Australian Newsagency Blog

Greg Talbot, National Manager of Newspower, the largest newsagency marketing group in Australia, wrote to Newspower members last week expressing concern at reports of claims being made to Newspower members to get them to switch to another marketing group:
The claims of being able to offer massive increases on sales and profits are not supported by […]

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You’ll never need to pick up another newspaper.
I heard this on a Perth FM station last week when they were promoting an iPad as a prize for a competition.  Their other comments were about how cool the technology was and that the iPad was the must have gadget.

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The publisher of Speedway Racing News magazine issued the following apology to newsagents this morning:
UNRESERVED APOLOGY TO NEWSAGENT OPERATORS
This post has been submitted due to the understandable backlash concerning a subscription advert appearing on the back cover of issue #401 of Speedway Racing News Magazine.
I am extremely concerned by what has transpired and suffice to […]

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Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the federal government decided to give the free to air TV networks a $250 million discount on licence fees because they are in terminal decline.  While the networks deny this (see The Australian report on this today), it’s what the government believes.
The challenges for newsagents are as great:

In 1999 the […]

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Communication Minister Stephen Conroy was on the Jon Faine morning program on ABC Radio in Melbourne yesterday defending the federal government decision to hand $250 million in the form of licence discounts to the TV networks.  It made for interesting listening.  Click here to hear the whole interview.
Conroy pleads the case that the TV networks […]

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Ownership of the customer has emerged as an issue in discussions between publishers and Apple according to a report at FT online overnight.  I am sure this will be resolved, the iPad buzz and opportunity are too great for either side to let it stall as a delivery channel.

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Students are a valuable labour force for newsagents.  Newsagencies have been a valuable learning and income opportunity for students. The Fair Work Act is changing that thanks to the minimum hours provisions.
Consider the case of “Nick”.  For three years he has worked three nights a week, after school, for between and hour and a half […]

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The Australian is reporting this morning that radio stations want the federal government to give them a handout as was announced recently for the TV networks.
We hear so often, from politicians of all persuasions, that small business is the backbone of this country yet we rarely receive government largess on the scale of the $240 […]

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Trader TAG is another wannabe replacement for the Trading Post.  At $1.00 a copy and being supplied through a distribution newsagent, the numbers don’t work for me.  Trading Post at least had a higher cover price and was supplied direct.  I can’t see Trader TAG selling what enough copies to cover the space it will […]

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The latest newsagent sales benchmark study reports a 7% unit sales decline for magazines and a 4% unit sales decline for newspapers in Australian newsagencies in January 2010.
Comparing unit sales for these and other key newsagent categories, the newsagency channel’s only sales benchmark study analyses sales for January 2010 compared to 2009 on a same […]

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I was shocked to hear that the federal government has agreed to give the TV networks $240 million over two years as compensation for increased competition and the impact of the global financial crisis.
What nonsense!
The federal government itself is increasing competition against me.  Newsagencies are impacted by competition.  We are also impacted by deregulation.  Oh, […]

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We received Parties for Kids from NDD a couple of days ago. It’s dated, on the cover, Autumn 2006. Seriously!
Judging by the noticeable discoloration on the cover (click on the image to see the detail of this), I’d say this is stock from the back of a warehouse somewhere which someone decided […]

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I have been looking at the sales data coming in from newsagents for the sales benchmark study I am doing comparing January 2010 with 2009.  If the sample I have seen (40 newsagencies) so far is anything to go by, January was a hellish month for many newsagents in the magazine department.  I am seeing […]

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I am not a fan of sale or return offers from newsagent stationery and gift suppliers yet we take them in my newsagencies from time to time.
Sale or return makes sense for circulation product, (most) greeting cards and (most current issue) books, it does not make sense in other categories when it is used […]

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An Edinburgh newsagent has been fined £800 for selling tobacco to an underage shopper working during a test purchase by the local council.  I can see this getting tougher.

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I have heard from several newsagents that their neighbouring newsagents have allegedly been told by publisher representatives that they have signed new newspaper home delivery contracts.  The allegation is that this information has been put in terms of well they have signed, you should too.  It has also been used to say, if you don’t […]

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In the future you may not have to go to the newsagent any longer.
That’s Robert Penfold, US correspondent for the nine network reviewing the iPad from Apple - on Sky News a few minutes ago - and talking about the use of the device to read newspapers and magazines.

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The Herald and Weekly Times has written to newsagents today exploring options for improving the supply of gifts with newspapers.
HWT is also reviewing its approach to assessing stock quantities for future promotions. Where we have historical data to use as a basis for our ordering, we have been able to accurately predict demand. For first […]

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I thought I’d update how the Herald Sun Australia Day hat promotion panned out for us in our four shopping centre based newsagencies - two I own and two in which I have a 50% share.
In one newsagency we received around 30% more hats than Herald Sun newspapers.  This worked well for us.  We ran […]

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We’re ready with the free Australia Day hat giveaway with the Herald Sun this morning.  We have been given good stock in one of our stores, just enough in another store and not enough in another.    I expect the hat to be a hit with customers.  Where it gets tricky is people who purchased the […]

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Digital-magazine publisher Zinio released an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch this week, meaning you can now read electronic editions of magazines on the go.
Zinio includes embedded videos in some magazine titles, links, article sharing, and other electronic facilities that print can’t match. Through Zinio, consumers can purchase individual issues and longer term subscriptions […]

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The Online Journalism Blog has an excellent review of iPhone news apps.  Check it out and get a feel for the embrace of the iPhone by mainstream media companies.  In terms of uptake numbers, TechCrunch says that the UK Sky News iPhone app has just reached 1 million downloads.
What’s our role here?  At best: selling […]

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Dvice.com has an initial review of the Skiff Reader.  The photo is from their website - it shows how the device bends.  As I mentioned a few days ago, the Skiff is designed for newspapers and magazines. 
Computerworld also has a good review of the Skiff and the Que reader.
Wether any of these devices is […]

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With the increase in the range of titled air freighted in and therefore duplication of titles on our shelves, I am concerned about the cost to newsagents.  My concerns are for an overall softer sell through from the larger collective stock holding, the cost of increased space commitment to a title and the challenges with […]

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Plastic Logic launched their much anticipated Que reader yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  They are pitching this as a business tool for replacing paper.
Like paper, only better
The inspiration for QUE was an age-old but perfect business tool: a simple sheet of paper. QUE was designed to have the benefits of paper, […]

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