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Month: December 2009

2009 in review from a newsagent’s perspective

It’s been an interesting year.  Here is my somewhat random selection of highlights:

Magazine launch of the year – Prevention.  Brilliant marketing, excellent demand and good on-going sales.

Best magazine promotion – Hair straightener with Dolly.  Excellent traffic generator.  Great sales.   My only concern is what for 2010 and the gifts which come with Dolly?  Will the market tire of the strategy?

Magazine of the Year – Better Homes and Gardens.  Nails it every month.  Excellent cross-promotion with TV.  Easy sales.

Best magazine refresh of the year – Australian Women’s Weekly.  Much improved – and not before time.

Best imported magazine – People’s Friend.  A selfish choice based solely on my experience.  Ranks in top 10 magazines every week.  Excellent traffic generator. Loyal customers – I love ’em.

Worst newspaper moment of the year –  not a moment as such but a worsening frustration: Fairfax and their increased use of ads stuck over editorial content on the front page of the newspaper.

Best newspaper promotion – Discovery Channel DVD series with the Herald Sun.  Great traffic generator.  Well managed in terms of supply.

Best greeting card launch of the year.  Hallmark sound cards.  Genuine innovation.  Excellent sell through (2 times in three months in some stores).  Customers love them.  They bring theatre to our stores.

Wake up call of the year – new contracts from News Limited and how the company is handling them. Their introduction will change newsagents forever.

Biggest frustration of the year – the continued poor performance of the magazine supply model.  Magazine distributors push stock on newsagents offering barely lip service to newsagent requests / demands yet pursue newsagents aggressively for payment – often for stock which will never sell.

Best feeling of hope moment – contact from a range of independent magazine publishers who share newsagent frustration with the sick magazine distribution model.

2009 has been a good year, not as bad as we expected and plenty of green shoots in the last quarter of the year and a good Christmas trading season.

Feel free to add your own awards.

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magazine distribution

Magazine distribution confusion

Network and Gotch advised that there would be magazine deliveries today.  I confirmed this with Gotch again yesterday.  In one of my newsagencies we received a bundle of OK! and in another we received a bundle of Who.  The communication from distributors has been poor.

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magazine distribution

Beware Western Union scam email

There is a phishing email doing the rounds purporting to be from Western Union.  Some newsagents received this yesterday:

Dear Valued Customer,

This is an official notification from Western Union. Your account access has been limited due to a login attempt failure.

To restore your account we have attached a form to this email. Please download the form and follow the instructions on your screen.

Fraudwatch International has the details.  Their latest update was overnight.  If you receive an email like this: Do not respond, do not click on the link.

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Newsagency challenges

Promoting New Year’s Eve products

happy_new_year_2010.JPGOur small display of New Year’s Eve products, placed in front of the counter, is working well.  The various party goods, hats, 2010 glasses and glow sticks are selling from the re-purposed Letts Diaries display unit.  We are expanding our range of party goods in 2010 so we want to take evry opportunity possible to promote party times – like NYE.

Click on the image to see a larger version of the display.

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retail

Promoting Girlfriend and gifts

fhn_girlfriend_dec3009.JPGThe latest issue of Girlfriend is packed with great gifts so we are pitching this at the counter to attract impulse purchases.  The magazine was well packaged – meaning that our stock arrived in tact.  The timing of the offer is good since we have more girls shoppingin our centre this time of the year.

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magazines

Superstars of New Moon rip off

superstars_of_new_moon.jpgSuperstars of New Moon sells of US$9.95 in the United States.  Here, it is priced at A$27.50.  I am surprised at the price difference given the current exchange rate between the two currencies.  Either someone bought badly or are making a ton of money.  The $27.50 price tag makes Australian newsagents look expensive.  This title is also late.  The New Moon market slowed once the movie was released.

Who wants a $27.50 magazine title on the shelves anyway?  Add to that the long shelf life – I don’t see much upside for newsagents in distributing this title to us now.

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magazines

An arrest feels good

It is a good feeling when the police arrest someone for stealing from your shop.  While they are likely to get a warning or some other soft sentence, enough of these and they may learn a lesson – or, maybe not.  Either way, it feels good to have the police arrest someone.

Theft makes me angry.  I don’t like the term shoplifting for this reason – it feels soft.  I’d like to see tougher penalties.  I’d also like the victim, us in this instance, have the right to post the photo of the criminal on display in our shop along with their name.  This would play a practical role in deterring this activity.

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theft

Is it the iSlate?

Blogs, websites and mainstream news outlets are abuzz with reports of an imminent announcement  by Apple of their new tablet reader.  Many think it will be called the iSlate.

Publications (books, magazines and newspapers) are ready for their iPod moment as I have blogged here for some time.  While I don’t know if the iSlate (or whatever it is called) will deliver this, Apple is better placed than most to deliver such a moment because of their profound understanding of human interface needs.

We in the newsagency channel, where half of our traffic is derived from print product sales, need to understand that this moment will come.  We ought to be adjusting our businesses today.  We do this with new traffic, new money and better people to people connection.

This digital future is the key driver behind changes in print supply and distribution businesses.

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Media disruption

Good display for new Darrell Lea pineapple products

dl_pineapple.JPGI like the merchandising unit provided by Darrell Lea for their new Pineapple liquorice and Pineapple Paradise Bar.  The small footprint, promotion of two products, bright colour and fun design should help drive good sales.

The display unit doubles as a reminder to our customers that we carry Darrell Lea products in-store.

The key with this display as with all counter offers is to ensure that the space around is not cluttered.

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confectionary

Promoting Good Food magazine

fhn_good_food.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of Good Food magazine on the back of an ACP magazines basket builder stand.  This display faces customers as they leave our stationery aisles.  We also have the magazine in a pocket in the food coulmn with our women’s magazines and in our regular food title area.  Good Food has done well for us – hence the co-location approach.  We want to get our sales early in the on-sale period.

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magazines

Australia Post lets shoppers and tenants down

While I should be pleased that a competitor has been closed for four days, I am not.  Tenants in shopping centres rely on each other to do their bit draw traffic to their part of the centre.  The government owned Australia Post outlet opposite one of my newsagencies has  been closed since Christmas Eve.  This hurts our traffic.  It also makes shoppers angry and some take this out on nearby shops they visit.

If Australia Post sees itself as a mainstream retailer (and not a public service) it ought to start acting like one.

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Australia Post

Promoting Top Gear with newspapers

top_gear_news.JPGBuoyed by the success we have had with Men’s Health and Women’s Health in this small ‘created’ display space next to our main newspaper stand, we decided to try the latest issue of Top Gear Australia there.  We will track sales from this locations compared to sales from the main location for the title.

My sense is that Top Gear Australia will work in this location because it is not a planned purchase for many customers. While I have no evidence with which to back this claim, it is an opinion developed watching how shoppers interact with the title.  They don’t seek out the title but happily pick it up if it interrupts their destination purchase.

I know the display is not overly attractive.  It has certainly worked for other titles recently.  The posters while not completely readable, do promote the brand.

We will leave Top Gear here for a week before deciding our next move.

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magazines

Tapping into Christmas indulgence

post_christmas.JPGWe are tapping into the feeling of over-indulgence at Christmas with a simple display at the counter promoting a mix of diet and exercise products.  While not the best looking display, it has generated impulse business and that’s what it is there for.  We will give this display four to five days in this prime position – longer is the sales justify the space.

We created the display initially as an experiment to see if this mix would work here and because the space was free for a few days.

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Newsagency opportunities

Boxing Day sales strong

fhn_box_day.JPGWe fully embraced the Melbourne Boxing Day Sales season in all of our newsagencies.  Sales yesterday and today have been excellent, just under 10% ahead on last year (on a same store basis) but ahead nevertheless.

We are discounting all Christmas products by 50%.  A third of the Christmas stock on sale was purchased specifically for the sale.  We also purchased calendars, gifts and some stationery items at heavily discounted prices to give us good bulk for the Boxing Day Sale – these are at varying levels of discount.

We are using the Boxing Day Sale to show off the diversity of products we sell – this is essential given the new traffic generated by the sales.  We want these people thinking of us more for gifts and other non newsagency traditional lines we offer.  Our participation in the sales also helps combat the feeling among shoppers that newsagencies are expensive.

We follow the approach of the majors and start on the morning of December 26 with all Christmas decorations down and with product lined up to reflect deals – i.e. no pretty displays.  This is about value shopping where the price is more the hero than the product itself.

Core to our sale offer is our range of boxed Christmas cards.  We have been in this space for years and are known for having an excellent range before Christmas as well as after.  It is great to see power card shoppers back in over the last couple of days hunting for their bargains.  Our sales in the week after Christmas will come close to matching sales in the week before – with most at 50% margin or better.

We make more money out of our Boxing Day Sale than we used to make from Back To School.  This says something about our demographic.  It also says something about our ability to buy for the Boxing Day Sale and achieve an excellent good margin.

Our Boxing Day Sale will run for a week before we modify it into a summer sale for two weeks.

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Newsagency opportunities

Kindle books outsell print books

Amazon has announced that they sold more Kindle books than physical books on Christmas Day.  That’s amazing!  Those who said the Kindle would not take off here in Australia will be eating their words soon – there are now 390,000 books available for the Kindle.  On top of that, the new platform makes it easier for authors to get their work published.

Once Australians get the taste for e-reading and as new generation devices are released physical retailers will feel an impact.

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Book retailing

Pre-Christmas magazine rush

mags_christmas.jpgWe experienced a greater pre-Christmas magazine sales spike in the four days before Christmas this year than in previous years.  Magazines for men were particularly popular as gifts as were special interest titles.

Compared to a regular week, the pre-Christmas lift we see in the week prior is traditionaly around 50% – more this year.

We facilitated growth in the pre-Christmas magazine sales with a merchandising strategy which included well thought out displays as well as co-location of titles which we thought would work well as Christmas gifts.

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magazines

Organisers sold well this Christmas

organisers.JPGOrganisers have sold well this Christmas.  Birthday card organisers, gardening organisers, recipe organisers.  We brought in the K TWO range late in the Christmas season and sold most of the stock in just over a week.  We thought the higher price point might be a barrier in our newsagencies (we have the same range in our gift shops where price is less of an issue).  Price was not an issue in our newsagencies.  The experience is a reminder that we can sell a broader range of product and higher price point product than we expect in newsagencies.

We played with plenty of new products this Christmas.  Most worked, some did not.  It’s all part of the experience not only of newsagencies but retail in general – we must keep evolving our businesses.  The best change is that which we drive for ourselves.

A common question I get from visitors to this blog is where can newsagents find these new products.  Go to the gift fairs.  Join the GHA – $200 a year connects you with a whole new world of suppliers.   It is only by trying new items that you can see how far you can push the boundaries of products sold in your newsagency.

The success with the K TWO organisers shows that we can carry higher priced social stationery type items, especially for gift giving seasons.  They worked in diverse locations such as Frankston and Forest Hill as well as in the heart of Melbourne.

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Gifts

Newspaper publisher offers free iPhone app

UK newspaper publisher KOS Media announced a Christmas gift yesterday with the launch of a free Apple iPhone app accessing their newspapers via the iPhone.  They claim this is a world first.

Christmas Day, and we hope you’re all having the best possible time with friends, family and loved ones.

But here’s some fantastic news – your day has just got even better. KOS Media has developed its own app for the amazing Apple iPhone.

With the Kent News App, you can read all of our news, reviews, features and sport in the palm of you hand, watch our videos and hunt for a new job, look for a new house and find cars for sale.

This is a world first and means you can see all of our newspapers exactly as they are printed direct to your iPhone or iPod Touch – and it costs you nothing.

Pages turn, just like a traditional newspaper and you can zoom in on stories.

This is the bigger challenge for newsagents, that publishers will find the right device / payment channel which works better for them than print.  I don’t think it’s the iPhone but every reader they migrate is someone else on the journey with them to whatever the mobile digital future is.

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Newspapers

Where is Australia Post on Christmas trade?

One of our landlords wrote to all retailers in major centre yesterday reminding us that we need to stay open until 10pm.  Their note talked about how traffic this Christmas is up on last Christmas.

The government owned Australia Post shop opposite my newsasgency closed at 5pm as usual.  Their lack of support fellow retailers is appalling.

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Australia Post

Christmas ornament market strong

ornaments.JPGWe were fortunate to pick up some Hallmark Christmas Ornaments last week.  These are usually sold at Target stores.  The reaction from customers has been amazing.  What has been most interesting is the strong word of mouth.  Within a day of us putting up our display we had customers coming on asking for the ornaments – having been told about the range by a friend.  Most sales involve at least two ornaments and several other items.

The trial this year encourages us to build a strong collectible ornament story for Christmas 2010.

I like ornaments as a category because they are habit based.  They fit with calendars, diaries and many other items we sell in our newsagencies.

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Gifts

Christmas greeting is appreciated

christmas_message.jpg The simple Christmas greeting in receipts printed by our Point of Sale software has been geting a good response from our customers.

We are also using the message / coupon facility to promote magazine putaways to magazine customers and a diary reminder (for next year) for diary customers.

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retail

Women’s Weekly sells well

fhn_aww_dec2309.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of Australian Women’s Weekly in the front of the newsagency.  In the first day of sale, yesterday, we achieved a double digit lift on last year. We will leave this display up until early next week.  It is good to have collateral with which to promote a title so close to Christmas.  Most other publishers seem to think that we don’t need material with which to promote their titles this time of the year.

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magazines
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