TWO YEARS OLD AND STILL ON SALE !

EXCLUSIVE 
By The Bangkok Bugle

Prominent Thai bookshop chain B2S is selling copies of a two-year-old magazine at its Central Fesitval shop on the island of Phuket.

Six copies of the March 2009 edition of Apartment Living magazine were on sale last weekend, highlighted in the picture (left), alongside current editions of local and global magazines.

Speaking as a publisher I find this totally unacceptable. How can the retailer allow something to remain on sale for 24 months, or put copies of such an old edition on the shelves.

I believe the publishers, in this case Asian Networking Communications, also need to share some of the responsibility for allowing unsold copies to remain in the wild. I'm certain that any of their advertisers seeing six copies still on sale some 24 months after first appearing will form their own opinions about the sales potential of this title. I think this example also says a lot about the paper trails and lack of accountability within the magazine distribution network in Thailand.

What's even more frustrating, on a personal level, is copies of this out-of-date magazine were covering copies of the current edition of one of my own magazines - at least until I undertook a little subtle merchandising activity.