Australian Newsagency Blog

Today is better than if it were a Tuesday before Christmas thanks of the Oz Lotto $90 Million Jackpot.  I say better because this is about more than being busy.  The customers are cheerful about the shared experience.  They are enjoying being part of this.  We are too, it’s busy and fun.  Other products are […]

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The federal government has announced (quietly) that business to business contracts will be excluded from amendments to the Trade Practices Act banning unfair contracts.  This is a huge blow to newsagents.    The provisions which were set to come into force next year offered newsagents and other small businesses protection agains unfair contracts.
We have an opporuntiy […]

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MinOnline published a report yesterday about magazines emerging on the iPhone platform.  It seems that Paople magazine in the US is enjoying considerable success.
People magazine’s iPhone app appears to be a major hit, as it remains high on the App Store’s bestseller list weeks after its release. In many ways, People was tailor-made for mobile. […]

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Tractors and the World of Farming is a welcome new partwork with which we can show off our special interest credentials.  It will appeal to our  collector customers as well as those with an interest in the tractor and farming fields.
With the space at the front of our shop fully committed, we are promoting Tractors […]

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We are actively promoting the re-launch of Real Living this week in the feature display (see photo), in a couple of pockets mixed with our women’s weeklies and in its usual location with home and living titles.  With Notebook losing focus (and sales in my own stores) the time is right for refreshing the Real […]

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Syndicates for the Oz Lotto $90 million jackpot are very popular.  I put this down to the coverage syndicates have received in the media and to the size of the first division prize - people are happy to share.  They also like to be part of something.  Our customers are buying syndicate shares in addition […]

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Grazia magazine gets my vote for the best (and most unexpected) Michael Jackson coverage today.  They are using the story to connect with their relevance as a publication.  To reward such a good and timely issue, we have given Grazia an impulse location at one of our busiest registers - a rare location for Grazia.

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Magazines featuring Michael Jackson tributes have been given prime position this week.  The photo shows the feature display which lines the approach to our main lottery counter.  We have allocated space based on the extent of Michael Jackson coverage.  We selected the supporting posters based on those which featured the Michael Jackson coverage in the […]

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Clean Food Organic publisher, Malcolm McGuire has considered newsagents in developing the masthead for the relaunch of the magazine. The new design has ample room for our barcode label - inside the O. This saves us covering the masthead as often happens with barcode label placement.
“Looking at most magazine mastheads, it’s clear that newsagent staff […]

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The mall-facing displays being created at our Watergardens store are working very well.  Each side of this prominent column are used to present titles in a professional and eye-catching way.
Australian Women’s Weekly sales are up thanks to the display in the photo.  By using some of the publisher’s collateral and adding professional VM style, the […]

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We have noticed a run on travel diaries this month in each of our stores.  A check of sales data shows this is not uncommon in June.  This makes sense - school and uni holidays.
We were lucky to have a good range covering various price points.
An enterprising supplier in this space ought to make a […]

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Celebrity gossip site tmz.com has published the cover of a special Michael Jackson commemorative issue of Time magazine which hits US newsstands Monday morning.  Newsagents know that there will be special coverage in our major women’s weeklies starting from tomorrow (in most states).  I also expect a few publishing surprises in the next week given […]

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We did not sell a single copy of the last issue of British House and Garden.  This is a surprise because British magazines do well for us.  I checked sales of a number of titles in various categories and found that while our British women’s weeklies are doing okay, others, like home, garden, craft and […]

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Olga Kharif writing at Business Week suggests that Amazon is looging beyond the Amazon Kindle reader to smartphones as a commerce platform.  Newsagents should read the article for a perspective on the new distribution model.  Our role in supporting these media access devices will be in picking up a bit of account top up business, […]

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The ad for HBA stuck over the masthead of The Age newspaper this morning is an interesting placement given the Michael Jackson coverage.  The ad covers not only the crest of the newspaper but also the date.  This is poor treatment of an iconic Victorian brand.

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With the Oz Lotto $90 million jackpot driving Christmas-like traffic and the Michael Jackson story driving excellent news traffic, we all need to take extra care managing cash this weekend.  Here are some tips which may be useful:

Remind all staff how you want cash handled.  Busy times are when you will be targeted for change […]

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MediaPost reports that a digital version of PC Magazine for the Amazon Kindle reader hgas been launched.  The subscription cost is US$1.49 a month.  The print edition of PC Magazine closed in January.

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Apple pulled an iPhone app this week which provided access to images of topless women. (The LA Times has more on this.)  It will be interesting to see if the device continues to be used as a censorship tool because if it does, maybe this is a green shoot for some publishers.

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The death of Michael Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett to a lesser extent, this morning makes an already intense trading week busier for newsagents.  It’s a good thing.
The $90 million Oz Lotto jackpot has resulted in considerably increased traffic since Wednesday morning.  The news today will take that further as people turn to the brands (newspapers […]

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We are promoting Wheels magazine at the exit of our men’s magazine aisle for the weekend.  We did have Zoo in this location but sold out so this morning we had to make a quick move.
We have been using this ‘created’ location for several months now with excellent browsing and sales success.  It is terrific […]

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With Hannah Montana The Movie opening this weekend we have opportunistically placed the magazine next to TV Week as well as in our teen section.  This is one of those titles which will be purchased on impulse and this weekend is our big opportunity to shift stock thanks to the publicity for the movie and […]

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Sticking out of the window of the Australia Post shop on Park Street South Melbourne is an Australia Post branded ATM.  This ATM has appeared in an area well serviced with ATMs by banks and other commercial operators.
There was no need for Australia Post to enter a well serviced marketplace, no need for this government […]

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Even though the Oz Lotto jackpot is soaking up plenty of attention, we are still finding time to promote other categories.  We have given the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens a prime display thanks to the free cookbook which comes with the new issue out now.  The display has been up since Wednesday […]

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B&T is reporting this afternoon that Australia Post is standing firm on its price increase (3.6% for magazines) despite publisher and printer representations yesterday.  magazine publishers ought to engage with newsagents on a hybrid model which does not use Australia Post.  Make newsagencies the collection point.  The consumer saves on the cover price and we […]

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The Norwich Evening News ran a story yesterday about the challenges facing UK newsagents.  The story reports that they are closing at the rate of one a day in the face of tough competition from national retailers.
While I understand the pitch of use us or lose us, consumers will shop in newsagencies only if they […]

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