We are reasonably happy with our April numbers:
- Art: up 12%
- Books: down 5% (off a great 2008)
- Calendars: up 100%
- Diaries: up 125%
- Gifts: up 795% (off a low base)
- Magazines: down 5%
- Newspapers: down 6%
- Ink: up 18%
- Stationery: up 1%
- Overall traffic: down 13%
It is good to see growth in categories with healthy margin.
Our April Sales:
General Sales (excluding Lotteries/Phonecards) UP 9%
Overall Traffic down 12%
Books New Category 6% of turnover
Cards/Wrap -3%
Magazines -4%
Newspapers -2%
Stationery +6%
Ink/Toner +55%
Drinks +19%
Confectionery +50%
Movie Hire +59%
ADVERTISING 100% up
BOOKS 884% up
CARDS & WRAP 40% up
CONFECTIONERY 14% up
DRINKS 2% down
FAX SERVICE / PHOTOCPYING 98% up
MAGAZINES 6% down
PAPERS – flat
PHONE CARDS 365% up
STAMPS/POSTAGE 30% up
STATIONERY 64% up
TOBACCO PRODUCTS 16% down
Vaughan books up 884% cards up 40% can you share what you did differently? cheers andy
Stood out the front of my shop in a loin cloth and offered a free pucker with every purchase 🙂
Serious answer;
Our book strategy is still developing as it only 6 months old, however we do focus heavily on local marketing through brochure drops and monthly newsletter advertising.
We add further value to the advertising by placing a brochure holder with the catalogue in the main street out the front of the shop.
Books are usually front and centre as you walk in the store.
We use the plastic “Book Sale” table cloth to further highlight the offer and my staff rotate the stock to keep it fresh.
We also have a separate newsletter that goes to Seymour Bowls Club, of which we are a major sponsor, highlighting the offer. It’s the perfect market for books, especially around Mother’s Day.
I think it’s vitally important to connect with your local community, especially during these uncertain economic times; let’s face it, after the dust has settled they will continue to shop at your business if you do right by them now.
Cards: all of the above, particularly using Alliance Program to tie in with the Seymour Bowls Club and local community.
We have been with Hallmark a year since changing from John Sands and have not looked back. No disrespect to Sands, but i think the offer had become stale and complacent.
We also moved the card offer from the rear of the shop to the front left of store. We actually decreased the overall range when doing this.
We are still working on the card strategy weekly.
My girls at Seymour put out all promotions themselves, not the merchandisers; this gives them ownership and pride when selling the product. Vitally important to empower your staff, they love it!
Finally, I have worked very closely with Ron Thorpe, Peter T and Paul (account manager) to ensure our card mix is in tune with our demographic.
You can contact me on (03) 57921129 to discuss further if you wish.
Books +15%
Cards and Wraps +4%
Confectionery +5%
Drinks – 11%
Fax + 38%
Giftware +49%
Lotto – 12%
Magazines +24%
Papers -11%
Scratchies – 14%
Stationery -1%
Tobacco – 3%
Stationery: up 30%
Magazines: up 10%
Cards/Packaging: up 8%
Ink: up 60%
Gifts: up 352%
Newspapers: up 7%
April has been our quietest month this year. It appeared that there were a significant number of people on holidays during the Easter holiday period. We expect stronger growth in Cards/Wrap and Magazines for May.
Books up 162%
Cards/Wrap down 2%
Cigs Down 1%
Mags down 13%
Phones/Recharge up 29%
Papers down 4%
Stationery down 1%
Ink up 10%
Traffic down 13%
BOOKS +650%
CARDS +9%
GIFTS +58%
MAGS +9%
PAPERS + 8%
STATIONARY +1%
TABACCO +16%
Forgot to include …
Tobacco: up 11%
Electronic Vouchers: up 11%