A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Month: May 2012

Mother’s Day card sales up 39%

In an extroardinary result,  Mother’s Day card sales were up 39% year on year in one of my newsagencies. This wonderful sales growth is reported across most Mother’s Day card captions.  I note that we only have Hallmark cards in this newsagency so it really is a like for like comparison.

Mother’s Day gifts were up as well, well over double last year thanks to better buying and better displays.

Looking at the last two weeks, Mother’s Day cards accounted for 47% of call cards sold.

Overall traffic in the newsagency for the same period is static between the years.

The other interesting data is the boost in magazine sales. I have no doubt that many mums opened gifts on Sunday which included magazines. Newsagencies are the perfect place to drive sales of magazines as gifts.

It’s terrific having the sales data so close to the end of the season.

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Gifts

The comfort food season is here

We have been promoting the GoodFood Comfort Food title next to Good Food itself in with our food titles. We have these two at the front of the section so the covers are on full show at eye level – this is important.

While the photo show’s the latest Australian Good Food, we had the Comfort Food title next to the previous issue until yesterday. That said, the latest issue of Australian Good Food fits well next to the comfort food title given both covers show off comfort food.

Comfort Food has sold so well that we have ordered more stock, more than our initial allocation from ACP. This is great news! While magazine sales are challenged, smart newsagents can find sales growth opportunities by understanding the titles in-store and leveraging these in clever ways.

Now is the time for comfort food titles and covers. As we receive more comfort food titles we will give them their own space within food.

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magazines

Displaying wide magazines

The latest issues of both Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire have bonus gifts with fold out pockets which require them to take twice the shelf space.

We have reclaimed space from other titles so we can fold them out and fully display the gifts. I don’t see the point in folding the gifts to the back and therefore hiding them from browsers. My experience is that this hinders sales.

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magazines

Promoting the launch issue of International Traveller magazine

We are promoting the launch issue of new magazine title International Traveller – from the publisher of Australian Traveller – with this double pocket display with travel magazines. We also have the title with our women’s weeklies. We will co-locate for the first month of the on-sale to help find customers for the launch issue. I have read the magazine, there is nothing like it from an Australian publisher. This is one reason I’m happy to support it with space. I also expect it to sell so there is a commercial imperative for me too.

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magazines

Melbourne the next focus for ParcelPoint service

Melbourne is the next focus of the people creating the ParcelPoint parcel pickup service for newsagents. This newsagency software integrated service will make it easy for newsagents to offer and manage the service from within their software.  Parcel Point gives newsagents an Australia Post competitive offer. It costs nothing to take on and the space requirement is minimal.

I’d urge newsagents to watch this introductory video and then Express your interest here. If you are in the Melbourne suburban area now is the time to move. ParcelPoint will use other retailers in areas not covered by newsagents.

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Newsagency opportunities

Odd timing of News Limited statement at VANA awards dinner

Newsagency awards dinners should be relaxing events with the focus solely on the award nominees and recipients. On this one night of the year, nothing else should matter, nothing else should pull focus from the newsagents to be recognised.

Unfortunately, the VANA awards dinner on Saturday for a while was like a newsagents meeting with a couple of business presentations. The awards dinner was the wrong forum and the content not as noticed as a result.

Stephen Kaye, Circulation Director of News Limited’s Herald and Weekly Times delivered a speech about changes to the newspaper distribution model. He started by criticising talk in some quarters that News Limited was in crisis. Um, Stephan, that comment was directed at me and a blog post I published on February 21. Immediately after the post News used several channels to any the claim, they used newsagency associations to put out their spin. I’ve not officially heard from News Limited. I stand by what I said including this…

There is a crisis gripping News Limited on the future of newspaper home delivery in Australia.  My understanding is that there is disagreement between circulation executives in some News Limited state offices and their bosses at Holt Street in Sydney on the future model of newspaper home delivery and whether newsagents are part of the model.

The crisis in had its genesis in 2009 when somewhere between 100 and 300 newsagents handed their newspaper home delivery businesses back to News, claiming that they were not financially viable.

I didn’t make it up. People in News said it to me.

Why Stephen Kaye felt he needed to comment on this at the VANA awards dinner months after I made the statement is beyond me. Odd.

But Stephen was just starting his speech – he went on to tell newsagents that change was coming and that it would start in Queensland where more newsagents have handed their runs back. Reading between the lines, one could take Stephen’s words to suggest that there is a crisis in Queensland.

I wish I had been able to take notes as the speech had plenty of information which newsagents would find valuable, information they would want to reflect on away from an awards dinner environment.

In his speech, Stephen Kaye said that Victorian newsagents are not waiting for the News Limited changes in Queensland to come to Victoria. He observed than some Victorian changers were not what News Limited wanted. Hang on, News Limited has been at this change thing for close to three years, watching what is happening in Victoria among newsagents and he says that some of the changes newsagents have been leading may not be what News Limited wants. That’s odd.

Are newsagents is a master servant relationship or is this the era of deregulation.

All newsagents want is contracts so that they can go about commercially structuring themselves as they consider mot appropriate.  It looks to me like News is trying to control too much of the operation. This is not what one should see in a deregulated marketplace.

If I was running VANA I’d ask for a copy of Stephen Kaye’s speech so it could be published to all newsagents. It contains information all newsagents need to hear. I would also bring into the open for all newsagents as a matter of urgency open discussion about what is known of the News Limited plans. I’d actively engage with South Australian newsagents who have gone through aspects of the News Limited plans already. Their experiences would be invaluable despite what some in News might say. South Australian newsagents have a lot to share with their eastern seaboard counterparts.

While I disagree with their process, I agree with the overall goal of what News Limited is working on. The problem for newsagents is that the company is pursuing considerable change in its relationship with newsagents while at the same time finally addressing the state based silo management style in which it has operated for decades. News in a year or two will look very different to the company we know today.

I suspect the scope of change facing newsagents is far more than any but a small few expect.

News needs to stop jumping at shadows and trying to discredit anyone they think is challenging their position.

The VANA awards dinner was good. I appreciated the opportunity to catch up with plenty of newsagents as I did in Hobart a week earlier. Brisbane next week…

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Newsagency challenges

Newsagency of the Future workshop in Townsville

I have scheduled a Newsagency of the Future workshop for Townsville for May 29 at 10am. This session will be at the Plaza Hotel. You can book here. It’s free. Participation is open to anyone.

This could be the last session of this round. It’s been a fascinating journey meeting with so many newsagents and engaging in some terrific discussions as we explore being proactive about the future of our businesses and the channel.

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newsagency of the future

Promoting Prevention magazine

We have been promoting the latest issue of Prevention magazine with this aisle end display.  The exercise band gift is ideal for the typical Prevention shopper.

This display was one of our Mother’s Day magazine gift displays which we ran in several locations in-store.  FYI we sold close to three times our usual magazine on Saturday – most likely due to our targeting of magazines as a good gift for Mother’s Day.

We are also promoting this issue of Prevention with good placement in our women’s health and fitness area.

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magazines

Promoting bonus gift with Men’s Fitness magazine

We are giving the latest issue of Men’s Fitness magazine a run with high profile double half waterfall placement with our men’s fitness and sports titles. We are also promoting it at the counter.

This issue of Men’s Fitness comes with a free copy of a past issue and I can see that this works with given the timelessness of the content of the magazine.

Our sales of sports and fitness titles are up considerably – double digit growth year on year comparing calendar year to date to the same period a year earlier.

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magazines

Sunday newsagency management tip: target your competition

One of the themes I have explored in the Newsagency of the Future workshop series over the last couple of months is the opportunity for newsagents to compete with other retailers, even to the poit of the competitor closing down.

When I first broach this opportunity, newsagents, especially those in rural and regional communities, balk … concerned at the possible commercial harm to another local business. I understand that. I grew up in Pakenham back when it had a population of around 2,000.

While we like to think about business colleague, the local families that rely on them and the benefits of co-operation, commercial reality prefers us to focus on our own return, our own survival.

What’s better, two businesses covering costs or one business which is profitable and able to invest and grow? I think the second scenario is better. One business growing is better for the business owner, its employees and the shopper community than two businesses which are treading water – especially in today’s world of economic challenges and considerable change around retail.

This is why newsagents need to look around their area and target other businesses as competitors and go after them through service and product range propositions. Whether they act on this is another thing. Look, assess and make a business decision.

Newsagents have wonderful opportunities for competition, opportunities which could dramatically improve the financial return achieved by any newsagency business. Opportunities for expansion in range of products and services.

The logical opportunities are gifts, toys and books. Other opportunities exist with food, coffee and a range of other areas I won;t go into here because for commercial reasons.

We, each of us, need to look at our businesses beyond the prism of a traditional newsagency. we need to seize opportunities which strengthen our offer, drive our profitability and make our businesses more valuable.  Oh, and all along the way, easier to run … yes, having an easy to run business makes it easier to sell. no doubt about that.  Newsagents often forget this.

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Newsagency management

Interactive Mother’s Day gift

The interactive storybook range from Hallmark has made for a nice and different Mother’s Day gift this Mother’s Day. Mum & Me and a couple of there in the range are a wonderful and memorable gift on a range of levels. I like them and glad we had them on offer. With the season often having a sameness in retail we look for products which can help our range stand out as different – these recordable storybooks work on this level. Nice.

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Newsagency management

Today’s Mother’s Day shoppers are the best

While Mother’s Day sales have been excellent in the lead up to this weekend, those out shopping for Mother’s Day cards and gifts today are the best shoppers since time is against them. We have configured our shops to make the most of the opportunity by making shopping easy and impulse buying tempting. We are also making sure we can tap into the opportunity of shoppers purchasing products for themselves. This the last big, season-driven, retail weekend for a couple of months.

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Greeting Cards

UK Clinton Cards in administration

UK card retail chain Clinton Cards has been forced into administration by John Sands parent company American Greetings following their purchase of Clintons debt through a UK subsidiary of American Greetings. American Greetings is #2 US card company behind Hallmark Cards.

With more than 700 stores, the Clintons network is a highly visible player in the greeting card space in the UK. Store closures as a result of the administration action will put even more retail space on the market and add to further job losses in retail – already at a high.

I have looked at Clintons stores a few times over the years, most recently a few weeks back when I was in London for a retail conference. It was clear even then that the group was not travelling well with an odd mix of products.

I wonder if the decision by American Greetings decision is related to their recently released fourth quarter figures showing a small loss.

Card sales in the UK are down more than 4% year on year – against the growth trend we are seeing in Australia.

Newsagencies are well placed to compete with specialist card shops because of the broad base of shopper traffic we achieve. While our product category has its challenges, it offers a fundamental structural strength, particularly in areas such as greeting cards.

Footnote: Clintons had sales of £360m from its 700 or so stores. This data should interest newsagents as it goes to the heart of the challenge of an almost single category retail outlet which relies on major seasons to carry it through the year. I have covered some of this in the recent Newsagency of the Future series, sharing ideas on how newsagents can leverage their base for card sales growth.

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Greeting Cards

One Direction promotion behind the counter

Click on the image to see the a larger version of the display created behind the counter promoting the latest One Direction magazine which came out Monday. The Girlfriend One Direction Aussie Tour Issue has been selling well for us. We wanted an in-store display to show off our credentials as the go to One Direction retailer in our region.

Doing this display in Mother’s day week may seem a curious decision to some.  We thought about this and made the move to replace our Mother’s Day counter promotion with the 1D promotion for a few reasons:

  • Mother’s Day has moved to the front of the newsagency, as it always does in the last week or ten days.
  • It’s rarer in this last week that people in our centre would get to the counter and need reminding of Mother’s Day.
  • The One Direction target audience are shopping this last week for Mother’s Day gifts – this and our other 1D product is an opportunity for them to get something for themselves.
  • The single topic statement at the counter is bold, tightly focused and professional … it presents us in a good way.

Sales for this and other One Direction titles continue to be good. Even our posters are selling well despite plenty of retailers in our centre now carrying exactly the same range. Indeed this is why we are actively promoting ourselves as the One Direction hub in the region. Thanks to displays like this at the counter it is working and leading to valuable word of mouth for us.

I am surprised that there are newsagents who still ask what is or who are One Direction when I talk with them.

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magazines

At VANA awards dinner tonight

I’ll be at the VANA awards dinner tonight representing my newsagency software company Tower Systems – a sponsor. We sponsored the Tasmanian awards last weekend in Tasmania. It is frustrating that Tower appears to be the only newsagency software company investing money in the channel in this and other ways. I wish other newsagency software companies would show their support for newsagents. Alternatively, associations could cut off those who do not support them. You can’t have it both ways.

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Newsagent representation

Magazine circulation in line with newsagency benchmark numbers

The weekly magazine circulation data for the march quarter released this morning and published by B&T indicate performance of major weeklies within the band published last month in the newsagency sales benchmark report for the sale period.

The worst news of the audit is the collapse in sales for lads mags: Picture, People and Zoo with each reporting declines of more than 20%. This is bad news for the publisher and bad news for newsagents and other retailers.

OK!, BRW and Who reported growth.

I see upside in magazines for newsagents who are proactive with the category and engage with it as a magazine specialist. Okay, not long term growth but certainly for the next couple of years. Magazine range continues to be the most important point of difference we have today.

For one of my newsagencies I am adding at least 50 new titles to my magazine range because I want the sales growth this will bring.

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magazine distribution

Newspaper sales collapse for some titles in March

March quarter newspaper circulation numbers are out this morning and they show sales in fee fall for some titles. The Age, The Sydney Morning, The Sun-Herald, The Australian Financial Review (Saturday) all reported double digit declines in circulation. Click here for the full numbers as published by B&T.

While reporting declines for most titles but nowhere near the same extent as the Fairfax reported declines, News Limited would have to be happy with the numbers reported, especially for South Australia where thanks to the migration project the company has more control than ever on home delivery circulation. The challenge here for newsagents is the reduction in real-terms of revenue from newspaper home delivery.

Overall, the sales declines are a sobering reminder for newsagents that newspapers lack upside and many instead continue to deliver a sales decline despite continuing investment in marketing.

I wish the a breakdown between retail and home delivery sales.

A question for newsagents: what’s your plan for a newsagency without newspapers? This is at the heart of my Newsagency of the Future discussion.

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Newsagency management

More information on the PMP takeover offer

A couple of media outlets yesterday reported on the PMP (parent company of magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch) takeover offer. The reports offered on a little more than we know already. here is the key additional information from Business Spectator:

PMP still hasn’t told us who is responsible for the $253 million takeover proposal that it informed us about almost two weeks ago. The Australian Financial Review believes that it’s a Brisbane-based, family-owned company that’s behind the conditional, non-binding proposal, which is being backed by US private equity.

On Gotch, it seems the company is looking at its operations and processes following recent staff losses. Hopefully this leads to a more equitable magazine distribution model for newsagents.

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Uncategorized

Products newsagents own: learn to drive books

Newsagency businesses own many products which we do not treat any differently to those products which other retailers sell. These products we own, products which we almost have alone, present us with several opportunities.

We can price these products based on a scarcity of competition. We can use the certain traffic generated to sell other items. we can promote our businesses as the go to places for these items.

Road rules books are a good example of the products I am talking about here. They are a product people know newsagents carry. They would know that asking someone in a newsagency about one of these would be far easier than navigating any other retailer.

So, we need to know about all products like the road rules books. We need to embrace the opportunities in terms of sales, margin and allied sales we can achieve. We can do this by:

  • Checking our prices for these items.
  • Looking at product adjacencies.
  • promoting the products to remind shoppers that we sell these products.

We bemoan that newsagencies have no products unique to the channel while there is a small coup of products which, in the minds of shoppers, are exclusive to us.

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Newsagency opportunities

It’s the simple Mother’s Day gifts which sell

We are finding that it is the simple Mother’s Day gifts, like the Best Mum sign as shown in the photo, which is selling best this Mother’s Day.

Talking with a male shopper earlier this week, he said he liked the Best Mum sign because the message was simple and would let him mum know what he thought every day.

It’s not something I would buy but I am not my customer. It seems that butterflies are in right now.

Mother’s Day 2012 is working a treat for us. Sales are up on 2011, up more than customer traffic. This is an indicator of improved basket depth. We’re happy with that. The next couple of days are set to drive the year on year growth we are achieving for Mother’s Day cards as well as Mother’s Day gifts.

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Gifts

Free cookbook detracts from Delicious magazine cover

The free cookbook which comes with the latest issue of Delicious magazine obscures the cover shot of a delicious pasta dish.

Free mini cookbooks as bonus gifts appear too frequently with magazines now to have the value they once had. This is why I question the covering of Delicious in this way. Will the free cookbook drive enough of a sales increase? I doubt it.

While I am no magazine publisher I wonder why publishers invest in these gifts when investing in a better base product should drive more consistent business. Maybe there is something I don’t get about publishing and driving consumer demand. I know publishers I speak with say that free gifts drive sales. Maybe so but do all these bonus cookbooks work today as they used to?

Show me a compelling cover any day. That’s my retailer perspective.

My rant aside, we are supporting this issue of Delicious with good full cover showing placement.

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magazines

Speaking at the GNS sales conference

I had an opportunity to speak at the GNS national sales conference at Cypress Lakes in the Hunter Valley yesterday. My presentation was a variation on my recent Newsagency of the Future presentation.

That GNS would find time in the conference agenda for its national sales team to consider the challenges and opportunities facing newsagents is terrific.

The stationery department in a newsagency is one over which newsagents have complete control yet which they rarely seize the opportunity to exert that control. The result is often a poorly focused stationery offer which does not make the most of the opportunities newsagents have available to them.

For example, newsagents tend to hang on to under-performing stock for too long because they want to ensure they can serve even infrequent shopper needs. However, they do not price stationery for this slower turn long shelf life product.

Australian considers think newsagents are expensive when it comes to stationery. Most of us aren’t as we compete price-wise against most of the majors. However, if shoppers think we are expensive regardless why not increase our prices? Given perception we won’t lose sales.

I urge newsagents to read a blog post I published on June 20 last year. In The Stationery Challenge for Newsagents I listed twelve actions newsagents could take to get on the front foot for stationery and to own this department.

Every day newsagents do not act on stationery in their businesses is another day lost for the business, newsagent-owned GNS and stationery suppliers … oh, and your customers.

GNS is working to help newsagents and the conference this week is helping to refocus the energies of the sales team and the entire company.

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Newsagency management

Diabetic themed magazine opportunity for newsagents

Newsagents should consider placing the new mini Women’s Weekly cookbook from ACP, Diabetic Recipes, next to Diabetic Living from Pacific Magazines. The two work well together given the common topic. Price-wise it’s an easy purchase for shoppers to purchase both.

We have the placement in the photo in our women’s health section. I’d like us to try it elsewhere but space is a challenge right now with Mother’s Day and several other promotions running. Maybe next week as this is a timeless placement.

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magazines

Free gifts with Marie Claire magazine sure to drive sales

We are promoting the latest issue of Marie Claire magazine with this placement at the entrance to our main women’s magazines aisle.

The free hair magazine and the TRESemme hair product are nice gifts and are sure to drive interest. This is why it’s important shoppers can see the gifts without having to lift the product out of traditional magazine filtering.

Another reason for promoting the magazine is the coverage. Last night on Australia’s Got Talent on the seven network they gave the magazine an excellent plug thanks to Dannii Minogue being on the cover. I’d expect people to be looking for Marie Claire in-store today.

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magazines
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