Magazines maneuver into military commissaries - Brief Article

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 1994 by Debby Patz

Publishers are establishing another beachhead on U.S. military bases. Beginning this October, magazine distribution will expand from military exchanges (also known as PXs, the armed forces' version of Kmart) to include commissaries, or supermarkets,

Distributors, publishers and wholesaler,s have formed a united front through operation Commissaries Project. Working with the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), which handles product distribution on Army and Air Force bases, the group will introduce magazines - at a 10 percent discount - to about 150 Army and Air Force commissaries in the United States. (A separate agency handles distribution for the Navy and Marine Corp., neither of which is currently involved in the project.) Both commissaries and exchanges, where goods are available for substantially less than at civilian stores, are open to families of those on active duty, as well as retired military personnel and reservists.

"PXs are among the best retail accounts in any wholesale distributor's marketing area," claims Hugh Crocker, the Wayne, Pennsylvania-based industry consultant who is coordinating the effort. According to one distributor's estimate, the average PX does about $2,500 worth of magazine business a week. Still, Crocker notes, distributors felt they were missing "substantial unduplicated business" by selling only through the exchanges.

It is hoped that the Commissary Project will boost current military sales by as much as 35 percent, with titles such as TV Guide, People, Woman's World, Woman's Day, Family Circle, First for Women, Glamour, Good Housekeeping and Time offered at checkouts. (Crocker won't specify the actual number of titles or publishers involved.)

Richard Lawton, senior vice president at New York City-based Time Distribution Services, calls the commissaries a huge opportunity. Yet, he adds, dealing with the military is not "like dealing with a traditional retailer. You have to go through the government. It's almost impossible for one company to do that alone." Which is why the Commissary Project was formed.

Crocker is optimistic that DeCA officials will like what they see and eventually agree to expand the program by installing mainline racks. "We fully expect approval to develop full magazine departments in commissaries with the space to accommodate them."