EXCLUSIVE: The London Standard to be sold in newsagents outside central London

Free paper The London Standard is to be sold in newsagents outside of central London in a trial lasting six weeks, Better Retailing understands.  

The paper, formerly The Evening Standard, relaunched as a free weekly newspaper in September after the newspaper’s daily print edition was discontinued in May after almost 200 years. 

Now, the title will remain free inside central zones in the capital, but sold for £2 in selected outlets outside zones one and two for a trial period.

Better Retailing understands areas like Croydon and Hemel Hempstead will form part of the upcoming trial, however there has been no confirmation of locations. 

It is also understood that the majority of stockists will be independent shops alongside a small number of Co-ops. 

The London Standard trial is set to start next week and the paper will offer retailers a strong margin

The first copy will be on sale from 15 November, and stockists will receive an industry-leading 25% margin.

While there is no change in the ownership of the brand, the Association of Newspaper and Magazine Wholesalers listed Reach as the publisher.

Rajesh Patel, who runs Brandons Newsagent in Beckenham, said he hadn’t heard about the trial but would be interested in stocking the title. 

He said: “I would stock it. 25% margin is good on a weekly and it’s a title that I think people would buy. My area is quite affluent so people who don’t travel into London would probably spend £2 on a London-centric paper to look at the arts and shows and features. I don’t think it’s a problem that it’s free in zones one and two.”   

Better Retailing has approached Reach for comment.