Based on the emails and calls I have received over the last couple of days, I have struck a nerve in asking here what an Australian newsagency will look like in 2020. Newsagents are keen to discuss this. I am keen to discuss it. Some newsagency suppliers too.
For the record, I feel bullish about the future. I see excellent opportunities. These spring from what will happen with some of our core products and the realisation by more newsagents that our future is up to us.
Some newsagents are already having fun exploring new product and service opportunities and building businesses with healthier margins than the traditional newsagency. This is a minority group though.
For many newsagents there is a time of unlearning to go through. This includes an assessment of each department of the business and assessing its contribution to profitability in the context of return on investment, return on floor space and return per labour unit.
Newsagents who do this work soon see opportunities and embrace the liberation which often follows.
Profit is the key to decisions about the future – short, medium and long term. For many, this is a new paradigm for newsagents.
Profit based decisions are where some traditional newsagency suppliers will struggle. They will soon realise, though, that to engage with new generation newsagents the profit model of the past will not cut it.
I didn’t know where else to post this, but is anyone going to talk about TattsTech? Mark, maybe a new post covering the topic? What are people’s opinions?