The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday was the leader of publisher-related newspaper delivery delays last month, data from wholesalers suggests.
Smiths News and InPost Newstrade, previously known as Menzies Distribution, reported that, on average, the newsbrand arrived late into wholesale depots 28 times per week in January. The figure is 40% higher than the number of delays for the average national newspaper during the period.
Poorer performance than the month before was also seen across other titles printed by NewCo. These include The Sun, Times and Telegraph.
Conversely, January saw major improvements on the arrival times of titles coming from Reach’s print sites, including the Mirror, Express, Star and Guardian.
While the figures show an overall improvement month on month, this may not be accurate.
Better Retailing understands that data for January is not complete. Therefore, it may not fully represent the number of late arrivals by the i and the Midweek Sport.
Isle of Wight retailers face most newspaper delivery delays in January
The data shows retailers on the Isle of Wight likely faced the most delays caused by publishers for the second month in a row. Better Retailing understands this is due to ferry timings magnifying slight delays by publishers into larger delays to InPost’s Ryde depot on the island.
InPost’s Ashford and Inverness depots were the only other two to remain on the top 10 worst-affected depots list between December and January, both with an increase in the number of late arrivals.
A spokesperson from Smiths News told Better Retailing: “Our depots operate with maximum flexibility to accommodate late publisher arrivals. As soon as titles arrive, our teams work swiftly to sort and dispatch them, minimising delays. We recognise that the timely delivery of newspapers is crucial for all our customers, including HND.
“The dedication of our fleet and operational teams was particularly evident during the severe snow conditions in early January. Despite challenging road closures and adverse weather, we prioritised deliveries and ensured newspapers reached retailers across our network. This resilience reflects our ongoing commitment to service excellence, regardless of external conditions.”
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