The group met yesterday under the chairmanship of Lord Heseltine, chairman of Haymarket Publishing, who last year helped to orchestrate its opposition to the OFT's original draft opinion.
It consisted of representatives from the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, the Association of Newspaper and Magazine Wholesalers, the Newspaper Publishers Association and the Periodical Publishers Association.
In a statement the group "very much welcomed" the OFT's decision to issue a new draft opinion, replacing the one that would have allowed retailers to buy magazines from a choice of wholesalers rather than being limited, as now, to buying magazines and newspapers from single wholesalers holding territorial monopolies.
The group argued that the decision would have resulted in the separation of newspapers and magazines in the press supply chain, leading to inefficiency and a lower level of service and increased costs for many newsagents.
However, the group was not entirely positive about the OFT's ruling, saying it was "regrettable" that the OFT was going to consult with the industry, not before announcing its revised draft opinion, but afterwards.
It reached agreement to seek assurance from the government on where within government responsibility lies for ensuring that public interest issues are taken into account in the OFT review.
It also agreed that work on ways to continue to improve the level of service and value to retailers from the press supply chain would continue as a matter of priority.
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