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May 23, 2002updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

Yelland confident as price war with Mirror hots up

By Press Gazette

Yellan: "top-notch" news

Buoyancy reigns at Trinity Mirror and News International over increased sales since the companies cut the price of the Daily Mirror and The Sun to 20p.

The Sun is confidently predicting the best outcome. It claims the gap between the two papers is widening all the time.

This is supported by industry figures which put the gap at around 1.37 million last week.

Sun editor David Yelland believes that the May ABC figures will show the Mirror down year-on-year despite the price cut, but The Sun may show an increase.

On Wednesday he sent his staff this e-mail: "Early reports suggest the Mirror sale collapsed 3 or 4 per cent yesterday. An unbelievable disaster for them. They splashed Africa.

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"We may go up week-on-week. If we are up and they are down that is absolutely TOP NOTCH!!

"This week we are having such a good run that our offical, audited ABC for May may be up year-on-year.

"The Mirror will be DOWN year-on-year for May by almost 3 per cent or more – DESPITE their investment!!!

"The May ABCs will prove, once and for all, that Trinity Mirror has gambled and lost. THIS IS SUPERB NEWS….thanks for working your butts off.

"PS. The front page of today’s Mirror was suicide. Keep it up Piers me old mate!!!"

The Sun, again according to industry figures, was selling around 200,000 more than its normal sale while Mirror editor Piers Morgan put his extras at 172,000, "around 40,000 ahead of expectation".

Both editors are delighted at the expansion in the market cheaper newspapers are creating.

In Scotland, the Daily Record cut its price to 10p in Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee on Wednesday.

Trinity Mirror regional morning papers elsewhere in the country are said not to be so perky though, as the company’s national flagship title scoops sales from them.

By Jean Morgan

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

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