Australian Newsagency Blog

Stationery can be a set and forget department with products rarely moved.  Customers can become as store blind as newsagency staff.  We are using a small screen placed within the stationery department to play TV commercails and other video content (with sound) to draw attention to products.  The key to this is brand name suppliers […]

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The Australian yesterday reported that Harvey Norman’s new Ofis stationery business will not expand as rapidly as originally planned in the face of tough retail circumstances.

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Private label strategy has been around for decades. Smart retailers use private labels to build loyalty and achieve better margin. Look at Woolworths, Australia Post and Officeworks - they all have well established and successful private label strategies. Newsagents do not. Our newsagent owned private label brand, Sovereign, is used on […]

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We’re promoting the David Beckham Sharpie promotion in space we have reclaimed in front of our photocopier. With a trip to meet David Beckham up for grabs I expect this to be very popular.

What the photo does not show is the inflated Sharpie above the display and other features drawing attention to the offer.

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Amazon, the world’s biggest online bookstore has announced the opening of an online office supplies business with more than 500,000 products available. Amazing.

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We refreshed our Hot Ink ink and toner offer at Forest Hill last week, taking every product down and rebuilding the display and allocating position based on sales by brand. Nothing new in this, it’s smart retail. The latest Hot Ink flyer we have sent to thousands houses around our centre is driving excellent […]

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From data I am fortunate to see from a range of newsagencies, photocopying revenue is falling in our channel.  It was down year-on-year in two thirds of newsagencies participating in the recent sales benchmark I undertook.  The average fall was 20% with the lowest 5% and highest 48%.  I put the fall down to the […]

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The boxing match appears to be over and Staples has won its battle to acquire Corporate Express.  I expect this to lead to the most significant shake up in the stationery offer Australia has seen since Officeworks first opened.  Now is the time for newsagents to work on their stationery story, it will be too […]

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Bic, the pen company, has ignored newsagents with their latest TV advertising. Their Brand Power ads promote supermarkets. Newsagents have been tremendous supporters of Bic. It is a pity the company did not return the favour and promote our channel when deciding where to place their marketing dollars. See the Bic advertisements […]

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There are reports that Staples is to get access to Corporate Express’ books.  Stationery is in play on many fronts.  Newsagents need to be on their toes now more than ever.  Is Staples does buy CE the ladnscape in Australia change without a doubt.

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The buying power of the Government owned Australia Post retail network is in plain view with their current offer of reflex for $4.95 a ream. While Big W and other retailers offer reflex for this price from time to time, only Australia Post pulls consumers in for such a low cost - thanks to […]

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BEAT THE TAX RUSH WITH THE LOWEST PRICES is the pitch screaming from the Officeworks website. The problem for Officeworks is that they do not have the lowest prices. Last week, one of their customers bought two packs of HP brand toner from us for 17% less than what they paid for the […]

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Financial year diaries have never been big for us at Forest Hill – our customers are mainly retired people happy to forget their need for such things. That said, we don’t ignore the opportunity and always carry a small selection. The key with anything like this is to buy appropriately. While suppliers […]

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I am contacted at least once a week by a stationery supplier looking to get their product into the newsagency channel. Most have a story to tell about the challenges of dealing with the gatekeepers they encounter - stationery wholesalers, associations and marketing groups. The issues are either about refusal to carry a […]

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The new brochure for the latest Hot Ink sale has not yet been delivered yet sales continue to be strong – weeks after the last flyer expired.  On most days we do more from the two metres of wall space you can see in the photo than from the entire rest of the stationery department.  […]

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We have started the process of establishing an online stationery business under separate branding to our newsagencies, along the lines of our three year old Inkfast business.    We will be chasing customers who are unlikely to think of visiting a newsagency for their stationery purchase.  This approach has served us well with Inkfast where revenue […]

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We decided to have another crack at party goods brought in the range from Alpen just over a month ago. We’ve placed this display behind our main newspaper stand, next to our card department. Sales are good, generating a good return on the space and sock investment.
The only downside about the move is […]

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I was interested to see Office Depot and Google have teamed up to help small businesses use online tools in the US.  It extends the reach (and relevance) of each company into the small business space.

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I heard an ad on Sydney radio yesterday for the new Ofis stationery business which has come out of the Harvey Norman business. While the ad is pure Harvey Norman - loud and a hard sell - it is the most solid call to action on stationery I have heard in a long time. […]

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Wilson Stationery and Tower Systems are proud to announce the a significant development for newsagents in the stationery category in decades.
Thanks to the new embedded link between the Wilson Stationery IT platform and Tower Systems’ software, Tower Newsagents will soon have access to a stationery supply model which saves time and cuts business costs.
The new […]

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Corporate Express has said it’s not happy with Staples’ revised offer. My interest in this courtship by Staples is the possible implications for Australia. Staples arriving here, through CE, would considerably change the stationery landscape.

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If you’re ever in the UK, be sure to check out a Ryman the stationers store.  This stationery chain has an excellent local small-store format.  As I have blogged here before, the stores feel local, independent – right down to the handmade (using a rubber stamp) business cards they have at the counter (very clever).  […]

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The photo shows how they sell ink at FedEx Kinkos in London. You choose the ink you want, take the tag to the counter and they get the product from the stock room.
The staff member I spoke with said they did this because of theft and to cut the time it takes […]

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Check our Michelle’s Bumpercards stationery blog for a post about why stationery is truly the perfect gift at any age. There are several ideas of reasons to promote stationery - thank you cards and other social stationery items - in a demographic pitch.  Once you’re read the ideas about stationery, look at the products […]

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Dogs and cats can sell anything. Take these tiny pads we have at the counter. At $1.00 each they are more valuable than any candy and they sell like candy - great stock turn, great GP. While bigger ticket items can be more interesting, these loose-change items can provide a better return.  […]

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