The Periodical Publishers Association is lobbying Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the relevant ministers to keep the Block Exemption Initiative, which allows exclusive wholesale arrangements in the news-trade supply chain.
The organisation warns that the decision would be particularly devastating in Scotland.
The PPA claims up to 1,000 magazines and 20,000 retailers face an uncertain future if the Government decides in favour of a radical shake-up of the wholesale press distribution sector to comply with EU regulations.
Under the present system, a publisher appoints a sole wholesaler to a given area from whom retailers in the territory must buy.
In return, the wholesaler is obligated to supply every approved retail outlet in the area.
But this practice falls foul of an EU directive on competition and the Government's legal protection that has prevented such contracts from being challenged will expire in May.
The OFT is expected to make recommendations on whether to extend the exemption within the next month, but the final decision rests with Hewitt and the Government.
The PPA warns that abolishing exclusive distribution areas – and along with them the obligation to supply every outlet – would concentrate too much power in the hands of the supermarkets, as wholesalers compete for the bigger accounts and ignore smaller ones.
"The only way to preserve the universal guarantee of supply is the continuation of a system of exclusive territorial distribution,"
said PPA chief executive Ian Locks.
This would have a knock-on effect for magazines because supermarkets tend to stock only the top 150 titles, whereas smaller retailers are more prepared to stock lesser-known titles.
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents said it favours reform but not a "free for all".
"The ideal model is one of sensible relaxation, which allows for retailers to get all their supplies from one wholesaler," said David Daniel, trade relations manager at the NFRN. "At the moment, retailers get no choice."
By Sheelagh Doyle
_1.jpg)
.jpg)