Publishers “fall out with their distributors on a regular basis,” but what’s going on in the UK between Random House and distributor and retailer WH Smith is starting to look like “an unholy row,” says Robert Cole in Times of London commentary. “The subject matter is alleged late delivery of titles by Random House and penalties that Smiths wants to levy,” he writes. “This, in turn, may lead Random House to stop supplying Smiths.” How did it start? “Kate Swann, the relatively new chief executive of WH Smith, probably picked the fight. Ms Swann is embarked on a fervent campaign to improve profits at the London quoted company.” However, he says, “it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the substance of this argument is a pretext on which both sides can vent frustrations. It is also tempting to believe that the protagonists in this spat are behaving as representatives for their sides of the industry.”