Sun’s price cuts have ‘devastated’ independents
Mike Anderson, managing director of News Group, faced a barrage of criticism from one newsagent owner at the Scottish Media Forum, following his company’s move to slash the price of The Scottish Sun.
Desmond Barr, owner of Paisley-based Sinclair Barr Newsagents, told Anderson the price cuts had “devastated” independents like him.
“We can’t survive,” Barr said. “It would be fine if we had the profit from all the footfall you claim to have increased in our shops, but we haven’t got the money to invest.”
Anderson defended the moves, which saw the price plummet to 10p a copy, saying: “We don’t apologise for what we’ve done. We [News Group] have invested millions of pounds in independent newsagents over the last year.”