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Reports WH Smith to acquire Supanews

I have heard from two sources that Supanews is to be acquired by WH Smith with the acquisition set to be completed by the end of this month. Franchisees were advised by Supanews late yesterday.

Supanews is a franchise business with some corporate stores but with the majority of the group operating as franchisees. This acquisition will be the first of a newsagency related business in Australia by WH Smith.

Newsagency channel observers will not be surprised as Supanews has been in play for some time and the intention of WH Smith to grow its retail presence in Australia has been evident since their acquisition of Wild Cards & Gifts early in 2014 and then the the acquisition of carcass of the Kennys Cardiology business in mid 2014.

There has been movement in Supanews recently with corporate stores closing or being sold for what I am told are good deals. This appears to have been in preparation for acquisition.

Unrelated to the Supanews acquisition are reports of further acquisition activity by WH Smith in the newsagency channel. I have been unable to confirm reports put to me.

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  1. Jeff

    Victorian newsagents with long memories will have a quiet cheer when this happens.

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  2. Mark Fletcher

    Yes Jeff there are some involved in the Victorian newsagency channel from decades ago with strong news about those who established Supanews.

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  3. Andrew L

    If this rumour is true, I hope it provides a positive outcome for existing franchisees.

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  4. Mark Fletcher

    Andrew it has been announced by Supanews Head Office.

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  5. rick

    Are there supernews outlets in qld? And do they have golden casket products? In qld only small business can access golden casket products, I doubt they meet that criteria. Do we look at the buy out as a positive for the industry, like a vote of confidence?

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  6. Brett

    Good point, Supanews in Qld will have to hand back their lotto licences

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  7. Brett

    Unless they structure as a franchise

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  8. john

    Brett, do you mean wh smith structure as a franchise or the individual owners?

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  9. Brett

    John, the shops must each be their own small business else they will not be allowed under Qld law to be a lotto outlet

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  10. Andrew L

    What do you call a franchise if it’s not a small business.

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  11. Andrew L

    Huh!

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  12. Mark Fletcher

    Supanews stores were franchised under Supanews and will be under WH Smith. Franchisees have been asked to complete two deeds that structure this.

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  13. Hamish

    When WH Smith took over Angus & Robertson in 2001 they inherited around 60 franchisees in the process (as well as a respected and experienced franchise management team) from across the country. They did a good job and the company performed well. Ultimately WH Smith cited financial pressure on the European operations on the back of the GFC in 2008 when selling the business to PEP (Red Group) in 2009 and withdrawing from the Australasian markets. Obviously that transfer of ownership didn’t ultimately go so well for Australian franchisees and company employees. The biggest learning from that fiasco for franchisees was making sure the parent company held money from gift vouchers sold in a separate audited bank account rather than pumping it into general revenue.

    Red Group did get involved financially with Adrian Gaskin and his supernews outfit before it hit the wall. Many questioned the decision at the time, although Red Group head Dave Fenlon (a WH Smith import from memory) ultimately did the deal. Its all quite ironic really.

    My memory of the WH Smith years is mixed. They imported managers from the UK with a supermarket type background and attitude to retail. This was often a point of conflict. On the flip side they were very good retail years with consistent double digit growth. Overall I have to admit they did a good job but that was definitely on the back of trading conditions at the time and personnel they inherited rather than what they brought in from overseas.

    Franchise law can be complicated at times although the basic premise is that each franchise is “independently owned and operated”. They are granted a licence to use the corporate trademarks and systems provided by the franchisor. The same cant be said of company stores.

    If I was a Supernews franchisee I would be happy with the development but forensic to the last full stop with the contracts placed in front of me.

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  14. Mark Fletcher

    And those contracts – two copies each of two Deeds of Novation – are in front of Supanews franchisees right now.

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  15. Bev Fehlhaber

    They can buy my newsagemcy if they want to it will be for sale

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  16. Bev Fehlhaber

    hope it is positive they can buy my newsagency if they want to

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  17. Lisa beeching

    Hello I’m expressing my concern over the change of ownership of Supanews northlakes 2.W H Smith has now taken it over I have worked there for over a few year I have worked every hour they wanted I worked every Saturday I and the customers there are frustrated at the fact I and other girls were told we were keeping our jobs so we had no need to look,four days out of the change over we have no jobs.truly disappointing that you would think its ok to treat staff that have done nothing but their best to make it happy and successful place.i wish I could say and tell people that it’s an opportunity to work for you but after this I cannot.

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  18. Mark Fletcher

    Lisa this is not uncommon when there is a change of ownership of a business. New owners need to make changes they think are necessary. It is their right just as it is the right of an employee to go work somewhere else when they choose.

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