This January Wal-Mart cut over 1,000 magazines from it's racks. Their goal? To streamline buying and maximize profit. If you published a consumer magazine this might have been a bad month as Wal-Mart stores account for 15-17% of all national retail magazine sales.
Axed were high and mighty and the humble alike; Better Homes & Gardens, Town & Country, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, along with Boar Hunter, Cabin Life, and Log Home Living.
One source said the cuts were done by by the numbers, "the formula Wal-Mart used to determine the cut list was based on a ranking of magazine titles by sales. Any title that was not in the top half of sales in any Wal-Mart store was cut from the list."
The key to staying off the cut list was to understand the metrics of evaluation prior to the cuts so you could react to them. Magazine publishers who could realize the danger could have boosted their sales through promotions or if they published multiple titles, adjusted the mix of publications at different stores. But when the metrics come down, it is too late to react.
This happened at Wal-Mart but cutting happens in every sales territory. Your best defense is to have a trusting relationship with a client who can tip you off before the axe comes down so you can react constructively before the cuts.
Read about the cuts in the NY Post
Comments