Hi Guys,
Jenova, NP, my whip was getting a little stiff from lack of use, it\'s good to give it a run out occasionally.
Glad you like Andy\'s articles, I spend each month waiting for the next one to come in!
Finn, with regards to newsagents and in particular WHSmith yes we DO issue guidelines - we also spent £10,500 on in store promotions via WHSmith only to learn (via an internet thread) that not only were some WHsmiths returning the magazine the day it arrived due to lack of space with their new Christmas promotions, but that customers were being told that their local WHSmith had never stocked and would never stock Harbinger.
This is a problem that comes down to individual stores, bassically if the YTS kid who stocks the magazine racks can\'t find a space for our latest issue it\'s much less hassle for him to simply ship their entire order back rather than go to the effort of remerchandising the shelf space. Not only this but it seems that individual store managers have begun to take it upon themselves to censor wargames magazines by either placing them on higher shelves or simply not stocking them at all.
We are less than happy with this situation, imagine my surprise when I phoned a particular branch of WHSmith to enquire as to whether or not they stocked Harbinger and was told that they never had, never would and my best option was to subscribe.
Imagine THEIR surprise when I informed them that I worked for Harbinger and knew perfectly well that they HAD received stock, they SHOULD be stocking the magazine and that as we are £10,500 worse off due to the agreement between us and their head office I wanted their name and would be mentioning them when I speak to their employers thank you very much and goodbye...
The situation SHOULD be remedied, however we would appreciate it if people would keep an eye open and let us know if their WHSmith proves obtuse when it comes to the availability of our magazine. Unfortunately due to the sheer size of WHSmith and the number of outlets we can never be 100% sure that each store will follow the guidelines no matter what orders are handed down from their head office. It seems that individual local-level managers take it into their heads to make decisions that are not theirs to make...
So please, if you know of a WHSmith that isn\'t doing us justice let us know!
Many thanks
Jamie
Jenova, NP, my whip was getting a little stiff from lack of use, it\'s good to give it a run out occasionally.
Glad you like Andy\'s articles, I spend each month waiting for the next one to come in!
Finn, with regards to newsagents and in particular WHSmith yes we DO issue guidelines - we also spent £10,500 on in store promotions via WHSmith only to learn (via an internet thread) that not only were some WHsmiths returning the magazine the day it arrived due to lack of space with their new Christmas promotions, but that customers were being told that their local WHSmith had never stocked and would never stock Harbinger.
This is a problem that comes down to individual stores, bassically if the YTS kid who stocks the magazine racks can\'t find a space for our latest issue it\'s much less hassle for him to simply ship their entire order back rather than go to the effort of remerchandising the shelf space. Not only this but it seems that individual store managers have begun to take it upon themselves to censor wargames magazines by either placing them on higher shelves or simply not stocking them at all.
We are less than happy with this situation, imagine my surprise when I phoned a particular branch of WHSmith to enquire as to whether or not they stocked Harbinger and was told that they never had, never would and my best option was to subscribe.
Imagine THEIR surprise when I informed them that I worked for Harbinger and knew perfectly well that they HAD received stock, they SHOULD be stocking the magazine and that as we are £10,500 worse off due to the agreement between us and their head office I wanted their name and would be mentioning them when I speak to their employers thank you very much and goodbye...
The situation SHOULD be remedied, however we would appreciate it if people would keep an eye open and let us know if their WHSmith proves obtuse when it comes to the availability of our magazine. Unfortunately due to the sheer size of WHSmith and the number of outlets we can never be 100% sure that each store will follow the guidelines no matter what orders are handed down from their head office. It seems that individual local-level managers take it into their heads to make decisions that are not theirs to make...
So please, if you know of a WHSmith that isn\'t doing us justice let us know!
Many thanks
Jamie
