The Australian is reporting this morning that supermarket chain Woolworths is reducing space for magazines at the checkout counter. It will be interesting to see if they follow the Coles trend of creating a newsagency-like store within a store.
I am glad that Woolworths is making this move. The tougher they are on magazines the better. This will tell publishers something about that channel versus the newsagency channel.
Some years a go coles had look a like newagency in thier stores but it failed badly and i think this will be the same .I have had a look at Coles in the west of Brisbane and their seem to be a down gradeing of mags .One had no mags at the checkout at all,these two stores are their new concept stores.As sales fall this was always going to happen,Family circle was moved from the check and it was dead .Coles do not have to send their returns back ,they take their word shame my word is crap
does any one know at what stage woolies are looking at doing this move . i am pretty sure i can gain sales by this as i am sure it is more of an impulse thing that they buy it from woolies
Coles in our Shopping Centre has upgraded their magazine/book & card section in a big way. Relocated it from the back of the store to the front near the fruit & vegs. Yet the Coles in the next suburb has only a small magazine section. Go figure?
The Woolies next door to my has just upgraded their magazine stand to over four times the size it was previously. It is located right next to the fruit & vege section as you walk in. It is far bigger than the one in the next major town from me which has over five times our population. It was part of a general upgrade costing over 6 million so if there is some pulling back in mags someone forgot to tell them here. I am told by some of the staff in there that they toss hundreds out each week. It makes you wonder if Woolies were so smart why would they give up this retail space for something that gives only 25% return. I am sure they could have used the space in a more profitable way and let me be. Perhaps they are getting significant kickback from the publishers?
When they take mags from the checkout their sales will drop badly..The coles near us has both at checkout plus on the wall and i can tell you they sell nothing of the wall . They have moved their paper from just as you come in by about 600mm,and faceing in to the store and their paper have droped ,we are picking up about 15 each day plus 40on sunday