New Valora still raises little hope among publishers
New management, a new strategy, a new kiosk concept, a new logistics system, and a collective bargaining agreement—will the changes at Valora also have a positive impact on publishers? They’re skeptical about that.
We have few problems with Valora, but we also have very little to do with them." With these words, Markus Jörin, Head of Reader Market at Basler Zeitung, summarizes his publishing house's relationship with the retail giant to date. Tamedia has a similar view: "In fact, the cooperation works, but it doesn't make any big waves," says spokesman Christoph Zimmer. Despite the storms that have raged over Valora in the last two years, there are currently no areas of conflict, he adds. Words of praise can be heard on Zurich's Falkenstrasse: "Valora has improved a lot in press distribution over the last two years," says Markus Will, Head of Reader Market at NZZ. And at Ringier, Valora's largest publishing customer? Andreas Schaffner, Head of Services, has "always found a sympathetic ear" with the retail giant.
But overall it is clear that the relationship with Valora is on ice. There are four reasons for this: Firstly, they want to give the new crew credit. That's why they are cautious in their criticism. Or formulated positively. Andreas Schaffner, for example, puts it this way: "Thanks to the new concept, I assume that the press will be given the necessary weight again, more than in recent years." Christoph Zimmer adds: "If Valora returns to its core business, this could have a positive impact on the newspapers." And Markus Will is cautious: "Our relationship with Valora still has potential."
Another reason for the cool relationship: Valora's strong market position in Switzerland remains unchanged. In the past, the Group was "cumbersome" and "inflexible", according to rumors behind closed doors. In short: Valora remains "a monopolist - with all the advantages and disadvantages". One of these disadvantages: The margin Valora demands from publishers is often perceived as too high. However, a discussion about this does not seem possible. "Valora sets the rates - just like the post office. It doesn't make us understand that we are partners," say several publishers.
Valora alone also determined the direction of press sales at post offices. The new sales channel was introduced in May 2007 after months of testing, but Valora, which was in charge of the logistics, suddenly ordered its discontinuation nine months later - over the heads of Swiss Post and publishers. Valora spokeswoman Stefania Misteli still does not feel the need to explain why. When asked, she only said that the cooperation with publishers and Swiss Post had been good and that the sale of post offices had not resulted in any loss of sales for Valora's own kiosks. Which only makes the closure of the additional press sales channel seem even more arbitrary for the publishers.
The "Kiosk customer card" project seems to be going down a similar path. The card - similar to a telephone card - was to enable customers to obtain press titles of their choice at any K-Kiosk and whenever they wanted. Valora gave the go-ahead at the 2008 Publishers' Congress, but the project has been on hold ever since.
The publishers certainly understand that Valora has been "primarily preoccupied with itself" in recent months and years. Especially as the service has remained more or less the same. However, they would have expected more in terms of direct information. For a long time, some of the publishers contacted only found out about the various changes via the media. Valora only approached some publishers in the last few weeks.
Ringier's experience is different. "Valora has remained in regular contact with us over the last two years, so we are relatively well informed about developments," says Andreas Schaffner. The new Valora is viewed far more positively at Dufourstrasse than elsewhere. Schaffner is pleased that the new, decentralized logistics concept will significantly shorten delivery times for magazines from the current 48 hours and thus enable faster replenishment when demand is high. "The new Valora crew is making a noticeable effort to address the publishers' concerns," praises Schaffner. However, he emphasizes: "We will measure people by what they do."
Markus Knöpfli
But overall it is clear that the relationship with Valora is on ice. There are four reasons for this: Firstly, they want to give the new crew credit. That's why they are cautious in their criticism. Or formulated positively. Andreas Schaffner, for example, puts it this way: "Thanks to the new concept, I assume that the press will be given the necessary weight again, more than in recent years." Christoph Zimmer adds: "If Valora returns to its core business, this could have a positive impact on the newspapers." And Markus Will is cautious: "Our relationship with Valora still has potential."
Another reason for the cool relationship: Valora's strong market position in Switzerland remains unchanged. In the past, the Group was "cumbersome" and "inflexible", according to rumors behind closed doors. In short: Valora remains "a monopolist - with all the advantages and disadvantages". One of these disadvantages: The margin Valora demands from publishers is often perceived as too high. However, a discussion about this does not seem possible. "Valora sets the rates - just like the post office. It doesn't make us understand that we are partners," say several publishers.
Valora alone also determined the direction of press sales at post offices. The new sales channel was introduced in May 2007 after months of testing, but Valora, which was in charge of the logistics, suddenly ordered its discontinuation nine months later - over the heads of Swiss Post and publishers. Valora spokeswoman Stefania Misteli still does not feel the need to explain why. When asked, she only said that the cooperation with publishers and Swiss Post had been good and that the sale of post offices had not resulted in any loss of sales for Valora's own kiosks. Which only makes the closure of the additional press sales channel seem even more arbitrary for the publishers.
The "Kiosk customer card" project seems to be going down a similar path. The card - similar to a telephone card - was to enable customers to obtain press titles of their choice at any K-Kiosk and whenever they wanted. Valora gave the go-ahead at the 2008 Publishers' Congress, but the project has been on hold ever since.
The publishers certainly understand that Valora has been "primarily preoccupied with itself" in recent months and years. Especially as the service has remained more or less the same. However, they would have expected more in terms of direct information. For a long time, some of the publishers contacted only found out about the various changes via the media. Valora only approached some publishers in the last few weeks.
Ringier's experience is different. "Valora has remained in regular contact with us over the last two years, so we are relatively well informed about developments," says Andreas Schaffner. The new Valora is viewed far more positively at Dufourstrasse than elsewhere. Schaffner is pleased that the new, decentralized logistics concept will significantly shorten delivery times for magazines from the current 48 hours and thus enable faster replenishment when demand is high. "The new Valora crew is making a noticeable effort to address the publishers' concerns," praises Schaffner. However, he emphasizes: "We will measure people by what they do."
Markus Knöpfli
