The NFRN has expressed further concern at a new round of price increases at the Guardian and The Times that will result in the percentage profit margins reducing at retail level.
NFRN National President Ralph Patel said: “Whilst these price increases will put some extra pennies into our members’ tills, the reality is that the percentage margin is being reduced on a fix priced product and this will lead members to further question why retailers are picking up the tab for an inefficient and monopolistic supply chain that is struggling to justify its online ventures.”
Patel warned that declining sales and increasing operating costs meant that the newspaper category was becoming less important to many retailers.
“This short term gain for publishers will only accelerate the decline of the print industry,” he concluded.
