The plight of Palma's traditional newsstands first really became evident in the summer of 2022. The company which then had the concession - this had been in existence since 2010 - made it clear that it could not continue under the contractual conditions as they were. The company was paying the town hall 90,000 euros a year, while sales had dropped by some 60%.
Solutions were sought, included among which was an expansion of products and services available at the news kiosks, of which there were at one point seven in all. At the start of October last year, a new company - Kemfactory - took over the concession. One of the partners was Sebastián Jiménez Grifith, also the owner of the MDQ coffee chain.
Two of the newsstands - those on La Rambla and by Porta Sant Antoni - had closed permanently. Five remained. Renovation work was undertaken. As well as the newspapers and magazines, the new-look kiosks would, among other things, sell drinks, ice cream and sandwiches. There would be top-up and telephone cards and ATMs. The aim was to make the kiosks, which occupy strategic locations, more attractive.
Barely a year later, the partners - Sebastián Oriolli is the other one - estimate they have made a loss of around €130,000. They have had to pay out of their own pockets to keep the kiosks going as long as they have. At the end of September the newsstands in Plaça Espanya, Plaça Progrés, Plaça Mercat, Plaça Joan Carles I and in the Olivar Market will close. The financial losses have forced them to make this decision.
Although they had high hopes, their expectations have not been met by any stretch. They point out that they didn't even have running water to serve food. "We haven't been able to sell hot drinks like hot chocolate or coffee with milk because the town hall told us we were competing with the surrounding cafes. We also haven't been able to install the ATMs, which would have brought us €2,000 per month in revenue per kiosk and allowed us to balance the books a bit, enabled us to pay the monthly fee to the town hall and paid our employees' salaries."
"In Barcelona and Madrid, these are multi-service businesses. This is a huge blow. We would have liked to continue." But having ploughed in investment in upgrading the kiosks only to incur losses, they cannot continue. They have yet to officially inform the town hall of the decision to close.