ATO and ANF meet re Tax Packs
The ANF advised newsagents last night that it had met with the ATO re the tax pack mess. There is to be another meeting next week. As long as they are meeting there is hope of a fair outcome for newsagents – but I’m not confident that the ATO cares about fairness for newsagents.
I remain keen to know what the distributor to newsagents got paid. I am also keen to hear the ATO explain why their representatives will say to one person that they have two million tax packs in warehouses yet to the ANF they say they don’t have enough to distribute to newsagents.
The behaviour of the ATO is disgusting. Newsagents are being paid less than a welfare payment to carry a public information burden the ATO should take responsibility for.
The breakfast opportunity for newsagents
If I had a newsagency in a high street situation I think I’d be looking at breakfast on the go opportunities for attracting more shoppers. While I know some who have gone with coffee, I am not aware of any newsagent taking a strong stand with a breakfast offer.
In the breakfast on the go mix I’d include yoghurts, meal drinks like Up & Go, pre-packed fresh bakery items – hot and cold if possible and practical, fruit, breakfast bars and hot drinks.
Depending on location, I could go further as some newsagents already have by creating a cafe. My thoughts this morning are about tapping into the breakfast on the go opportunity specifically and noting that newsagents in the right location could move into this without dedicating too much space.
If you’re not sure about the scope of the opportunity for you look at convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol outlets nearby. They will most likely have this covered and they are grabbing your magazine customers – and maybe customers looking for other items you sell.
Every newsagent needs to be working on attracting shoppers for more than magazines, lottery tickets, newspapers and greeting cards. Breakfast on the go could work for some.
Good newsagent communication feedback for newsagency suppliers
Touch Networks asked newsagents how they would like suppliers to communicate with them. The survey results make interesting reading. Click here to see the survey results in full – I provide the link with permission from Touch.
The results show that newsagents prefer to receive information via email, website, social media and industry magazine in that order. none want to receive information from suppliers via a phone call. Suppliers note!
One trend I have noticed recently is a supplier emailing and then calling a few minutes later to see if I got the email.
This research from Touch Networks is terrific. It’s part of their focus on further improving their own communication with newsagents. They offer a good suite of mobile phone recharge products, phonecard products and other items we can easily sell in our newsagencies.
Stylish Parker retro pen opportunity
I like the retro pens we’ve got in from Parker. They are a nice fit with a retro display and they work well at the counter stand alone.
With retro being so in right now, the launch of this range is well timed. Also, it’s to celebrate Parker’s 125th anniversary.
The display unit is quite small so it needs to be called out in some way to appeal to fans of retro product. We are trying some things here to connect with these shoppers.
Queensland lottery agents win commission increase
Golden Casket newsagents in Queensland have won an increase in commission to 9.3%. The Newsagencies For Sale website has the information. This is great news for QLD newsagents. It makes newsagency businesses more appealing to buyers.
Spirit humour cards help drive in-store traffic
There are two types of traffic generation I obsess about in my newsagencies: getting customer inside and getting them further inside.
Often in a newsagency customers only shop the front part of the business. We need to work hard to lure traffic further inside our newsagencies. We can do this by giving shoppers a reason to shop the shop.
One product we use to lure shoppers deeper into the business is the humor spinner from card company Spirit. I find this works a treat. The stands attracts two types of people – those looking for a funny card and those who pass time reading funny cards. The stand is a perfect browsing opportunity.
We move the Spirit humor stand around the store every few weeks. Right now it’s located in front of our magazine department where it is attracting more shoppers to our magazine department. I’d encourage other newsagents with the stand to try this placement. You’ll see upside in Spirit card sales as well as upside in magazine sales.
The other day I noticed a shopper browsing the cards and then moving to browse magazines. While I can’t be certain, it looked to me like they only got to our magazines thanks to the card unit. They bought a magazine.
It’s important we do this, place products such that they bring shoppers deeper into our shops. Indeed it is this above average behavior as retailers that will help deliver for us above average business results.
Newsagents who run their businesses in an average way will achieve average results. Yes this is a glib comment. It’s also true.
I urge newsagents reading this to look at their product placement to assess whether they are, through this, luring shoppers deeper into their shops. Excellent spinners, like this one from Spirit, can help us achieve better results from existing foot traffic.
FOOTNOTE: Reflecting my obsession, I’ve asked staff to ensure the spinner is turned to a specific facing of cards as I see this as working best to get people engaged. Crazy, yeah – but chasing sales.
Here’s why newsagents need more control over the magazines they receive
I noticed iPad & iPad mini for Seniors in a newsagency earlier this week. It’s a title I could sell easily in my three newsagencies. To get it I have to chase it. Despite their claims otherwise, too often the magazine distributors do not scale out based on what their data shows will sell in a newsagency. This failure drives oversupply as well as undersupply and causes plenty of frustration for newsagents. This failure is what we will find is one cause of newsagents getting out of magazines in the future.
Network oversupplies Teen Beach Movie cards
We received five boxes of Teen Beach Movie postcard packs from Network Services Monday in what appears to be gross oversupply. One of our team members checked and discovered Teen Beach Movie is a made for TV Disney Channel movie to be broadcast in Australia on August 9 on the Australian Disney Channel. Unless there is something missing
Another newsagency business performance assessment
Here is another newsagency performance assessment I have recently completed. This is an interesting business facing traffic disruption in a high tourism location – challenges faced by many newsagents.
My comments are direct and to the point. My intention is not to offend but to get your better engaged with the management of your newsagency business.
Good data feeds good business decisions. I can see in your Monthly Sales Comparison Report data that you do not scan everything you sell. For example, in the three months I have data for, you sold 546 stationery items without scanning them and 4,248 newspapers without identifying the titles (by scanning them or using a hotkey). It’s important you scan everything.
Now, onto my analysis of sales by each part of the business comparing three months this year to the same period a year ago.
- OVERALL SALES. Number of sales is down 11%. This is worse than the average I am seeing for newsagency businesses.
- REVENUE. This is down by 15%. It is concerning that the fall here is bigger than the fall in the number of sale transactions. The best way to assess this is by looking at GST collected.
- CARDS. Sales are down 3% off a low base. I am not too concerned here. however, I note that you;re doing only $500 a week in cards. Is this an opportunity. While I appreciate you see mainly tourist customers, could you change your card offer to better connect with tourists?
- CIGARETTES. The decline of 18% is considerable. You’re now doing $2,200 a week in sales. You need to check your stock holding as if it is greater than $5,000 you are probably losing money. The other option is to look at your price. Are you making the highest margin you can based on your convenient location.
- GIFTS. Sales are up by 599% off a tiny base. $75 a week in gift sales is hardly earth shattering. Based on your card sales you should be doing at least $200 a week in gifts however I suspect you could do far better than this. The gift category is important since it lifts the overall gross profit of your business.
- INSTANT SCRATCH TICKETS. Your sales are down by 22% and this is worse than the average decline for Queensland. This needs urgent attention.
- LOTTO SALES. Your lotto sales are up 4% and while this is good news, the increase is lower than the average I am seeing for Queensland. Yu need to do better. how are you promoting. If you are only doing what is asked of you it is not enough. Come up with your own ideas for promoting lotto products. A good campaign can draw shoppers from the street.
- MAGAZINES. Some good news here. Unit sales declined 8% and sales declined 9% – both lower than your overall store average. That said, your weekly sales total of $1,550 is low. In fact, it could put your accounts at risk. I’d urge you to take a hard look at your magazine department: undertake a full relay, make your magazine layout compelling and enjoyable. Entice shoppers with your placement.Your data shows the convenience nature of the business with women’s weeklies accounting for 19.74% of all sales Your 3% growth here is good. Continue to focus on this category as the hero.
– Women’s Interests magazines account for 12.96% of sales but they are down by 15% year on year. This is where a relay should help.
– Sport magazines account for 15.85% of your magazine sales. Excellent news. However, your sales are down by 23%.
– I am surprised at the small contribution of some categories and would encourage you to work on growing their sales: food, crosswords, motoring and computers & gaming.- NEWSPAPERS. The decline in unit sales of 22% must be of concern to you. That’s a decline of 535 newspapers a week. You have to be asking yourself what are you doing to replace this lost traffic? Now is the time for this question to be asked and an action plan put in place.
- STATIONERY. Revenue is down 22% and stationery sales are down to $700 a week. I’d be looking very carefully at your range and wondering if you have the right mix for your convenience / tourism shoppers.
Your location and product sales mix makes me ask the question: Is it time for you to cease identifying as a newsagency and start trading with a different business identity more attuned to people walking past your business? Give people more reason to walk in and browse your shop than the old newsagency approach that may not be connecting with shoppers in your unique situation.
Your data shows a fundamental shift away from traditional newsagency products and if this is not responded to by the business then a predictable end for the business will be reached. This does not have to be the case. Your data also shows opportunities in terms of the types of customers and what they are buying. Use this data to kick start your business plans.
If it were up to me I’d rebrand as something fresh – after I had reconfigured the business to sell products to the unique people who walk past your shop front every day. I’d look carefully at the successful retail businesses nearby. I’d also look at how I could make shopping with me easier and more enjoyable.
I hope these comments help.
In a follow-up discussion with one of the owners of the business I’ve got an excellent answer for the department sales of stationery – cardboard and paper without barcodes.
Forever Clover -trading cards for girls
We’re enjoying excellent success with Forever Clover, a trading card product for girls.
Our success is a direct result of the intervention of the manager of one of my newsagencies. He went looking for a trading card product for girls and found this. Forever Clover had not been sent to us by Gordon & Gotch – we chased it.
We have Forever Clover at the counter next to the AFL cards – a strategic and successful placement.
Cool inflatable cards from Hallmark
We’re seeing excellent sales of the inflatable card range from Hallmark. They are an easy shop floor pitch to card browsers as the card becomes a gift in itself. I think our sales have been helped by the header cards – a line in a row makes them stand out from all kids cards. Innovation in card products is important as it helps to us to reach a broader range of shoppers with the category. Today’s card shopper has more options than ever for expressing feelings and card design needs to innovate to be competitive.
Newspaper publisher Fairfax fails at online reader engagement
The Age today published a good report about challenges faced by online retailers, focused on a specific example of challenges faced by bike retailers. This article drew many comments – 417 by 1pm when comments were closed. It shocks me that they would shut down comments. Okay some were off topic while others were used to push commercial agendas but most comments were contributions to a good discussions.
Comments are the lifeblood of online content. I have seen situations where comments have given otherwise missed content a stronger life.
Fairfax management charged with the online / digital future of the company ought to review their position on comments.
What’s your position on employee rest breaks?
I’d be interested in hearing from newsagents on what they offer in terms of rest and meal breaks. I am especially interested in rest breaks and how you roster to minimise the interruption in smaller newsagencies. I prefer an approach that’s more relaxed re access to drinks and bathroom breaks than a formal break.
Here’s what the retail award says FYI:
- Less than 4 hours No rest break No meal break
- 4 hours or more but less than 5 hours One 10 minute rest break No meal break
- 5 hours or more but less than 7 hours One 10 minute rest break One meal break 30 – 60 minutes
- 7 hours of more but less than 10 hours Two 10 minute rest breaks, with one taken in the first half of the shift and another taken in the second half of the shift One meal break 30 – 60 minutes
Excellent year for AFL cards
Unit sales of AFL cards are up more than 25% year on year for us and we’re very happy with that. As the photo shows we’re not doing anything special other than giving over a small amount of space at the counter. I’d be interested in year on year sales data comparing newsagencies to convenience and other outlets with the products.
The benefit for us is more than the 25% sales growth of the AFL cards thanks to products we have placed next to the cards through the season.
Plush sales surge
We’ve enjoyed a surge in plush sales in the last week of holidays with $400+ days since mid last week. I’d like to say it’s in response to some initiative we’ve run but I can’t. Sure we have had featured plush ranges at the front of the shop but we have done that before.
What I find most interesting about plush is that it sells off beautifully merchandised displays as well as it sells our of stuffed-to-the-hilt displays shelves. Something we have found that works for us is to relay plush regularly – every four weeks or so. regulars find new items and a fresh display attracts new shoppers to the business.
US PCWorld magazine shuts print edition
After more than thirty years in print, venerable US general computer magazine PCWorld is to close the print edition to focus on digital. Time has the story including some excellent background including speculation that it’s the end of computer magazines.
Sunday newsagency management tip: managing cash from drawer to bank
I have been working this week with a newsagent dealing with a possible employee theft situation. there was a disconnect between the cash they balanced at the end of the day and what they balanced. A colleague of mine prepared advice for them on managing cash from the end of shift to the bank and I share it here for others:
- Conduct your end of shift, including counting the cash, using your computer to record counts for each note denomination.
- Store each days takings in a separate, dated, bag along with the end of shift report from your computer system.
- Each day, after the end of shift, count the cash recorded in the end of shift to ensure it matches the cash contained in the bag.
- The preferable option is to deposit each shifts monies separately in to your bank account. This eases reconciliation to your statement and problems can be found much easier. You need to be able to reconcile every cent of cash received against what you bank.
- Setup MYOB or whatever accounting system you use with a Safe account to manage your bash balance between bankings. Then move cash in safe to the bank with an MYOB transfer. This provides an audit of cash movement from the time it is recorded as a sale to it reached the bank.
While different people will have different processes, the key is that know track all cash from register drawer to your bank account. Any hole in your process is an invitation for theft.
Sunday newsagency marketing tip: show off your experience
Newsagencies don’t have any exclusive products. Magazines, newspapers, stationery, lotto, toys, gifts – what we sell is available anywhere.
What is exclusive to us is our experience and the customer service through which we provide access to that experience.
My newsagency marketing tip today is in the form of a question I think we each need to ask ourselves: what are we doing to show off our experience?
- Are we working the shop floor and sharing our magazine range knowledge?
- Are we guiding people on their stationery purchases?
- Are we helping card shoppers really see the depth of our range?
- Are we showing off with delight new cards in store or new stationery lines?
- Are we showing off through demonstration to customers on the shop floor products no other retailer with these products would show off in a practical way?
Sure we have lots of retailers competing with us. Almost none of our competitors has our experience nor our ability to get on the shop floor and show this off.
Terrific Tour de France promotion at Newslink
Newslink and Relay newsagencies are running an excellent Tour de France promotion which is being supported by a broad range of suppliers.
This promotion shows how a retail network where decisions are made at head office and store level engagement is not in question can work with suppliers to unlock prizes of excellent value for even smaller opportunities like the Tour de France.
Unity has commercial value.
Oxygen magazine tweet wrong to point to good newsagents
I’m disappointed by the Tweet from Oxygen magazine that say: Fat Loss 2013 is on sale NOW! Pick up your copy from selected Coles Supermarkets, all good newsagents or online at the following linkhttp://ow.ly/mQCRq.
My disappointment is that a Coles outlet without the title was not selected and that a newsagent without the title is not good.
Most newsagents do not have a say in whether they get this title or not. To label those with it as good reflects an ignorance in the way the magazine distribution model operates. The number of Coles outlets with the magazine is more a function of the pockets the publisher is prepared to pay for.
170,000 home delivery subscribers not enough for Oregon newspaper
The Oregonian newspaper in the US is cutting its seven day a week home delivery service to four days a week reports the newspaper on its own website. The newspaper has 170,000 subscribers.
What’s interesting in the move is that they will still publish seven days a week yet only home deliver on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Terrific school holiday sales
We have had a terrific couple of weeks with school holidays. We have seen plenty of new shoppers in the centre. Our good sales have been driven by a front of store pitch that is not common for a newsagency. This opens us broader range of browsers.
I have included a photo to illustrate my point. (click on it) You can see our focus on younger shoppers and those shopping the centre with and or for younger people. There is a small representation (far right) of magazines. The rest is plush,Beanie Kids, AFL products interactive toys and gifts – with a backdrop of greeting cards.
We are not doing anything special here, it’s basic retail – configuring the store to suit the opportunities of the season.
This type of work, generating new traffic for good margin product, is far more important for an newsagency business than taking on products or services that leech off existing newsagency traffic. I mention this because of current offers being put to newsagents that do this – leech … rather than generate new traffic.
The newsagencies that will do best from here on will be those generating new traffic for good margin product.
Classic Car anniversary
We received Classic Car magazine for the first time this week in one of my newsagencies. It’s their 20th anniversary issue so it’s not surprising I guess.
I have removed the card inserted in the magazine promoting a bonus anniversary lift out. as it’s mainly promoting subscriptions and I’m not about give them bonus space to do this.
