THE new Apple Daily, which plans to launch on Tuesday, suffered a setback last night when newspaper sellers said they would not accept discount coupons for the journal.
Three distributors' associations agreed at a meeting that the price of Chinese-language papers should remain at $5.
The unions said the coupon system would affect their income in the long term, and was inconvenient.
Apple Daily, owned by Next magazine and Giordano clothing chain founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, plans to enter the market with a concessionary price of $2 in its first month of publication. Anyone can get a copy at the low price with a coupon, available in Next and at some convenience stores and fast-food outlets.
Loh Chan, editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, said the unions' decision was a move to bolster an unfair cartel in the Hong Kong newspaper market.
'They should consider the consumers' interests,' he said. The coupon promotion would be continued, he said, adding many hawkers still welcomed the arrangement.
