A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Month: August 2014

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: look for yourself

When next at your shop, use Google on your phone and search for a popular product you sell: a magazine title, a stationery item, maybe a service you provide.

Next, from home or the shop, use Google on your computer and do a similar search but add the suburb or town where your shop is located.

Did you come up in the search?  If not, your task is to fix this,to get your business known to Google. I could tell you how to do this but it’s something you will get more from by discovering it for yourself.

10 likes
marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: train your staff to play

buildingSmart retail today is all about interacting with your products, showing them off on the shop floor so that shoppers can imagine them playing with or using the products.

This is especially true with toys, puzzles, magic tricks and kinetic sand. The more you play the more you will sell. I know from my own experience this is true.

Playing and interacting with products can position your business as more engaged with what it sells than you would see with the same products in a larger retail outlet. This is another way we can compete – by playing with what we sell.

On busy family days – weekends, Thursday and Friday afternoons in a typical shopping centre newsagency –  schedule your best players to be on the shop floor playing. Track sales as a result. Keep trying different people until you find your most lucrative players.

Watch your customers and how they react and interact. It could be that they are attracted by the playing but end up buying something else. That is as valuable as them purchasing the product being demonstrated.

The photo shows an elaborate sand-castle made by one of our team members with kinetic sand. It worked at attracting shoppers.  Years ago the team member would have been in trouble for playing – goofing off. Now, it’s work, valuable shop floor engagement.

FYI: we’ve been selling kinetic sand since March. It’s been amazingly successful for us.

12 likes
Management tip

Promoting newspapers at the front of the newsagency

satpaperfosaug30We are leveraging another provocative poster and front page for The Saturday Paper with this placement at the front of the newsagency today – facing into the mall.

We are also using the opportunity to promote the Herald Sun, Better Homes and Gardens, Feast and part 1 of How Your Body Works – all popular titles that can attract shopper traffic.

This is a weekend only placement, something we are trying for four weeks to gauge shopper interaction as part of our commitment to trying changes.

5 likes
Newspapers

Fairfax misses opportunity to connect with retail newsagents

If Fairfax wants to increase over the counter sales of newspapers they need to develop a better relationship with retail newsagents.

Yesterday, they published a list of newsagents offering a deal for the Good Food Guide and The Age bundled together. From what I can tell these are newsagents who also deliver the newspaper.

I don’t deliver so I’m not on the list. Yet I know I can sell plenty of their papers and plenty of copies of their Good Food Guide – if only they would engage directly with me.

How Fairfax has handled this demonstrates breathtaking ignorance by the company in the changing newsagency business.

It’s very simple: to grow over the counter sales, engage with those who own and run businesses with counters, engage with retail newsagents.

15 likes
Newspapers

Newsagent magazine supply standards

In February 2005 I spoke at a breakfast meeting of magazine publishers in Sydney and presented a suggested list of magazine key performance indicators. In cleaning up yesterday I found the list and thought I’d publish it here for comment.

  1. Scale out to reflect title performance in that outlet with proposed supply to be no more than 25% above recent sell through rates except in exceptional circumstances where the additional product is expected to sell due to cover feature or special promotion. With higher scale out to be accepted for an additional fee paid to the newsagent.
  2. Offering of a carrying fee for titles which do not meet minimum performance criteria so that the newsagent is paid to carry the title. The carrying fee to cover labour, real-estate and any other fixed costs.
  3. Introduction of a penalty payment to newsagents for any issue with a sell through of less than 50% on an escalating scale based on a falling sell through.
  4. Newsagents to be able to easily and electronically alter order quantities (i.e. without having to call a call centre and wait on line for too long) and with no maximum number of titles to be adjusted each week or month.
  5. Newsagent changed supply figures not to be altered without reference to newsagent unless such change absolutely supported by sales data.
  6. No cut of supply below current recorded net sales.
  7. No reissue within six months of last issue of a title.
  8. Delayed billing of at least 30 days for any new title.
  9. Returns to be credited within 48 hours of provision of electronic returns data or 7 days of provision of physical returns form.
  10. Returns to be called no later than the date of the next issue of the same title going on sale.

Magazine KPIs are needed for titles outside the top 200. Inside the top 200 the supply model is, overall, good – although somtimes I would like to be able to get extra stock more easily. Th real problem is the titles which generate around 20% of our revenue. These titles are cash flow negative. The KPIs I suggest above, if adopted, would make them at least cashflow neutral. The cash saved would help us have more resources to reinvest in our businesses.

I’d update my delayed billing point (8) to say that delayed billing titles are to be be supplied with an additional fee to cover labour and the space if they do not meet minimum sales performance.

In a shopping centre, a magazine pocket $2.00 and more a week. Add to this the labour cost of magazines in that pocket and you could argue that such a newsagent needs to be paid $2.50 to $3.00 a week just for the space and time.

19 likes
magazine distribution

Tactical placement to drive magazine sales

tacticalmagsHere’s an example of how tactical placement of a magazine display unit can work. We placed this unit with magazines from Pacific Magazines at the end of the aisle – so everyone walking out of our magazine aisle sees the stand.

The stand is more noticeable in person than it looks in the photo.

It’s working a treat. People are purchasing a magazine on impulse after they have left the magazine aisle.

2 likes
magazines

Where do you place magazine labels?

I have shot some training videos for people working in newsXpress newsagencies this week. Each is two or three minutes and on a single topic. Here is the three and a half minute video on magazine label placement that I thought might interest readers here:

Getting stuff like this is vital for us to be seen as professional across our channel.

9 likes
magazines

Melbourne Airport is a rip off when it comes to parking

melbourne-airportPlease excuse this off-topic rant. I parked at Melbourne Airport for 24 hours and five minutes and was charged for two days. Yes, that’s what the published fee schedule says and yes I knew it. That does’t make it fair.

Their long term car park was full. It took ten minutes to find a park in the short term so technically I was parked and using the facility for less than twenty four hours.

A fairer fee structure would be to charge by the hour for all part days. But, hey, Melbourne Airport is not run on fairness.

6 likes
Ethics

Wizard of Oz Itty Bittys popular

tinmanittyWe have had the Wizard of Oz themed Itty Bittys from Hallmark for a day and already they are a hit. Yesterday I saw it myself – a customer in love with the Tin Man.

You know when a customer calls out the brand or the movie that they will most likely purchase the range. This is where collectibles work well for us.

We have the stand placed such that it attracts shoppers for us – it’s part of our front of store marketing strategy. This range not only sells well, it attracts card and magazine customers.

1 likes
newsagency marketing

Discounting Shop Til You Drop

eapmagsbauer2Newsagents have another discount magazine pack from Bauer. This time it’s the challenged Shop Til You Drop and a mini version of Cleo for $7.95. In addition to training customers about title price, there is the space challenge – needing to find two extra pockets in a full rack for this ‘new’ pack. Supermarkets are not forced to do this.

2 likes
magazines

How Your Body Works – again

bodyworksNewsagents have been sent the launch part of the How Your Body Works partwork. It’s a re-launch actually – of a successful partwork from a few years back. It’s coming out a bit late with Father’s Day in full swing then Halloween and then Christmas. Space is tight and will only get tighter. We have allocated limited space to the launch (relaunch).

3 likes
partworks

Inviting magazine publishers to speak up about ignorant early return behaviour

I had a discussion with Terry Thelwell of Lovatts at the NANA Newsagent of the Year Awards in Sydney last week about the poor behaviour of some newsagents in early returning magazines. Terry and I have discussed this often and the data Lovatts has of newsagents early returning to a point where they have considerably less on the shelves than their usual sales of titles.

Lovatts is not alone experiencing ill-considered early returns where newsagents deny themselves sales they would have achieved. Many publishers have told me their stories and other stories about newsagents who then call saying they need more stock – because early returns too much stock.

The purpose of this post is to open the topic for magazine publishers to share their comments about early returns. Ideally, I’d like to see specific examples of where newsagents have hurt themselves through ill-considered early returns.

This is a serious topic because it could drive a self fulfilling prophecy about magazines in newsagencies. The poor behaviour of some could ultimately see a publisher or more flee our channel.

So publishers, share your stories…

12 likes
magazine distribution

Credit Suisse on Tatts

Click here to read research issued August 21 into Tatts Group. Of most interest to newsagents will be the continued push by Tatts for lotteries sales online (page 3). Credit Suisse expects the online penetration to reach 15% by FY18.

There is also the comment about a new Tatts website launch next year that is expected to drive sales.

There is also commentary about a disconnect between agency commission revenue and overall Tatts lottery sales revenue – commission is growing slower.

6 likes
Lotteries

Fairfax mistake costs newsagents

Newsagents have received advice from Fairfax owned IPS that they have been incorrectly billing for Trader Tag magazine since August 2012, giving newsagents considerable more commission than should have been the case.

Without consultation or consideration Fairfax clawed back the commission.

The Fairfax handling of the matter has frustrated many newsagents and created difficulties for some. The company’s poor management of the situation and the lack of reasonable consideration has damaged their reputation.

While there is a case for Fairfax recovering some monies, given the timeframe involved I think some middle ground approach would have been appropriate. That the company acted and then explained is poor service. It gives newsagents another reason to consider closing their IPS account.

7 likes
Ethics

Tomorrow’s news today at Coles Express Goondiwindi

colesgoonHere is the display of magazines at Coles Express in Goondiwindi. The photo was taken yesterday morning. Some of the titles in the photo were due to go on sale today.

The local newsagent received their stock early but did not put it out, respecting the contract. Coles, apparently, lives by a different set of rules.

Despite engagement by Network, Gotch, the ANF and me here and on Twitter (to which Coles responded), the magazines were still up at 4:15pm. Shame on you Coles.

8 likes
Ethics

Coles Goondiwindi breaches magazine on-sale obligations

The issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly due on sale tomorrow is already being sold at Coles Express Goondwindi this morning. If a newsagent did this they would be failed for selling a title before the on-sale. It’s frustrating that Coles appears to be getting away with this.

UPDATE: still on display at 4:15pm today – after both Gotch and Network were involved.

20 likes
Competition

Newsagents are responsible for business collapses and closures

quadrantIn Launceston Monday night I noticed that Quadrant News & Cards had closed. The empty shop with a For Lease sign is a sad sight.

It is easy to see this as a sign of the times, the decaying Aussie newsagency. But that would be wrong.

Quadrant News & Cards closed due to poor management. Plain and simple. All we owe the death of any business is the truth.

The truth is that this business was not well run. I will not go into details but I do know them

I have heard a few newsagents who have presided over newsagency business closures recently blame others: the landlord, their bank, staff, publishers. In most cases, the newsagent is to blame.

All of us need to own our situation. We need to be responsible for the decisions we have made and the decisions we make.

  1. Your landlord is charging the rent you agreed to.
  2. Your bank will chase you for debt you took on of your own free will.
  3. Your reliance on newspapers and magazines as a percentage of your overall revenue is up to you and business decisions you have made.
  4. Any decline in magazine sales is, primarily, your fault given how you range, display, promote and engage with magazines.
  5. Your staff are hired, trained, motivated and fired by you.
  6. The relevance of your business in a rapidly changing world is up to you.
  7. Your situation in relation delivery of newspapers is one you agreed to.
  8. The new traffic you attract to your shop is up to you.
  9. Your buying, pricing policies, merchandising … it’s all up to you.
  10. The relevance of your business to your local community … it’s up to you.
  11. Yes, this is your business.

Quadrant News & Cards in Launceston would be open today if the business had strong and committed management. It would be thriving if the owners had decided to stand for something rather than being an agent for what others told them to do.

There are too many newsagencies like Quadrant that have closed and too often the owners point the finger.

If you are contemplating closing your newsagency, if your debtors are threatening action consider taking ownership of your situation and developing a radical plan to lead your business out of the mess. It’s hard work but that’s what being a retailer (and not an agent) is all about.

If you are not contemplating closing and if your creditors are not chasing, you still need a radical plan to lead your business. We all do.

The plan starts with you looking at the business from the perspective of what is needed from today on and not from the perspective of what was done in the past.

The old way of running a newsagency is dead just as the old traditional newsagency focussing just on papers, magazines, cards, stationery and lotto is dead.

The story about the future of your newsagency is one you alone write.

23 likes
Newsagency management

I like this newspaper stand

virginpapersI like this newspaper stand being used at the Virgin terminal at Melbourne airport. It’s small footprint and strength are ideas for tactical placement in a newsagency – in different locations every few days chasing impulse purchases.

While designed to make The Australian the hero, it supports more titles in a three local paper town like Melbourne, Sydney and many regional locations.

Tactical placement of newspapers away from the usual newspaper location is one way we can help increase newspaper sales.

6 likes
Newspapers

Free EFTPOS as a marketing pitch

eftpos-serviceI love this sign at Coffee Republic in Launcestion, Tasmania. While other coffee shops have a minima  spend for cards and some have a fee for EFTPOS, they have gone the other way, showing off a point of difference and giving customers another reason to love them. Based on their pricing I’d say they are funding it out of a higher than usual margin. But their coffee is the best in Launcestion so the price could more reflect than than to hide their EFTPOS fees.

It’s refreshing seeing a sign in a retail business telling you what you can do rather than what you can’t, a sign saying things here are free where usually there is a sign saying the same things cost extra.

Nice.  If you’re ever in Launceston, try their coffee … it’s excellent.

11 likes
Customer Service

Would you close for a family wedding?

smallbustimeoffFurther to my post ten days ago about a business closing to give the owner a break, I noticed at the weekend a cafe with this sign in the window. The cafe was closed for the wedding of the owner’s daughter.

On reflection, small independent retailer businesses should not close for a holiday or to attend a family wedding.

When we open our businesses we do so to serve the community. We want them to rely on us. One way we do this is through consistent behaviour. Breaking that consistency even for a special family engagement tells locals they are not as important. Whether we like it or not, plenty of shoppers will thing they are more important that us. Indeed, if we run the ideal busyness that’s how it will be.

Closing gives people an opportunity to try elsewhere. It invites them to do this.

No matter what the cost or challenge small and independent retailers need to remain open.

5 likes
Management tip

Promoting Rolling Stone off-location

magsrstoneWe have been promoting the latest Rolling Stone magazine with magazines that we think are likely to be purchased by fans of Lana Del Ray. Placing a title like this issue of Rolling Stone off-location based on the cover works in driving incremental sales. Try it.

3 likes
magazines
Trending Articles

Fairfax changes approach to TV Guide, disrespects newsagents

Published on April 20, 2011

What do you think of the Powerball changes?

Published on February 16, 2018

IPS releases new magazine contracts

Published on June 21, 2011