Menzies Distribution has yet to review its carriage charges for the forthcoming financial year but won’t say for how long it intends to maintain the status quo.
Pressure has been growing on the company to follow Smiths News and News UK DTR in freezing charges.
Traditionally, Menzies announces any changes to its carriage charge template in mid-February, for commencement at the start of April. Therefore, Menzies carriage charges remain unchanged until further notice.
NFRN National President Stuart Reddish said: “We appreciate that this is a hard decision for Menzies to take, but it is a good decision as it follows the same pattern as the other news wholesalers. We will continue to keep the dialogue going with Menzies and take every opportunity to encourage a long term freeze as a minimum.”
Last week, after representations from the NFRN, Smiths News announced that it was suspending its annual carriage charge review until 2022 and News UK’s Direct to Retail operation advised that it was further deferring its review until May 2021.
