I was going through some material I collected at the Gift fair in Hong Kong two weeks ago and found this photo of embroidered artwork featuring John Howard. He has been embroidered along with a bunch of other “world leaders” including Saddam Hussein, Tony Blair, Yassar Arafat, Bill Clinton, George Bush and a bunch of others. His is not the best likeness.
It’s amazing the things you see at a Gift fair in Hong Kong.
It is fascinating watching someone walk into the newsagency, pick up a newspaper, walk to the crossword magazine display, pick up a magazine, place it inside the newspaper, come to the counter, pay for the newspaper and leave. He was good about it when approached at the food court and allowed us to take the crossword magazine back.
I remember Brian Everingham showing me the sales approach at his Puckle Street Moonee Ponds newsagency in the early 1990s. He’d hold a newspaper by the corner and let everything fall out. Thanks to that demonstration we suggested to newsagents they, every so often, have a scan only day – when you only process sales by scanning.
The crossword thief would have been caught at the counter had we done this.
It’s great to be have the material to be able to promote OK! magazine this week. The POS material provided is among the best I’ve seen from a publisher.
The OK! material has been let down by the Gotch distribution system which cut us back based on patchy sales a few weeks back. It amazes me that distributors and or publishers are quick to cut back on these weeklies yet slow to cut back on titles which don’t sell.
The amount of time newsagents waste on navigating magazine supply (over and under) is ridiculous.
It’s AGM season for newsagents with meetings scheduled for GNS, the ANF and VANA. I assume NANA and the QNF have had or are soon to have their AGMs. If 2007 is like other years, the AGMs will be poorly attended and few tough questions asked. Newsagents are not engaged in directing the organisations which serve them.
Those on the boards of the organisations bemoan newsagent disinterest. Having been involved at this level, my sense is that disinterest among newsagents stems from a disconnect between boards and their constituents. People need to experience being listened to and to see that their opinion leads to action to encourage engagement.
An example of this is the Tower Systems user meetings. We run 70 a year and half the time at each meeting is driven by user feedback / comments / questions. Invariably, this leads to software enhancements. We get good numbers at the sessions because people see their opinion as leading to action.
According to Weekly Insight, a blog, Google could be preparing to take on magazines and in a way which could set the distribution network on its ear.
Recently, Gilbarco introduced a kiosk system that enables Google local search, maps and coupons to be accessible in gas stations, convenience stores and the like. In addition, Google, with its patent filed in May of 2006, shows interest in expanding this type of “on demand†content by introducing itself to the magazine publishing industry.
Newsagents should read the full blog post.
Consider this: a kiosk system at fuel outlets with a Google search built in – this will connect you with local businesses, local ads and could even connect you with local stories, all on demand. While the Weekly Insight post suggests the model is more novelty, newsagents – who rely on magazine traffic for around half all traffic in our stores, ought to be aware of technology moves which could impact the core of our businesses. They are setting a fire on the disribution of boks so why not magazines?
Google looking at DIY Magazine Publishing, an article referred to in the Weekly Insight post and published at huomah.com, outlines one way a Google magazine offer could work.
Two years ago I wrote here that content wants to be set free from mastheads, as individual songs wanted to be set free from albums/CDs. It will happen. Disruption, significant disruption, of the supply chain is inevitable. This is what newsagents should be talking about, not minor operational issues like late delivery of papers and the like. No, there are big picture changes on the horizon and I worry that too many of us have no idea and will be shocked when they artart to impact their businesses.
Not I says John Howard, the Prime Minister who has allowed, on his 11 year watch, Australia Post to considerably expand, through its government owned retail stores, its reach into retail categories previously served well by independent small business newsagents.
Not I says Helen Coonan, Minister responsible for Australia Post, who ducks behind the legislation as the reason her hands are tied. Apparently controlling both houses of parliament does not give the minister to go against Australia Post management or the Government’s desire fro profits from their monopoly based corporate-store retail operation.
Not I says Fran Bailey, minister for Small Business in the current government who stands behind Minister Coonan and everything she says about the legislation allowing Australia Post to compete directly with small business newsagents.
Not I says Kevin Rudd who remains silent on this issue of vital importance to the thousands of working families connected with newsaegcnies as owners, employees and suppliers.
This Government took away the one monopoly newsagents had in 1999. It did so without compensation. Ignoring overseas best practice on competition policy, it has continued to protect Australia Post and has sat on its hands while Australia Post management has aggressively and deliberately targeted the weakened newsagency channel.
Newsagents are not big news. People this they are rich and can fight for themselves. Sure, we can fight, but we need a level playing field. When it comes to the Australia Post corporate stores this is not the case. They have monopoly protection and and they levearge this to get further and further into the newsagency space.
Do politicians care about small business? I suspect not. Sure some are great at beating their chest and saying they are friends of small business and friends of newsagents. These noisy folk need to be asked for proof. I can’t find it.
The photo is from the Government owned Post Office opposite my Forest Hill newsagency this morning. This shop sucks people in with products and services protected by the legislation and pitches cards, books, stationery – all manner of things – while the poor blighters are stuck in a line waiting to get to the counter. Yep, this is the Government’s small business policy on show for all to see.
The photo is of the front left side of our newsagency in Frankston.
Where you see boxed cards, the business has run magazines – weeklies and some feature monthlies as a co-location strategy.
Two weeks ago, I decided we should replace magazines with boxed Christmas cards to drive sales.
Boxed cards immediately picked up – to the cost of magazine sales. I was surprised at how many magazines were purchased from this small display. Weekly titles were affected most. So much so that yesterday, we flipped the display back. It is a lesson learned. Being in a high passing traffic area, in front of a supermarket, it is clear that having the weekly titles at the front of the shop like this facilitates impulse purchase. While we need to address, for the overall benefit of the business, right now we need to get back the sales lost over the last two weeks.
While we have put magazines back in this valuable place, we have not forgotten boxed Christmas cards. Further down the front of the shop we have strengthened our offer to attract passing traffic. Early indications from yesterday are that this will work for us.
Change is great in any business situation. We measure, change and measure again. If the data shows a change is not working we either change again or go back to what we had. I was wrong on the boxed card approach in this high profile magazine space at the front of the shop. It was worth trying and appreciate the lesson learned.
It has only been on sale for three days and already I’m hearing reports that issue #2 of Women’s Health is selling as well as issue #1. I think we’ll look back in 2007 as this title being the stand out magazine launch of the year.
Newsagents are certainly helping drive sales with excellent positioning in high traffic areas.
Merchandisers have a job to do live all of us but encroaching on other titles steps over the line. Vogue Entertaining & Travel is already bigger than your average magazine, the additional material put around the title is unfair on the neighbours. A smarter and fairer move by the Vogue folks wold be to provide me with a flyer which In can include with every sale, promoting the title and leaving space for me to stamp my business details. Retail real-estate is precious. However, it needs to be treated fairly.
One of the team members at our Frankston store wanted to get they guys looking at our Ralph display so they wen out and bought a bra and panties – they wanted white to match the cover but could not find any that looked right so they went for black. I was surprised when I first saw the display and wondered if it went too far. But when I was told it was created by a woman I figured probably not. I’m glad they are playing outside the square on displays like this – getting customer attention is a challenge.
Today’s Herald Sun reports that Tattersalls has advised its suburban retail network that they cannot sell the soon to launch lottery products from Intralot. As I blogged here a month ago, at the time of the Intralot appointment by the State Government of Victoria, both the Government and Intralot want a different outlet network. This was made very clear in their respective press releases.
While existing Tattersalls outlets ought to try and get Intralot products, none of us should be surprised if Intralot says no and or Tattersalls upholds its contract and says we cannot do this. Think about it, if Intralot products were sold in existing Tattersalls outlets, what would all the change have been about other than to split lotteries revenue with Intralot. No, too much noise has been made about broader consumer choice for the same outlets to be used.
The time for action on lottery licences in Victoria was a year ago, back when the lottery agents association and the local newsagents association were sitting on their hands.
In one of our stores we are not restricting the porn magazines (yet) – in order to find what our customers want. It is interesting watching this range expand based on the behaviour of the magazine distributors. While some titles sell well, as you’d expect, others do not. I am most surprised at the copy-cat titles like these three. We have three of 30 up women and three of 40 and 60 age groups. I really expected the Internet to reduce the range of porn magazines sent to newsagents who accept titles in the category.
I figured it is time to check in with the performance of OK! Magazine Australia. Against tough competition, this title has earned a strong following in the weekly segment of the market. It is most often purchased with another weekly and that flips between the other major titles.
No longer the newbie, OK! Has earned real-estate allocation next to Woman’s Day and New Idea. That’s where we place it, in waterfall. OK! is also included it in our co-location of major weeklies.
The editorial and design folks at the Australian Financial Review must be disappointed at the desecration of the front page of the Queensland edition of their newspaper today.
The advertiser would be happy because you look at their ad ahead of the newspaper content.
Fairfax demonstrates little respect for Australia’s flagship business daily.
Boxed card sales are stronger than ever based on data I have seen from at least six newsagencies. By going out early, some as early as four weeks ago, they have been able to grab excellent card sales. We did this at our Forest Hill store and the result has been excellent.
The key appears to display the cards as if they are a promotional line – i.e. on tables and not in the more attractive card company stands.
Done right, (which means having a great range) newsagents can own boxed card sales in their area. This is our third year of strong commitment to boxed cards in our Forest Hill store and current data guides an expectation sales being up 25% on last year. What makes this year better is that we are not running an outpost away from the store. Instead, we have negotiated a small extension to our lease line, thus avoiding staffing and other costs associated with an outpost.
Dymocks today starts selling electronic books at its flagship store in Sydney. See Inside Retailing for details.
The story at news.com.au is yet another wake-up call for newsagents. Our channel was created by publishers. They needed us. That need is fading as the $1.2b being generated online by News Corporation. How are we responding? For the most part, by continuing to be subservient to suppliers and ignoring the need to find our own future.
A TV sitcom pilot I have written, has been selected as a finalist by a TV network in a pitching competition at this year’s Screen Produces Association of Australia conference on the Gold Coast. While I am proud of the Break a Leg concept, characters and pilot script, the live pitch will take me completely outside my comfort zone. My writing background is one of leaving others to bring characters and their words to life on stage or film. The experience itself will be invaluable I am sure.
The trial of selling Tattersalls lottery tickets through the Bill Express bill payment terminals is set to start in in Victoria in less than a week. Many will have forgotten about this trial which was announced by Bill Express and Tattersalls two years ago. Why we need to sell lottery tickets from an already busy and very slow Bill Express terminal is beyond me. Questions about commissions, who else will sell these tickets and the impact on overnight settlement are yet to be answered. Newsagents ought to be wary of this trial
The new issue of Dolly magazine which arrived today is a challenge for newsagents. Besides the double width – because of the Rip Curl bag and free thongs – it is the free body stick of some sort which makes it almost impossible to fit into regular retail fixturing. We can fit only one copy per double pocket and even them it is jammed in.
To make this space we have pulled other titles off the shelf.
While I understand ACP magazines want to value add to their title to drive sales, the cost in terms of space and labour for retailers is a challenge. They would have known that this fat issue of Dolly would cost space for other titles.
The next step of our work with our new newsagency in Frankston is to switch from the current Newspower branding. For the last three and a half weeks, we have been making changes inside the business in advance of our coming out under the newsXpress brand. As with any cultural and operational change, it has to come from the inside out.
The most significant change has been to focus the offering of the business. Many newsagents are lured into thinking that to compete they have to sell cheap stationery and gifts. While the margin be great, the poor quality, in my view, gives off the wrong message. So, over three weeks we have repositioned this business and while the job is not done, we are ready to put on a new face – hopefully before Christmas. Here’s an incomplete design of the plans:
The planned recapping is the first of several physical changes to the business. It is a challenge because we need to get this done while continuing to trade and in a way which will work with a more significant re-fit internally early in 2008. The changes planned for next year are a raised ceiling – of plaster and not the traditional tiled type.
These Maped erasers from Pelikan Artline are walking out the door at our Watergardens store.
We have them on the counter without much around them and have sold half a box in a few days. Admittedly, we don’t have confectionery at the counter so there is not a lot of competition for customer interest.
I would not have picked these erasers as a successful impulse item, it just goes to show…
Victorian Newsagents are registering with Intralot to sell their lottery products when them come online next year.
VANA, the local newsagents association is also inviting newsagents to register interest with them.
The Lottery Agents Association is hosting a meeting this afternoon to brief members on the impact of the Government appointment of Intralot – an appointment they said would not happen. The meeting should be about sacking their CEO and the Board.
