THE country's oldest newspaper is taking steps to improve its corporate identity.
Yesterday, The Fiji Times supplied nine new newsstands with the newspaper's signage and T-shirts to its street vendors in Suva.
The Fiji Times publisher Hank Arts said the stands were also part of the company's efforts to improve its supply of the paper to the public.
"For some time we have been unhappy with the standard of the street sellers' operations," he said.
"The stands were dirty and affected the corporate identity of the company, as well as the city streets."
There are 481 The Fiji Times agents of which 15 are street vendors. Mr Arts said the new newsstands would be supplied around the country including Nausori, Lautoka and Labasa. He said the sellers were part of the company's sales team and would sell only The Fiji Times.
"This will assist the company to better look after these people's welfare and ensure that purchasers are treated with respect," he said.
"We need to make sure that they have a life. The objective is to make them closer to The Fiji Times (Ltd) and that they focus on The Fiji Times only. "We trust the public will appreciate our effort to improve both our service as well as the environment," said Mr Arts.
The newsstands will sell only The Fiji Times and its vernacular publications Nai Lalakai and Shanti Dut.