We are embracing the opportunity of holiday shoppers and promoting a range of ACP cookbooks at the front of the newsagency. While sales are lower than those leading up to Christmas, they remain strong enough to justify using the stand in this way.
We have given best positioning to titles related to weight loss and health … it is the time of the year for considering these after all. More than half the people entering our shop pass the stand in its current location.
We like to change the offer in the ACP basket building stand every few wells as well as changing the location of the stand. It only takes a couple of minutes and the effort is usually rewarded with sales.
It frustrates me when I visit newsagencies and see non ACP titles in this ACP supplied and branded stand.
Sorry to say but i use the stand for what ever i think will work ,this week it has been 4wd mags next week something else .Customers would not have a clue who ACP is so being branded is not really a problem . yeah sure they own the stand but i own the newsagency where the stand sits so i decide what goes where . ACP tittles do spend a lot of time in the stand but not because of the little lable at the bottom of the mag but because i think it will sell on the stand
Shaun I don;t think that’s a wise move. ACP provided the stand. If you don’t want to use it for their product then return it.
It is decisions like this which cause suppliers to look outside our channel.
I did mention that ACP magazines do spend a lot of time in the stand .It is all about variety . Acp have not treated yourself or any other newsagents fairly latley so not to sure why you want to show them so much support . I do not see why a decision like this makes them look outside the channel ,i think that is a bit over the top . If anyone from ACP is reading this and does not agree with the way i rotate what is on the stand feel free to come and pick it up it would be at there loss not mine .
I recieve many stands from all different suppliers that i reuse for different products all the time and i am sure i have seen pictures on here where you reuse a stand for someting else which is never a problem so for me acp is just like any other supplier
Shaun, while I consider the ACP behaviour toward my newsagencies and others immediately prior to Christmas to be appalling, disrespectful and dumb, it is not altering my behaviour – nor should it alter anyone else’s.
I used the back of the ACP stand for non ACP product and they cracked it at me so I stopped. I didn’t consider the back of the stand to be their space.
The only other stand I have reused to the best of my recollection is Collins diary stands, once the diary season is over.
The difference here is that this is a $300 or $400 stand. It’s branded. There is plenty of ACP product to promote.
My code point is that your behaviour gives them a message which could lead to newsagents being harmed.
I don,t really see how this would harm newsagencys .Each to there own I suppose but for me I will do what ever it takes to gain sales in all magazines and not just one brand .i am quite sure that the sales over the years that I have had the stand make up for the $300 dollar stand . One thing I don,t understand is how you let these company’s tell you how to run your business but then again we have never seen anyone from ACPor any other mag company come in to have a chance to tell me what to do and I would say they never will because they would hate to leave there city limits .
Shaun, the extent to which they tell me what to do is covered in the contract I signed (and you I am guessing). Beyond that, this is my business.
Your comment here gives suppliers another example of a newsagent going against a rule. The entire channel can be judged y the actions of on unfortunately. We have some petty minded suppliers.
It is the same as a drink fridge .the fridge I have is ther on my terms not on who owns the fridge .i give them 2 rows of there product and the rest I do with what I like and if they do not like it then I go else where
This has to change mark , these are our businesses we have to be treated like businesses and not a member of there staff
So don’t enter in to a contract. Shaun this is not a big deal. Use the stand any way you want. My point is that it was provided to you for free for a specific purpose. Respect in a relationship has to start somewhere.
That could be the answer to just about every post on here that we complain about -don’t enter into a contract-
Anyway moving on
I agree with Mark. It is disrespectful to
use the ACP stand for other company’s products but we felt that the stand had
had its “useby” date and it looked out of
place in our shop after it was refurbished
so I rang them and they collected it from us.
There are probably people who would appreciate it but our shop is all white and
the colour of the stand stood out.
I actually hate all the stands (calendar, diaries, cards etc) that are cardboard and
I get rid of them ASAP. I think they are another thing that downgrades our agencies and makes them look like “cheap
as chips”.
Dirty front tables with grubby books etc are another no no.
We have to be more stringent with what
we offer to consumers because a lot of newsagencies look demoralized and tired and dirty and that is not a good look.
I agree Mark, when one chooses to use the stand they have entered into a contract to use it for a specific purpose. In not doing so, one is breaching that contract.
If one wants to control the space they need to supply their own fittings so they are not bound by any contractual obligations.
We don’t have the ACP stand for this very reason. We’re very short on space and allocating it to a permanent ACP stand is not viable. We own the fittings are not bound by any agreement, meaning our merchandising decisions are based entirely on what product we think will sell, not who publishes it.
Oh well looks like I may be the only one in Australia to brake this part of the contract .Anyone from ACP feel free to pick it up I am sure not to loose any sleep over it .
I fully understand both arguments, and I’m the same as Jarryd, I just won’t take stands off anybody, my business, I dont get told what to do, all my fixtures are owned.
I do however have a coke fridge after our fridge that we owned packed it in, was going to buy a new one, but a previous rep who I got along with well organised me a fridge. He has since moved on, and now have new coke reps every 3-6 months. I inform every one of them that if they so much as touch the red bull shelf strip in the fridge, they can take the whole fridge with them. I cant believe they are that petty that they always try to remove redbulls 1 single shelf strip.
I have no hesitation in buying my own fridge, but needless to say, they leave the shelf strips alone.
we have 2 cook book stands but never use them, cause i have my own and i don’t like being told what i should do. it is my business not theirs.
Newsagency Specilalists need to display ACP’s Cookbooks only to enhance their business, its a nice collection.
I am not a specialist by any means and cannot allocate anymore room for this kind of range. I agree with Shauns thinking however my actions would be what Mark is trying to convey.
Its a funny business so like Jarryd elaborated on, if you truly want ownership / control of your business, it is better to refrain from accepting & using Publishers accessories if you are not going to use them for their intended product. (conflicts a bit with the coke example at end of post.)
We have to also remember the City, Regional & Rural differences that our channel has, not all Newsagency’s are the same, if one chooses or is obligated to undergo a shop refit which will keep the banks in business and the owner in debt , that is what it is. In my view the days of 5 year Refitting of Newsagencys must go big time and alternatives like Mark’s mobile Refit or a negotiated elongated one with the proprieter should be performed. Easier said than done for Small Business owners who are already under contract. Proprieters have to change their thinking on Refits or they will not have many Newsagencys left particularly in shopping centres etc. Its a view only, I would be interested to see the other side of the argument.
Regarding coke or any supplied fridge, a precedent has been set and I believe is caselaw, which allows if you wish, to stock 20% of other supplier products for example a coke supplied fridge. I do take advantage of the 80/20 rule.
with the coke fridge they actually have 90% (9/10 shelves are coke product) and 1 shelf of redbull. it just does my head in that they were continually removing the 1 single redbull shelf strip… just so petty, do they think that by removing it, no one will buy the redbull products?
Well yes if they remove them from your fridge, no one will buy redbull from you lol
I myself am looking at removing the drink fridge all together. I feel for the space I could pop 2 more spinners in from HH or Artique or maybe a better coffee book display.
not the redbull product itself, just the shelf strip, – the thin strip of advertising that runs along the shelf.
We have a Schweppes fridge and the rep has always been okay with us stocking coke and diet coke along with a locally produced water.
Coke rep was cheeky enough to slap a coke sticker on the fridge last time she was here !
On coke i have my own fridge. Buy coke from Coles or woolie whoever has the special for the week. Normally costs about 60c a can. Sell them for $1.20 cheapest in town and others $1.00. Sales have increased 10 fold. Only a small shop so cant carry to much stock anyway.
BrettS,
We got rid of our fridge because there is just too many food outlets in our centre. We have found the extra space to be a better money spinner with other products such as gifts. Go for it, you wont be dissapointed.
Cheers
Al
Well said Derek
I do not inderstand when some will do it with coke but will not do it with ACP whats the difference ?
Just for the record i have only got ACP products in there today and it does not look as appealing as what it normally does when you have a theme that makes people look at it . I will see how many sales i loose by doing it this way and if it is to much then the stand might just have to be retired . I get what Mark is saying and hey it is great if you have the stock to fill it but for me it is just not going to happen eg i do not have enough cook books to fill it so it looks out of place i do not carry enough street machine or top gear to make it look any good so this is why i feel the need to mix and match with different suppliers magazine .
Just as an example of what i do lets just say on the top row i have a few trader magazines and then i fill it up with street machine mags or some bike mags to go into the mix ,people will go to the stand and buy the trader magzines and while they are there they look at the street machine mags at the same time so that way you have a chance of getting that extra sale because they originally come in for the trader paper or mag .
So we have acp mags sales lifting we have emg sales lifting and who ever else owns mags around here lifting the point is they compliment each other so really it should be win win situation .
Shaun in that case I’d suggest to ACP they take the unit back and make your own. This gives you complete control. I has my own unit in one of my other newsagencies and used it regularly to promote what I wanted. I often wrote about it here.