The Ministry of Industry and Trade is trying to increase sales channels for paper press due to a reduction in the number of kiosks

Due to the reduction and even complete exclusion of printed products from the range of retail chains, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed increasing sales channels through a new standard – an index of the provision of regions with specialized points of sale, including non-stationary ones. Market participants expect that the measure will at least allow maintaining the current number of facilities, since regional authorities will not be able to arbitrarily terminate contracts with distributors.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the draft government decree, which amends the resolution of May 5, 2023 No. 704. The document was published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on January 19 on the regulation.gov.ru portal. Public discussion will last until February 8. It follows from the project and the explanatory note to it that the ministry is receiving information about the reduction and even complete exclusion of periodical printed products from the assortment of retail chains, which “entails the restriction of the population’s access to the media.” In this regard, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to increase the number of sales channels for printing.

In particular, we are talking about the emergence of a special standard – an indicator of the development of NTO (non-stationary trade facility) “Print”, which must be monitored and ensured by authorized regional authorities. The Ministry of Industry and Trade explained that the resolution “establishes the methodology for calculating the standards for the minimum provision of the population with non-stationary objects for the sale of printed materials.”

The standard itself will be calculated through the product of the coefficient of the minimum provision of the population with the area (number) of the NTO “Print” by the average annual population of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (municipal entity), divided by 10 thousand people. As industry participants explain, standards for the minimum number of facilities selling printed materials existed before, but always at the level of recommendations: “Therefore, regional authorities did not monitor their compliance, and also allowed themselves to unilaterally terminate contracts with the owners of NTOs.”

The reduction in the number of kiosks and places where newspapers are sold has been going on for several years. It was strongest in 2020 (see “Kommersant” dated May 14, 2021). Then the publishers associated this with the departure of the federal network Rospechat from the market (as Kommersant reported on February 24, 2021, Oleg Deripaska’s network of partners subleased or sold assets to other distributors). By the end of 2023, the decline could be 10%, the Union of Printing Industry Enterprises (SPPI GIPP) predicts.

In fact, the new standard will allow maintaining the number of scientific and technical organizations where printed products are sold, explains Boris Sapozhnikov, head of the periodicals department of the Lev Publishing House (magazines “Minecraft”, “Luntik”, “Frozen Heart”, “Smeshariki”, etc.): “ Until now, even efficiently operating facilities were under threat, since regional authorities often unilaterally terminated contracts.” The measure creates a control mechanism, the expert believes.

General Director of IM Media and President of SPPI GIPP Alexey Ivanov also considers the measure effective, but warns that its implementation may encounter problems at the regional level: “We often receive signals from the regions that the press kiosks sell anything but the press. Enterprising comrades cover the window with newspapers and sell shawarma and hot dogs inside.” Therefore, control is necessary, he emphasizes.

Previously, there have been cases when a retail chain decided to withdraw the entire press, confirms Ruslan Novikov, General Director of the Argumenty i Fakty Publishing House: “Publishers, together with the GIPP, both in past situations and now are negotiating with chains to minimize such events.” . According to him, AiF is in favor of increasing sales channels, but it is worth taking into account the location and traffic: so that it does not turn out that the place is given, but there are no buyers there.

Yulia Yurasova