Julie Brown, who owns Livingstones Newsagents in Newtownards, was named the Home News Delivery (HND) Retailer of the Year at the 2025 Fed Awards. This follows her being crowned Newsagent of the Year at last year’s ceremony.

Julie’s award was presented by Shaun Jones, head of circulation at award sponsor, DMGT (Daily Mail).

Judges said Julie’s “strong marketing of the service in store and great team ethos among the delivery staff” set her apart from the competition.

“For over 20 years, she has offered HND over a 10-mile radius and to 150 homes,” added the judges.

“As well as newspapers and magazines, the deliverers carry milk and bread for the more elderly and vulnerable customers. And if a HND customer calls them directly, asking for stamps or any other product, they will happily deliver.”

Julie said she was absolutely delighted to win the award.

“This is so exciting, we are chuffed to bits. It just makes all the hard work and early mornings all worth it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hamilton News saw off competition from across the UK and Ireland to be named Parcel Retailer of the Year.

Following on from her success as HND Retailer of the Year in 2024, owner of Hamilton News, Judy Mercer was presented with her 2025 award by category sponsor, InPost UK’s head of network sales, Matthew Fearn.

Judges were impressed with Judy’s entry to the category, stating it “illustrated simplicity in how to best manage and be successful in this fast-growing category”.

The judges were also impressed with how practical staff training regularly took place, and “customer experience was not just seamless but participative too”.

“Hamilton News has become a trusted destination for parcel services, handling over 3000 parcels per week – and it’s easy to see why,” they added.

“With early opening hours, fast service, and friendly staff trained to keep things simple, sending and collecting parcels here is stress-free, efficient, and right in the heart of the community.”

Judy said she was absolutely delighted to win the award and thanked the Fed for a great night.

“It’s lovely when every year you’re among your peers and they decide that you have worked hard all year round, and we really have done this year with parcels, so it is just the icing on the cake to be named Parcel Retailer of the Year,” said Judy.

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Newsagents across the province say they are concerned about the future of printed news and some will consider delisting titles delivered by the wholesaler.

The Fed’s Northern Ireland president Julie Brown, who owns Livingstones Newsagents in Comber said: “We would like to see a review of the charges. They are crippling businesses and leave us with very small profit margins.

“Between Newspread and Menzies we are paying over £150 a week for deliveries, and I don’t know where we go from here.”

Fed member Eugene Diamond, owner of Diamonds, in Ballymena said: “It’s ridiculous. You are being charged for being a successful newsagent. People just can’t afford to pay these carriage charges anymore. It’s going to be a trade where nobody is in it apart from the supermarkets.”

Judith Mercer, of Hamilton News on Cregagh Road, Belfast added: “The template that Newspread uses for carriage charges is criminal. I think this is just one of the final nails in the coffin for some retailers.

“A lot of our members are actually working for below the minimum wage, and it’s not going to be worth their while to sell newspapers.”

One of the main bones of contention for retailers is they must pay two lots of charges to wholesalers Newspread and Menzies.

The Fed’s news and operations director Brian Murphy said: “Like News UK and DTR in England, the Irish wholesalers need to work on a solution that removes the need for dual carriage charges or they run the risk of more retailers exiting the market and both losing out.

“A volume-based template, rather than the current value based one, is clearly needed, as small stores subsiding larger ones is unfair.

“We are very disappointed that, once again, retailers have not been consulted, and this slam dunk approach continues to leave a sour taste.

“Publishers and wholesalers have to accept that retailers have choices, and this remains the only category in-store that operates in such a poor way.”

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