Menzies Distribution and the Frontline Group agree five-year magazine distribution and national primary trunking partnership

Announcement is third recent significant trunking and wholesale distribution win for Menzies Distribution as it increases its distribution capacity with a brand new 165,000 sq ft Coventry hub.

Menzies Distribution has cemented its position as one of the UK’s leading newspaper and magazine distribution specialists with new contracts for Frontline Ltd and Seymour Distribution Ltd (together the Frontline Group), two of the UK’s largest magazine sales and distribution companies.

The partnership will see Menzies Distribution providing Frontline and Seymour with wholesale distribution services to more than 25,000 retailers across the UK and Ireland as a key partner to 2025.

In addition, Menzies Distribution has been chosen to provide primary trunking services for Frontline and Seymour starting this summer. As a result, Menzies Distribution will now be responsible for the majority of primary trunking of print media across the UK and Ireland.

This latest print media distribution and trunking contract for Frontline Group follows additional national primary trunking and wholesale distribution wins recently secured by Menzies Distribution with Reach and News UK, with Menzies Distribution acting as a partner over multi-year contracts for these publishers.

These contracts underline Menzies Distribution’s ambition to be the partner of choice in the newspaper and magazine supply chain across the UK and Ireland. They provide a foundation to continue developing joint initiatives with distributors, publishers and retailers all working together in partnership to deliver value whilst driving efficiencies and sustainability across the shared supply chain.

To facilitate that role, Menzies Distribution is opening a state-of-the-art 165,000 sq ft media distribution hub at Imperial Park in Coventry, which will serve the group’s network of 65 regional hubs across the UK and Ireland. The group has also increased its fleet size through investing in new trucks and trailer capacity as well acquiring Gnewt Cargo, providing fully electric final mile deliveries in Central London, the only delivery company in London which can guarantee the delivery of parcels by electric van.

Greg Michael, CEO at Menzies Distribution stated: “We are delighted that the Frontline Group has chosen to work with Menzies Distribution until 2025 and selected us as a key trunking and wholesale distribution partner.

“This contract win alongside the recent similar trunking and wholesale wins with Reach and News UK will maintain a long-term sustainable route to market for print media and support Menzies Distribution’s wider diversification strategy to grow our network across the whole of the UK and Ireland to underpin newstrade as its partner of choice.

“Each day Menzies Distribution distributes more than seven million newspapers and magazines to more than 25,000 retailers throughout the UK and Ireland. We understand the demands of this time critical service and we have a strong track record for delivery.”

Mark Churchill, Group Supply Chain Director at Frontline Ltd: “We are confident that Menzies Distribution is the right partner for our UK and Ireland end-to-end magazine supply chain – collecting supplies from print site and delivering to Retail. We look forward to working with them to deliver this new contract and help drive further improvements.”