NORTH AMERICAN MAGAZINE AND BOOK WHOLESALERS FORM GROUP
By Adnews Staff
A new North American trade association has been developed to "promote the essential role of magazine wholesalers in stimulating newsstand sales of the 3,500 leading magazine titles," says an association release. Called the Periodical Wholesalers of North America, the group will deal with issues such as sales and promotions, freedom of expression and government taxes. In the area of sales and promotions, PWNA will try to improve sell-through efficiency by promoting individual titles in a timely manner and work with publishers and retailers to promote books and magazines. Currently 60% of the magazines that hit newsstands are returned to the printer. This compares to 50% that were being returned 10 years ago, according to PWNA president Ray Argyle, who is also president of Argyle Communications of Toronto. Argyle is executive director of Periodical Marketers of Canada, which will continue as an independent association. PWNA will host a conference and trade show in Ottawa from Nov. 15 to 17. PWNA is made up of 100 periodical and book wholesalers in North America.