With the 2010 Official Michael Jackson calendars now in stock, we can see the value of our pre-sale campaign. We have close to eighty calendars sold and paid for, at full price, before we put any stock out on the shelves.
We are using the pre-sell approach selectively in several areas to help our customers ensure that they get what they are looking and to lock in revenue for us before any retailers have the stock on the shelves.
The key is to have rules around payment and refunds – you don-t want to take pre-orders and have them cancelled when people can buy the items cheaper elsewhere.
We choose pre-sell items based on what else sells well in our newsagencies: Michael Jackson product is a good example as is anything to do with Twilight.
I first wrote about our plans for the Jackson calendar on August 1. I have been contacted by some newsagents who copied the idea and achieved excellent results as we have. This is great feedback. The more we share ideas like this the better.
Our competitors are less likely to have the infrastructure necessary to make pre-selling work. For smart newsagents, it taps into our magazine putaway offer. As we saw with the Packson calendar, we are playing to our strengths and leveraging an excellent point of difference. I my own case, the GP alone is close to $1,500 – GP achieved before we received the stock. How good is that?!!
Eighty pre-paid sales already is amazing – well done for being so proactive and bold.