Officeworks evolving and posing increased challenges to newsagents

I visited several Officeworks businesses in Melbourne and Sydney this week to assess changes in-store. I decided to do this following media reports of planned expansion.

In each store I found a layout that made sense and shopping easy, an excellent range of brand and generic products, a feeling of good value in the pricing, engaged staff on the shop floor keen to help and easy access to help through local training.

Most important of all was the personal pitch in-store. While the brand is national, the promotion of local people, in that business, who can help makes the pitch more personal and local.

Here is a pull up banner that greeted me at the Pitt Street Sydney store a couple of days ago:

What is newsagents who are focussed on stationery did this, had a pull up banner of themselves or a team member, personalising the pitch of customer service out the front of the shop or near the entrance.

While this banner is more targeted at the technology customer, it could work equally with stationery as there are many options, many choices to make.

Sure, you would hop your customers would know you, but unless everyone in the town or region shops with you they do not know you, so promoting the people in the business is an important and regular activity.

Also at the entrance to the store is this sign:

Plenty of newsagents I know offer free delivery for stationery, especially in regional locations. However, most do not promote this. Officeworks consistently promotes it.

Inside the store, in the stationery department, regularly they promote impulse purchase items outside their usual location. Like these Sellotape Sticky Dots:

Using a simple clip-strip, they are making a more valuable pitch to shoppers in the aisle looking for calculators and pencils. I do this type of thing in my newsagency, leveraging destination shopper visits to greater value by promoting items one would not usually find in a destination aisle.

Their approach to pens is easy, too. This photo shows part of one side of a double-sided stand. Selecting is easy as is testing the pens.

The simple Try me! message is terrific. In newsagencies we usually have a small pad stuck on a wall. At Officeworks they have long pads, on a small bench, and they invite trying. This simple move shows a more customer-focussed approach on their part.

Outside the shop, on the front window, is this sign that reinforces a key message: shopping with us is easy and can be done at any time.

While I get that many newsagents love to hate Officeworks and that we all have our bad stories about Officeworks, that they are expanding ought to concern us as this shows they are winning with customers and that is all that matters.

Yes, their prices are higher than their marketing suggests. In my view, that ought not be your focus.

If your stationery sales are up year on year then maybe you don’t have as much to work about. However, if your stationery sales are flat or declining year on year, take an objective look at Officeworks. Some of what they are doing could work in your newsagency, even on a smaller scale.

There is plenty Officeworks is getting right. The purpose of this post is to encourage you to treat them seriously as a competitor, to learn from what they are doing and to encourage you to create a better stationery pitch in your business.