Newspapers are being rolled out of kiosks – Kommersant
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Over the past year, the number of newsstands in Russia decreased by 7.3% and continued to fall in the first quarter of 2023. Now one kiosk accounts for almost 10.3 thousand inhabitants of the country, calculated in the Union of Printing Industry Enterprises (SPPI GIPP). From the complete disappearance of press kiosks, permission to sell tobacco products and food in them can be saved, market participants believe.
The number of kiosks and press pavilions in Russia continues to decline: in 2022, their number fell by 7.3%, or more than 1,000 objects, Kommersant was told at SPPI GIPP. The study of the union took into account kiosks and pavilions, in which printed publications occupied more than 50% of the turnover. In the first quarter of 2023, the situation became worse, Pavel Miroshnikov, executive director of the SPPI GIPP, noted: “In some regions, the demolition of kiosks continues, for example, there is not a single one left in Astrakhan.”
In total, by the beginning of 2023, there were over 13.2 thousand retail outlets selling printed products in Russia, the union specifies: “The provision of citizens with non-stationary retail outlets (NTO) in the Print category worsened by 7.1% and amounted to an average of 10 .9 thousand inhabitants per facility”. At the same time, new NTOs were opened in 23 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Thus, the largest number of new kiosks appeared in the Moscow region (121), the Kaliningrad region (113), the Udmurt Republic (84). However, in 55 regions, GIPP specialists noted a decrease in the number of facilities. The Republic of Bashkortostan and St. Petersburg were the leaders in closing kiosks, where they decreased by 185 and 176, respectively. From 50 to 100 kiosks were closed in the Rostov, Samara, Novosibirsk, Vologda regions.
The strongest reduction in the number of kiosks with print media was in 2020 (see Kommersant dated May 14, 2021). Then the publishers associated this with the departure from the market of the federal network Rospechat (as Kommersant reported on February 24, 2021, this network of partners of Oleg Deripaska subleased or sold assets to other distributors). So, in 2020, the number of press pavilions decreased by 11% over the year, and before the pandemic, the decrease did not exceed 1%. Then the union asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Digital Transformation to create a coordinating council to support the distribution of the press. Among the measures proposed then was the abolition of restrictions on the sale of related products, provided that the press would occupy at least 50% of the assortment.
Now the reduction in the number of press distribution kiosks is primarily affected by the increase in rent and the refusal of regional administrations to renew contracts with distributors unilaterally, says a Kommersant source in the industry: “Most often, administrations initiate the dismantling of kiosks.” In addition, last year, he adds, the process of converting kiosks at train stations and railway stations began: contracts with press distributors were terminated ahead of schedule and they were asked to switch to fast food trade (see Kommersant dated July 22, 2022).
From the complete disappearance of the kiosks, the expansion of the range of goods sold can be saved, says another Kommersant source in one of the publishers: “Now many print pavilions have begun to sell popular toys, sometimes even at a price lower than in official stores. However, this is still not enough. Pavilions should be allowed to sell tobacco products or, for example, food in order to win back customers.”
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