include pro rata profit margins for retailers as part of planned increases in the cover price of a number of its titles.
From Monday, November 22, the price of JPI-owned daily and weekly papers in the North West and Yorkshire will go up by 10p and 5p per copy, respectively.
Titles affected include daily editions of the Blackpool Gazette and Lancashire Post, as well as 11 weeklies across Lancashire and four weekly titles in Yorkshire.
All prepaid subscription vouchers will be credited at the new price, so retailers should continue to accept them as payment in full.
The NFRN criticised publisher Newsquest’s decision earlier this month to reduce retailers’ margins at the same time as increasing the price of many of its regional and local titles.
The move was in stark contrast to other major publishers, including dmg media, Reach, News UK and GNM, who have all included pro rata terms for retailers within cover price increases over the last year.
NFRN head of news and Connect Brian Murphy said: “We would like to acknowledge that JPI Media has also chosen the correct route for maintaining retailer support of its publications, and we welcome a continued close working relationship with them.”
