Leading magazine publishers are uniting to celebrate National Newsagent Week, in recognition of the more than 38 million in magazine sales generated from newsagents annually.

Australia’s 2,900 newsagents remain the primary channel for magazine sales and figures from printing and distribution company, Ovato, reveal that through COVID magazine sales at newsagents have recorded double digital increases in the food (+35%), home interest (+22%), puzzles (+20%), children’s (32%) and craft (+16%) categories.

Spearheaded by Bauer Media, magazine publishers including, DCThompson, Genera, Just Media, Lovatt’s Media, Marketforce, NewsLifeMedia, Next Media, Puzzler Media Australia, Seymour, Universal and Yaffa Media, have joined forces to launch an initiative celebrating the role newsagents play in Australia’s retail landscape.

Working in conjunction with the national peak body for newsagents, Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA), the publishing industry is offering customers who purchase a magazine at any newsagent the chance to enter a draw and win $50,000 from now until the conclusion of National Newsagent Week (19 to 26 September 2020).

The promotion is being supported with point of sale material, social media and daily advertising across national and metro newspapers.

Andrew Cohn, head of retail sales and circulation at Bauer Media said: “As one of the inaugural participants of National Newsagent Week we’ve worked to bring the concept to life to recognise one of the hardest working industries in Australia. To see suppliers working together and alongside ALNA has been an extremely positive experience for all. It gives us a chance to highlight the importance of the newsagent industry as an essential service and the role they play at the heart of the community.”

Ben Kearney, CEO of ALNA added: “As we have seen during the COVID crisis, consumers have turned to magazines for inspiration and escapism and newsagents have been ready to conveniently meet that demand. We’re delighted to have the support of the country’s leading publishers as we recognise the many and varied products and services newsagents provide to the community during National Newsagent Week.”