Smiths News Premier Club customers are to be offered a free six month NFRN membership trial and access to the trade group’s news and magazine support system – Newspro.

Under the new scheme all 3,000 Smiths News Premier Club members will be able to utilise NFRN Newspro’s category management tools which help stores control and optimise their magazine rangings. Premier Club will also continue to provide promotions and magazine category insight directly to its members.

The news wholesaler specified that the six month free NFRN membership, worth more than £170 including VAT, is only available to non-NFRN members. Newspro is already free to all NFRN members.

Smiths News chief executive Jonathan Bunting commented: “Through combining our experiences managing Premier Club, together with exceptional market insight we can create a much stronger combined category management offer for Independent retailers. I would encourage any Premier Club retailers to take advantage of this offer which will support a successful and sustainable magazine category for your store.”

NFRN national president Stuart Reddish said: “For nearly a decade, Newspro has helped NFRN members grow their newspaper and magazine sales and profits by equipping them with all the skills and knowledge they need to manage these categories successfully. We look forward to partnering with Premier Club to deliver greater profitability to even more independent retailers.”

Newspro is understood to be used by more than 1,000 NFRN members. The federation claimed that it delivers “average cash flow savings of £500 per annum,” access to new launches and regular promotional activity. An NFRN spokesperson told RN the trade group is targeting significant further growth in Newspro usage by the end of 2020. 

The announcement from Smiths News follows an interview in RN last week where the company said it was ‘actively reviewing’ support for independent stores. Click here to read the full interview.