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The scare campaign by newsagent associations has damaged the image of the newsagency channel

Newsagent associations in Australia are not helping their newsagents with their talking down of the channel by claiming damage will be done if this or that protection is not offered.

For much of the last year they have run a negative campaign about lotteries on the east Coast and the issue of whether tatts places products into supermarket owned businesses.

NANA, the NSW Association lead and the ANF nationally supported the claim newsagencies would close. This is what is feeding into media attention on any matter affecting our channel right now.

This week it was the closure of Taylor Square newsagency that brought out journalists asking if this was a tipping point. Last week journalists were asking if the closure of Zoo magazine was a tipping point. I am gad I was approached so I could provide my opinions on both news items.

While the campaigns by the associations have raised awareness of the newsagency channel, the awareness is about imminent demise if this or that does not happen. Embedded in the claims by the associations is that newsagency businesses are on the edge, close to collapse if one more thing does not go their way.

The image of our businesses as fragile is an image created and promoted by the newsagency associations.

Shame on them for talking us down and for using the claim of fragility to support regulatory protection. This is not leadership – it a declaration of defeat. Plain dumb. And now, in the press and on social media this week, we are seeing the success of the association campaigns, we are seeing that people get that the channel is fragile and will collapse if one more thing does not go our way.

The newsagency channel is not fragile. Newsagency businesses are not fragile.  Okay, some are. But these businesses are not the channel.

There are many strong and growing newsagencies. Newsagencies succeeding at attracting new shoppers and selling more to existing shoppers. Some are doing it without lottery products. Others have moved away fro legacy products into appealing ne product categories. Others finely balance between the traditional and the not so traditional.

Rather than talk about these successes, we again see this week calls for protection and the threat of closure.

What an utter failure of leadership and a waste of millions of dollars of newsagent funds in supporting these industry associations.

I urge newsagents enjoying good times to talk about them: to the local paper, on facebook, on Twitter. Talk about growth, a bright future and your relevance in your local area. Talk up your business and the channel. You don’t have to share the secrets of your success – but certainly share the good news of your success.

Bad news sells. This is why the shrill campaigns of the associations plays so well with the media. Those of us who are optimistic about the future of the newsagency channel need to talk about this to counter the work of those being paid to represent newsagents. We need to pitch our good news for the truth it is and for the future of the channel in the Australian psyche.

Unfortunately, newsagents are allowing the associations to get away with poor leadership. Some agree because they want protection from regulation while others shrug their shoulders and do not want to have to become involved to fix it. Me, I refuse to support it and have not been an association member for years.

26 likes
Newsagency management

Join the discussion

  1. Greg Handley

    Mark,
    Perhaps you should talk to the reporter at the Fin Revue and ask for a transcript of my 25 minute conversation with her that was edited to a few lines of what fitted their purpose.
    You may then contact 2GB and listen to the interview that was requested the next day.
    Or you may even want to talk to me to find out exactly what was said.
    Yes, it is easy to talk the industry down but there are people in this industry who commit their time and effort with no reward, other than trying to see a secure future for fellow Newsagents.
    With all the posturing going on, I would have thought that you would have checked the information first.

    Greg Handley
    Umina Beach

    7 likes

  2. Mark Fletcher

    Greg, If you read this post you will see it is not about one contact with the media. No, it is about the long campaign in relation to lotteries and the scares that are at the heart of the campaign, in NANA’s own documents, saying newsagencies will close unless… and so on. I don’t think the NANA approach serves the claimed goal of securing a future for newsagents. In my view, the NANA/ANF lotteries campaign is at the heart of an increased media ghoulish interest in the closure of newsagencies.

    On your comment about the AFR not representing your conversation with the journalist completely you need to know as an interviewee that you control what is written. If you are going to speak for newsagents you need to either be smarter or get media training to learn how to be smarter.

    Instead of saying the channel will be lost unless… NANA and the ANF should be invested in practical guidance to make newsagencies more relevant as this is all that will keep newsagency businesses going.

    23 likes

  3. Amanda

    Greg,

    It is a welcome change to have someone from NANA participate in discussion on this blog.

    I want to know what you as a NANA Director are doing to achieve better commercial terms for NANA members.

    NANA should be fighting for a greater commission on lotteries products for your members, but NANA has been focussed on stopping the movement of Tatts into Woolworths and Coles convenience outlets.

    Newsagents currently sell the majority of the Tatts pie in NSW. It should be a bargaining tool for your members to achieve greater commissions.

    NANA has failed to achieve any positive financial outcomes with Tatts, Fairfax, NEWS LTD, G&G, Network in the past 20years.

    Why should NANA continue into the future to represent newsagents, when it has failed to achieve any positive financial outcomes for its members?

    Marketing groups such as newsXpress, Nextra, Newspower are achieving far better trading terms with suppliers.

    Would love to hear a response.

    3 likes

  4. shauns

    Newsagents currently sell the majority of the Tatts pie in NSW. It should be a bargaining tool for your members to achieve greater commissions.

    If woollies and Coles get it I would say the pie will get a whole lot smaller so there goes the bargaining power

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  5. Amanda

    Thats why you negotiate better terms and commission now Shauns.

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  6. Mark Fletcher

    The challenge for NANA is the goodwill capital is has burned through its negative shrill the ski is falling campaign.

    The best way for any party to improve its position in any negotiation is to be more valuable to the other party.

    1 likes

  7. Peter B

    The problem why nothing will ever be changed is that NANA, ANF, etc derive a healthy income stream(call it sponsorship if you like but it is still income) from Lotto, magazine distributors and publishers and others, as well as newsagent fees.
    This is clearly a conflict of interest.
    If NANA, ANF etc lobby for newsagents newsagents to get a better deal they will lose that income stream.
    The system is corrupt in multiple areas of this industry and can only be fixed by some one from the outside.

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  8. Mark Fletcher

    Peter I don’t recall Tatts funding NANA or the ANF. That aside, if you read the Credit Suisse investor reports I have published here, they comment that better compensation for retailers is key, in their view, to greater success for Tatts. I have noted here previously that the associations ought to make use of that excellent analysis work.

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  9. Peter B

    On the ANF website they list their National Champion Partners as Tatts, Tatts Lotteries, SA Lotteries, NSW Lotteries, Golden Casket, Network services, western union etc. etc.

    The ANF and affiliates(NANA, VANA etc.) are probably deriving more income from these large companies than they are from newsagencies. They will not do anything to jeopardise losing this income. That’s why the ANF and affiliates are useless for newsagencies to achieve a better outcome on the major issues.
    The ANF will on the other hand jump on the bandwagon of the MPA and endorse a trial which they have absolutely no idea of the consequences nor motives.

    4 likes

  10. allan wickham

    Peter, I am part of the MPA trial. Would you like to clarify “consequences and motives”
    Cheers
    Al

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  11. Mark Fletcher

    My bad Peter. Had not seen that re Tatts. It’s a murky world asking for money from those with whom you need to negotiate. Just look at National Newsagent to see how they play it.

    0 likes

  12. Greg Handley

    Amanda,
    You can call me anytime, and I am more than happy to pass on whatever information you would like.
    I went onto the board of NANA to contribute to change – you can do that as well, it just takes some of your time and provides a voice and allows you to contribute. NANA does not take any hidden deals / rebates from publishers, lotteries. In fact we have just signed an arrangement with Schweppes where Members will be able to buy single cartons at the 50 carton price. Commission to NANA – nothing. Commission to members – maximum.
    But anyway, it is easy to throw them, far more difficult to commit to contributing.
    My Shop is at Umina Beach. You can call me, even if you are not a member. NANA is there to assist Members and the Newsagency Industry.
    Thank you
    Greg

    1 likes

  13. Peter B

    Hi Allan, the motives of the trial are to get an industry Code of conduct approved by the ACCC, after the trial is finished and proved to be successful.
    The rules of the trial are few and draw up by the MPA with no consultation of newsagents.
    As you know there are no early returns in the trial and the trial does not look at many other issues such as overlapping return dates on magazine issues(some of the overseas ones by 4 weeks, of which we will have to keep both), long onsale dates, delayed billing(which are all oversupplied), the number of pockets a shop has, and a maximum number of magazines a shop can receive based on pocket numbers.

    We will have to adhere to the code of conduct and if implemented in the current form of the trial rules we will all be no better off and without the ability to early return probably worse off by far.

    Newsagencies SHOULD have been involved in determining a Code of Conduct because it affects us directly, and then those rules implemented in a trial. It has been done backwards here as we will now have to fight for the other issues to be included when the MPA lodges the Code of Conduct with the ACCC later next year.

    Hope that makes sense Allan

    0 likes

  14. Mark Richardson

    Greg good on you for having a shot at making changes .

    I was on the Ancol board for 14 years and I fought very hard for the stake holders.

    However what you cannot change is the culture of the organisation and unfortunately some board members ,don’t know their role and are nothing more than seat warmers. Unwittingly these people are not only harming the industry but also their own businesses.

    My view is industry boards should consist of a combination of outside people with professional skills to suit and some newsagents.

    CEO’s are well skilled at running the organisation and controlling the board.

    How can a board operate effectively when they do not know the rules? board members in my time were given no professional ie legal training as how a meeting should be run or their rights and responsibilities as board members.

    The whole thing is very amateurish and its the NEWSAGENTS who suffer from poor decisions. Not the management of our industry organisations they appear to be doing very well.

    The biggest challenge is ourselves, to break the habits of the past and seek out new opportunities.

    If our suppliers and industry representative bodies resist change or do not have the skill set to change ,seek out others who do, we cannot wait for them to get up to speed.

    2 likes

  15. Mark Fletcher

    Greg I’m not sure why NANA is doing the job of a marketing group. NANA has a share in Newspower, why is it negotiating with a supplier when Newspower should be doing that or are you competing with Newspower like VANA does in Victoria.

    Associations ought to focus on being associations and at least get that part right.

    1 likes

  16. Peter B

    Greg, how many members sell Schweppes and will benefit from this, few I imagine.
    What about signing an agreement with Newscorp or magazine distributors for an increased percentage and absolutely no oversupply, seems simple.
    NANA may not do HIDDEN deals/rebates but the ones not hidden guarantee the equilibrium is met.

    1 likes

  17. Ruth

    thank you Greg for Signing a deal for Members benefits and thanking you NANA for fighting for Lotteries for our state to keep out of supermarkets

    Once Again don’t blame NANA or any associations your bringing down newsagents all the time
    why don’t come on board and support people doing stuff that help newsagents in the long run and stop worrying about you and what benefit can come in your pocket in News Express a least NANA don’t want anything coming back to them and that’s what all marketing groups want.

    1 likes

  18. Mark Fletcher

    Ruth, the NANA/ANF campaign about lotteries had at its heart the claim that many newsagencies would close unless the government protected this, implying that the businesses were so weak and precariously positioned that if there is one new competitor the newsagency businesses would close. That is an extraordinarily negative claim, a claim now being used by new organisations in almost death-watch headlines. NANA/ANF created it. They brought the channel down in their campaign.

    Every day here and elsewhere I support newsagency on a pro-bono basis. I don;t write about most of what as I do as it is not relevant here.

    On your comment about newsXpress, it is wrong. newsXpress has never paid a dividend of shareholder return. What it makes it puts back into supporting newsXpress member businesses. Two years ago the group halved its fees to make it more affordable to more newsagents. That alone is one of many actions demonstrating newsXpress putting newsagents first.

    I am all for open debate but let’s stick to the facts.

    I’d love to see Nextra and Newspower respond to your claim as it is as much about them.

    6 likes

  19. Ruth

    Mark you must know all the facts then did you sit on the meetings you had and a lot of newsagents around my area didn’t have negative about NANA they loved what they did for Newsagents

    so i not going to win because i see on your Blog that you must win Mark

    Maybe you should start a Association and see start lobbying for stuff and then come back and see the facts and stop bringing down people who is giving a go

    1 likes

  20. Mark Fletcher

    Ruth, FYI, there is no editing of comments no restrictions on comments. If I was here to win as you wrongly claim I would block comments, edit them and ensure this was my platform. It is not. It is an open and transparent resource for newsagents and those who work with newsagents.

    I am not here to win, only to seek what is best for newsagents.

    Sure, newsagents supported NANA as NANA said they were lobbying the government for protection. Sadly, people did not understand that at the heart of the lobbying was a media campaign to say newsagencies were weak and would close if this one change occurred. Strategically, this was a bad move by NANA as is no being seen how the media outlets play it.

    NANA doing a deal with a drink company is not them having a go. It is them doing what Newspower should be doing – a group in which they have a share.

    Go back and read my many posts here about optimism, my marketing tips, my management tips – they are seek to encourage and help newsagents without trying to get them to spend a cent. This os practical business changing advice – the kind of advice an association could provide if they were smart.

    The old newsagency business is dead. Greg and NANA are trying to protect it rather than helping newsagents convert to a new model that is growing.

    8 likes

  21. Paul

    and talking about how dead it may or may not be on this public blog is helpful how?

    6 likes

  22. David

    For farks sake Paul your whiney comments turn anyone off. There’s plenty of positive here. Go away.

    3 likes

  23. Paul

    Onya David impressive you mmmm best not go there

    1 likes

  24. Amanda

    NANA’s role is to negotiate better terms for its members with the key suppliers in which it negotiates on behalf of the industry. Increased commissions and better trading terms on newspapers, magazines and Tatts are what will improve members bottom lines. It is also what will keep newsagents doors open.

    It is then up to the individual newsagent to choose their own product mix, and either source their own deals or consider a marketing/buying group to take advantage of that groups offering.

    Coke / Schweppes deals, parcel delivery deals, deals with the ATO to carry tax forms….all irrelevant in the day to day business of running a newsagency and its bottom line.

    6 likes

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