I have heard from several sources over the last few weeks that the ANF is close to announcing a partnership relationship with Corporate Express – the company now owned by Staples, the US stationery retailer with 1,500 outlets. While I am certain that the ANF has been in negotiation with Corporate Express, I am not aware of how far they have got.
Newsagents own Group Newsagency Supplies (GNS) and the majority of Australian newsagents purchase their stationery from GNS. I would have thought that a closer relationship between the ANF and GNS would be good for the newsagency channel rather than working with a competitor.
While nothing has been announced, I’d expect to see Staples stores in Australia soon. The model and brand is too strong in the US for it not to be tried here. This would put Staples (Corporate Express) in direct shopfront competition with newsagents. Maybe this is where the ANF discussions have got to. I hope not. If non marketing group newsagents are to sub-brand stationery they should do this working with GNS.
It will be interesting to see if an ANF / Corporate Express deal is announced and, if so, what form it takes.
I’d note that I am not in the ANF communications loop so they may have announced something in the last 24 hours of which I am not aware.
We resigned from the ANF a couple of months ago after the NSW Lotteries debacle. They always seem to have a hidden agenda and are not forthcoming with information when requested by its members. STILL NOT TRANSPARENT! This is vital when representing its members….after all it is our business that are directly affected. I agree that working with GNS would make more sense however GNS is not that easy to work with. Newsagents should know because they are not that easy to buy from…..has anyone had 100% success in downloading one of their files? I agree with a comment that was made on this blog site and that is the Newsagent bodies should have come up with a contract model to help guide the like of News Ltd and this also would have at least pointed out the Newsagents needs….Our contract is not due 2011 thank goodness and with some luck we will be gone by then. The contract remains master and slave and that foremost must change.
by the way….I am buying A4 copy paper from Officeworks delivered for way less than I can buy it from GNS. Also bulk stationery items. Try Wilsons aswell….I am aware that this will weaken GNS but like everyone else they are not listening to the Newsagents either.
I wonder if Corporate Express/ Staples will perform the same way Coles & Woolworths do when they want to ‘get rid’ of a competitor.
That is, initially come in and offer wonderfully low prices, wait until the partnership between GNS and the newsagent is much weakened before increasing their prices to a ‘normal’ level.
Because of their size they may buy cheaper than GNS but you can back it in they will not be sharing their profits with the Australian newsagent as GNS does. GNS has the industry at heart and has invested heavily to ensure the industry survives.
Sure there are a few items that you can purchase from our competitors at a cheaper price but could you survive on their prices for your bulk everyday stationery?
It is about time the ANF did its due diligence before entering into commercial deals.
It shouldn’t be just about the money the ANF may make on their deals; it should be about the newsagency industry and its future.
Ann Nugent
Here in lies the problem. The QNF whilst doing a good job is out of alignment with the other organizations than govern other states. If I was a supplier all I would need o do is read this blog to gauge the disunity in the channel. I would keep them divided and conquered to ensure I got what I wanted from weak unified businesses, to supplement me putting high volumes and low margins though chain stores. As a supplier I win handsomely as i get the volume I need to get a good production costs and have a good overall margin as I have a varied sell in price. Chains get a better price and independents pay a premium.
I agree John with your comment about suppliers enjoying the divide in the industry – does this mean though that as a representative of an association I am not allowed to publically comment when I see another association or a supplier behaving in a way that may have serious consequences.
I have not made my previous comments to score points only to ask questions and state my concerns. I have a genuine concern with anyone inviting our direct competitor into our industry and question why this is being done. Corporate Express will not have our industries future at heart; we are but a pimple on a mountain to them.
Will email lists be handed over? Will newsagents be invited to link their websites with Corporate Express? How long before the newsagent’s customer is a Corporate Express customer?
I am sure that any criticism aimed at the QNF questioning its ability to look after the future of the newsagency industry would trigger internal investigations of the staff and the Board and reinforce our association’s responsibility to members and the industry as a whole.
Ann Nugent
We really have to stop looking at GNS as a protected animal and treat it as a distributor/supplier to our businesses. Corporate express, Stationers, Wilsons etc only exsist because there has been an indentified gap in the market.
GNS are not the best or worst to deal with but they are simply not competitive with their rpicing in a number of areas. Big W for example have had Reflex copy paper around the $5 mark for the past year. Yes they may be seling this as a lost litre but I g’tee you that they are making reflex pay something.
Yes GNS is needed to give us some certainty. They also need to be more aware of what is happening at the coal face. We as buyers need to make business decisions on stock not emotional or short term ones.
Ann
Unity is of the utmost importance, thats why I point out metcash. Disunity at governance and leadership levels is what is holding the channel back. Resolve this first and then move forward together. yes you need to keep people honest, all people not just some. Queensland fortunately or unfortunaltey is not the nation and the QNF whilst doing a good job does not represent all newsagents and whilst suppliers see this fracture in the industry they will continue to win. You are like a broken chain which needs to be linked. If Queensland newsagents want to go alone, rebrand and call your group something else, if they want to be part of a national group it must unify.
Corporate Express and GNS are a different model and they supply outside your channel to stationers and other businesses. Staples does not need data to take control of the stationery market, customers vote with their feet. Thats where newsagents lose. look at your letter box, newspaper, TV or listen to your radio and see how much they advertise and how regularly. They don’t except for a handful and they are then compared to others in the same industry or group and everyone loses.
My point here is most of your suppliers deal outside your industry so why is Corporate express any different? Exclusivity in supply is not your problem, unity is. Competitors that buy stationery work together, market it very regularly together and take risks, Newsagents do not do this so they pay the price and compete with players that control supply whilst suppliers control newsagents.
Protect newsagents by training them to be retailers and get them out of the mind set that they have to be protected. retailers play to sell and compete, newsagents in general want protection and this is outdated and dangerous thinking. Unite and produce a metcash model or buy a country newsagency where there is limited competition.
There is unity of the sort desired. It can be found at the newsXpress, Newspower, etc level.
Metcash is not the independant supermarket version of the ANF. NARGA has that role.
The GNS side of things is similar to Foodworks or Mitre 10. The ANF could develop this area more, and make the “N” brand a “newsXpress” equivilent. But to do so would stop it functioning as a whole-of-industry body.
If the ANF wishes remain such a body, it should spin off GNS.
GNS is owned by newsagents. The ANF os also owned by newsagents. The two structures are not legally or commercially connected.