Reporting on the closure recently of the Mercer and Windley Newsagency on Ruthven Street in Toowoomba, the Toowoomba Chronicle let the newsagency channel down. They have done a soft piece that fuels wrong assumptions about the newsagency channel.
This newsagency should not have closed. The closure is the fault of the business owner.
Sure newspaper sales are declining and lottery sales are moving online. These are not new trends. A smart newsagent would have seen the trends and planned for them, changing the business to attract new traffic.
I am offended by the story as it does not reflect the story of many newsagents yet to lumps us all into a single basked, that our businesses are dying, that we ought to expect it and that the end is wistful.
Nonsense.
Newsagencies do not need to close. Those that do close do so because either the newsagent cannot get a reasonable rent arrangement to justify trading or because the newsagent has not positioned the business for growth into areas of new traffic.
I am grateful to the newsagent who drew this story to my attention.
Shame on APN and those at the Toowoomba Chronicle behind this story – you have let the entire newsagency channel down.
If you feel closure is the only option for your newsagency, there are options, steps you can take to turn your situation around. It takes hard work and you will get push back from some traditional suppliers. The result could be a turnaround that protects your investment.
This newsagency is located on outer fringe CBD where there is v poor quality and quantity of walk past traffic. The new outer ring road would have decreased traffic further.The latest owner seemingly tried to improve the offer, but it had stagnated for about 25 years before that.I used to work nearby. A traditional newsagency for many years. Probably needed a fresh offer like the latest owner provided but also a new lower rent deal. Probably should have negotiated a better rent deal way before improving the offer.
The story is a remind of the need to focus on new traffic, non traditional newsagency traffic.
“Those that do close do so because either the newsagent cannot get a reasonable rent arrangement to justify trading or because the newsagent has not positioned the business for growth into areas of new traffic.”
If the Murdoch press, in particular, has taught us anything it is that blaming external factors is right, and small business owners can do no wrong. It’s always the unions / economy / government that is at fault. Rarely, in stories of small business closures, does the owner take responsibility.
Yet they should own their failure Paul. Our channel is healthy and we have wonderful opportunities ahead of us. Those who will close are those who have their eyes closed.