Our Bartel 2012 range is selling well. This is the first start of our broader calendar offer which will hit the shop floor over the next few weeks.
Getting in early with good margin calendars is important in establishing your position in the category.
We will not discount calendars until January 1, 2012. I can’t think of any reason for newsagents to discount calendars before then.
This year many newsagents have a better opportunity with calendars following the collapse of REDGroup retail and their calendar Club operations. While I understand that Calendar Club will emerge, my understanding is that it will not be in as many location as in the past.
The collapse of Cardeaux will also help calendar sales in newsagencies, especially at this early stage as they were notorious for discounting from the start of the season.
The margins on calendars are fantastic – if you look around – and it amazes me how many people are willing to pay full price for quality ones. I see now that being a magazine specialist and not a calendar specialist is just crazy.
we have never got into calanders, besides the mentioned Bartel group, what other suppliers are good for Newsagents to consider.
we sold 100s already by ‘buy 2 gets 1 free’
Graig, there are plenty out ther. Top of the list should be Brown Trout. Don’t be scared of dearer calendars, they sell well if given the opportunity.
Eric, why offer a 33.3% discount this early, it’s way too early and only does harm to the integrity of the RRP and your margin.
i can’t stop, my customers are regulars and they will remind me of that offer every year. I need them to move very fast
We have an outpost of calendars every year in our shopping centre. We never discount until we bring the display back into the store on Boxing Day. Our aim is to sell every calendar we have at full price. We are still being asked for 2011 calendars.
Seems Eric & Ads are at exact opposite ends of the spectrum.
Would be interesting to know what strategy yields the most GP.
We sell the majority of our calendard up tp Christmas at full margin then discount by 25-50% depending on stock on hand so unless discounting at this stage creates extra sales of 50% or more it has to be harmful to gross profit in $ terms. In Erics case a 33.3% discount is giving away at least half his margin if he is at maximum margin himself so at full margin he could sell half as much and make the same $ profit. We went to a business seminar held by local accountants a couple of month back and they showed that discounting by for example 10% requires a large increase in sales to maintain the status quo. The only good reason to discount would be if you have nearby competition HEAVILY discounting.
Blake, based on years in this space, full price is the only way to go if you want to maximise return on investment.
i will disounting my xmas box cards as well like my calender when they arrive next month
Eric I don;t understand this at all. I sell out of boxed cards every year. sales grow by more than 10% every year.
All at full price. If you educate your shoppers to not pay full price they will learn from you.
Offer a valued retail experience and price is a lesser factor.
We don’t mark down the calenders till school goes back at the end of January. Diaries get marked down around March by 25% and 50% in May. I never mark down Christmas cards, they just get stored till next year!
Based on a high end margin of 63%for calendars here
are the hard figures on discounting.
At 25 % discount sales need to increase 146% to make
the same profit. Move the decimal point for Qty one place
to the right to get the approx sales increase just to maintain sales.
Retail Margin Discount Profit Qty Profit
1 0.63 0.00% 0.63 10 6.3
1 0.63 5.00% 0.58 10.9 6.322
1 0.63 10.00% 0.53 11.9 6.307
1 0.63 15.00% 0.48 1.31 0.6288
1 0.63 20.00% 0.43 14.6 6.278
1 0.63 25.00% 0.38 16.6 6.308
1 0.63 30.00% 0.33 19.1 6.303
1 0.63 35.00% 0.28 22.5 6.3
1 0.63 40.00% 0.23 27.4 6.302
1 0.63 45.00% 0.18 35 6.3
1 0.63 50.00% 0.13 48.5 6.305
Big discounts need HUGE sales growth just to make the same $
Not as easy to read as in the spread sheet but they are accurate.
I discount papers @ miday by 50% to sell out. Easier on returns.
Mark
Hallmark sends me a truck loads of xmas box cards every year, if i don’t discount them earlier i don’t have enoough storage and i found by discounting earlier you sell to people who will buy in huge quantity. now time even more challenging you need to be agressive
eric, you can easily control the volume of stock you get.
Erik @ 16
Why would you discount papers at 50%, when it is such a low margin stock item in the first place?????????????????
Just do the returns
Erik why on earth would you do that when papers are one of the easier to control stock items ? I always say I’d ideally rather have one paper left at the end of the day rather than none at all and know I’ve potentially turned a prospective customer away due to having none(as unfortunately sometimes happens).
Wouldn’t discounting by 50% potentially be costing you hundreds of dollars a year ?
Paul S,
A rep from the age told me that their ideal was a sell out but I’m with you. One left for that extra customer rather tha a dissapointed customer. I told the rep that but I don’t think she got the point.
Eric, so if you received 100 papers and sold 50 to midday you would sell the rest at a loss and a net result of no profit? Yoiu must be pulling our collective legs!!
eric @16 im with the others here, at 50% off you are losing money…. and as mark says “If you educate your shoppers to not pay full price they will learn from you.”
how many people consistantly come in after 12 just to get the paper cheaper.
even if a customer wants yesterdays paper that i have already cut the head off to return, i make them pay full price, we ask them to put that money in the charity collection box on the counter.
eric @ 17… tell hallmark you dont want as many, and sell at full price one or 2 years, monitor sales and margin, you are very likely to end up better off $$