Mr. Cheung and his association tried to persuade newspaper hawkers in town to sell newspapers at their original price, but this initiative failed. The hawkers then had to lower their own prices to combat the threat from the conveniences stores, making the competitive environment even fiercer.

He analyzes the reason for this here:

What does the future hold?

Some vendors want their license-terms broadened to allow them to sell more products. They say this may be a solution to their problems. At present they are permitted to sell only chewing gum, soft drinks and cigarettes in addition to publications.

Mr Cheung said being allowed to sell a wider range of products would help his business:

In the end though, it seems unlikely that this in itself would be enough to save newsstands.  “None of us knows what to do in the future,” said Mr. Cheung.  “We are not well-educated, and we don’t have skills.  We’re just living from day to day."

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