Great growth story from a regional newsagency

I have been fortunate to see sales data for a regional newsagency run by the same owners for more than fifteen years. In the twelve months to the end of May 2015, this business increased revenue by 13% over the previous twelve months. This is an excellent result.

Better still, the business increased gross profit by six percentage points – making the value of the revenue increase even greater.

This is an excellent news story, showing that a traditional newsagency can grow by making some simple changes that do not require any shoplift or other structural changes.

Here are more results from this uplifting story:

1. Cards up 10%.
2. Gifts up 200%.
3. Magazines down only 1%.
4. Stationery up 26%.
5. Toys – a new department with excellent results.
6. Plush – a new department now accounting for close to 2% of revenue.

Thanks to expanding the range of products sold and using free marketing initiatives, the store increased shopper transactions by 10%. Add to this growth in basket depth and average item value and you have compounding good news.

To provide context, the business has overall non agency revenue of half a million dollars a year.

I mention this success story here to show newsagents that there are opportunities for sustainable growth of revenue and, better still, overall gross profit percentage.

This is another example of why a newsagency is a good business to buy.