Newspaper Sales Manager Glyn Gully is responsible for the distribution of newspapers for Tindle’s titles in Devon and Wales and the Borders.
Having joined the company in 2019, he draws upon extensive experience in the print industry to ensure every retailer is supported to maximise each copy sales opportunity.
How would you summarise your role with Tindle Newspapers?
I am effectively responsible for the distribution of every copy of the newspapers that reaches every retailer in our network. So every week I have to order the copies from the print centres to anticipate the likely level of demand based on the sales figures and the trends.
Once the weekly sales figures arrive, I analyse them to look at how we are performing and report back to the Management Team. Most of our retailers are high street newsagents and supermarkets so I discuss with them on ideas how to promote the titles in each store to encourage sales.
What did you do before you joined Tindle Newspapers?
I started in 1976 as a newspaper van driver for the Western Mail in Cardiff and worked my way up within the publishing business. I left the group in 2008 having worked in the role of Head of Newspaper Sales and Distribution. I had a great career with Mirror Group and when I left, I decided to take a different direction in my career and became a Careers Advisor with the UK Government.
I then moved into UK Prisons, not as a guest of Her Majesty! I spent eight years working for the Prison Service, preparing offenders for employment once released. I briefly worked for Newsquest newspaper group before I joined Tindle in 2019.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy the opportunity to go out and talk to people about what is happening in the locality, not just in retail but in the wider community to see how that might impact our sales. It is good to be aware of what is going on and how we can benefit from local issues. You get to the crux of the matter despite there being so much variety, which I have always enjoyed in the time I have worked in newspapers. There is no such thing as a ‘normal’ week.
What has been the most memorable occasion where you have helped a customer?
I was pleased to play a part in reshaping our Cambrian News edition structure to ensure we were delivering the right news to the right communities to be as relevant as possible to each reader. It was getting awkward to make sure the distribution was getting each paper to the right audience so we moved to more general editions.
During the Covid-19 pandemic I worked with the editors to ensure we held on to the newspaper sales by putting relevant news in each edition at a time when people wanted to know what was going on both locally and nationally.
What are your interests outside work?
Music, food, and socialising, which sounds like a line from a CV, are my main interests away from work. I have two grown up daughters and a three-year-old grandson called Harley. My wife Fran and I try and spend as much time as we can with him, usually by taking him out to keep him quiet!