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Phone cards taking over from magazines?


Feedback from Steve Denham to an earlier blog that newspapers are a refill business fits with the action in this pair of photographs taken six months apart.

At some point this news/gift outlet just across the road from Paddington railway station has lost its InStyle magazine branding and accepted a new fascia sponsored by a mobile phone card company. It speaks volumes about the relative marketing power of the two industries. Even a year ago the canopy was sponsored by Lyca, which frequently has agents on the station platforms selling top ups to people off the train from Heathrow airport.

However, retailers I have spoken to recently are concerned that the increasing percentage of lower margin "services" products in their mix is hitting profits. While shoppers once refilled with an expensive monthly magazine, now they are looking for mobile top ups.
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