We were sent Chook Wisdom three years ago and returned all copies received. We received the latest issue last week and will early return these this week. This is a highly specialised title which we feel does not fit with our customers.
Chook Wisdom is a title I’d prefer to be asked if I want. This respects the retailer and the publisher. If I missed the request then I apologise.
CRIKEY! magazine is not working for us. None sold in two months. We will cut supply by 66% and see how it travels over the next couple of issues. We have tried a couple of locations and prime position with these two placements. I’d be interested in how this magazine is travelling for other newsagents.
The creative team at Tower Systems has created two graduation posters which newsagents can download and print. Click here for the first poster and here for the second.
With graduation season almost here, now is a good time to put together graduation cards and gifts (plush, albums, photo frames, journals, travel diaries) together with collateral like the posters to drive sales. Teacher gifts could also be displayed in the same location.
Newsagencies are well positioned to do well from graduation and teacher opportunities since we have cards covering both giving occasions. A good gift offer will help drive card sales and vice versa. The key is visual merchandising which makes it clear that you have an offer serving the need – hence the posters.
Tower Systems provides the poster artwork and other free marketing collateral to newsagents as a way of giving something back – Tower is fortunate to serve in excess of 1,500 newsagents with its Point of Sale software.
A slick con-woman has been hitting Melbourne businesses with a credit card scam. She says she wants to transfer money from a credit card to a debit card. The thing is, she doesn’t have the card. While such a transaction ought to be rejected immediately, she has been able to get beyond store policy in a couple of instances of which I am aware thanks to excellent patter. She was caught out by a vigilant team member at Forest Hill yesterday (the first time she tried this on us) and the police and security alerted.
There is a simple way to stop this – NEVER LET SOMEONE LOAD CASH ONTO A PREPAID DEBIT CARD FROM A CREDIT CARD. I’d let them do it using eftpos because a PIN is required.
I am undertaking a newsagent retail sales benchmark study comparing sales for September-October 2009 against September-October 2008.
Tower Newsagents can participate by sending a Monthly Sales Comparison report: tick the box to exclude home deliveries, and tick the box for a category breakdown. Set your first date range (on the left) to September 1, 2009 to October 31, 2009 and the date range of the right to one year earlier.
Once the report is on the screen, click the PDF button to save this as a PDF, go into your email software and send a copy of the PDF to me at mark@towersystems.com.au. I’ll publish the benchmark results here and elsewhere so all newsagents can benefit.
Non Tower newsagents can participate by emailing me for a copy of a spreadsheet template I have prepared.
As with past benchmarks, I expect to get data from between 100 and 120 newsagencies in the next few days. The results will provide an indication of sales performance year on year and give newsagents something with which to compare their businesses.
Given the success we are having with Halloween, I decided to immerse myself into the season as a consumer this year. This meant welcoming trick-or-treaters at the door with candy and hosting a dinner party with costumes and ghoulish food delights.
From the starter of eyeballs two ways through to the Phantom Ginger Cake for dessert, there was total immersion in the Halloween experience. Kids came to the door dressed, a whole crowd at one time. I dressed as an irradiated nuclear plant worker. It was a blast, heaps of fun.
The experience has broadened my view of Halloween. It has certainly changed how I look at Halloween from a business perspective. I have a personal context now for how this season works on different levels for kids and adults and how we can leverage this next year to make Halloween bigger and better and more fun in-store.
While we are unlikely to reach the level of engagement in the US, where two-thirds of the adult population dress up or engage with the evening, there is no doubt that Halloween will get bigger here and that it will morph from just a kids fun time to something in which all ages participate.
To those who eschew Halloween as a Amercian commercial season I say – get over it. It’s harmless fun for adults and kids.
Halloween will be a more significant commercial season for us next year!
Barnes and Noble are claiming their soon to lainch Nook e-reader is a hit based on sales data. They say it is their fastest selling single item.
The Nook further pushes e-readers into the mass market and demonstrates the stength of this new distribution channel for print content.
I wonder how much newsagents are taking note of these developments.
Another day and another e-reader launch. This time, the MediaBook from Creative – announced in Singapore.