OK! exclusive at Coles
The card holding the free gift of Ella Baché instant summer tan in the current issue of OK! magazine at Coles says Only at Coles. While I understand the importance of different channels offering gifts with purchase at different times, promoting a gift as only at Coles on the magazine is not ideal. I don’t recall a gift with purchase being promoted or ow with the title like this as only at newsagents.
Promoting Holden magazines on the back of the General Motors decision
While it may be opportunistic and/or bad taste, I wonder if there is value in us promoting or drawing attention to Holden themed titles with a get them while you can or similar promotion. While I am sure these titles will be published for many years, there would be nothing stopping us trading off fear .I’m not advocating this, just asking the question.
On the decision by GM to quit manufacturing in Australia, it’s disappointing. I worked for the company as an IBM Systems Programmer three years before starting my software company. While I enjoyed my two years there, the future of such labour intensive manufacturing in Australia was challenged the moment the world embraced a more global approach to trade.
You can’t have a fair global economy when resources central to manufacture are priced so differently in different countries and where some countries bend fair trade rules to make local products financially more appealing. We as a country need decide how we see ourselves playing in the global economy. We need economic settings that facilitate developing industries that are globally competitive. We need education policies that create a workforce that serves this.
The settings over multiple federal and state governments, covering decades, have failed us, they have not positioned Australia for the global market nor have they not positioned us as they might for the information age of this century.
Relaying crosswords by brand drives sales
I relayed the crossword section in a newsagency earlier this week to give greater prominence to Lovatts titles as the key brand in the crossword department and to use the AWW puzzle book as a border for the section.
The display before was a mess: Lovatts titles were sprinkled through and thereby missing an opportunity to promote the brand; the AWW puzzle book was lost; there was no order.
The display looked old and unappealing.
Blocking the titles, leveraging known brands and refreshing the offer shows the business taking pride in crossword titles. This will increase sales. Crossword magazine customers are loyal.
New introductory video for the newsagency blog
I shot a new introductory video for this blog earlier this week to outline my goals here and to explain what this place is all about. The old video was being viewed 20 to 30 times a week and had been live for almost a year and I felt it was time for a change. Here’s the new video (it’s also on the top right corner of the home page):
Tatts is growing an online community of instant scratch ticket customers
At Westfield Bondi shopping mall earlier this week I noticed this sign promoting instant scratch tickets outside of Coles. While there was no mention of retailers selling scratch tickets, the poster promoted scratcheclub.com.au. This is a Tatts owned website where scratch ticket customers can enter second chance draws, participate in a birthday draw, play puzzles and engage in other scratch ticket related activity.
Nowhere on the website are retailers promoted and this makes me wonder if this is site is about harvesting customer details for some other online engagement.
If I was a lottery retailer, investing in promoting Tatts related brands as contractually required by the company, I’d be asking tatts about their plans for this site; why they are not promoting retailers; and, why they are running a second chance draw when many of their retailers already do this.
If I was a Tatts shareholder I would be hoping that the company is developing a direct relationship with people buying its products as part of a plan to migrate more business online and thereby reduce product distribution costs.
Newsagents and lottery agents need to be aware of Scratcheclub at the very least. This could be a development that needs to be considered as part of your business planning.
Good Christmas gift wrap add-on
I love the Christmas-themed scissors we sourced for placement with Christmas wrap. They are an easy add-on purchase, delivering terrific extra margin dollars to a basket. Placement is everything for getting the additional purchase of these scissors though. They have to be with Christmas wrap and cards. We have them placed vertically on a clip-strip.
These scissors were sourced from Pilot.
Impulse magazine opportunities to drive sales
We have the two current issues of Better Homes and Gardens and Who placed between our two major newspapers. The Nelson Mandela cover story in Who makes it ideal for impulse purchase placement. BHG always works well when placed with newspapers.
The best way newsagents can grow sales is to respond to cover opportunities, placing relevant titles in a second location where more people will see the cover and thereby have an opportunity to purchase on impulse.
Embracing this opportunity separates engaged newsagents from all other retailers.
$110M up for grabs next week in lottery jackpots
Newsagents with lotteries will have their work cut out for them next week with Powerball jackpotting last night to $40M and OzLotto jackpotting Tuesday to $70 million. These business owners need to serve the significant influx in traffic, ensure existing shoppers and one-off Christmas shoppers are not turned off by the lottery traffic and they need to leverage the lottery traffic for more value than agency business.
If I had lotteries in my newsagencies I’d be taking time today to plan to make the most of the opportunity and to take steps to neuter any negative impact of the jackpot traffic.
Wine company helps people send eCards
B&T is reporting that Jacob’s Creek winery has launched an online eCard service offering four different eCard designs for people to access for free. Check out the site here.
I don’t see this threatening greeting card sales just as online cards generally have not had a noticeable imp[act on physical card sales. People seem to prefer a greeting they can put on display and keep.
New look Coles seeks to redefine the supermarket experience
Coles is rolling out what it’s calling next-generation supermarkets in some of its supermarkets that borrows from the Whole Foods model in the US and also from tesco in the UK. They are also a bit like the Thomas Dux model from Woolworths.
The new look is a major change for the business in terms of look, shopping experience and product range.
I got to spend time in the Bondi Westfield store yesterday. This is an evolution of a model at Westfield Southland in Victoria. Inside Retail has more on the roll out and plans.
While these new-look Coles stores provide a new experience for Australian shoppers, The Whole Foods model in the US is streets ahead in my view but I am not an avid Coles shopper. For example, the Coles produce, fish and meat sections at Bondi pale when compared to what I saw at several Whole Foods stores earlier this year.
But I don’t want to detract from the new experience Coles is rolling out in Australia. This new experience is all about getting more of the food and grocery spend here and it should certainly achieve that.
Also part of the new model is fresh investment by Coles in their magazine department. This is placed at the front of the store to drive sales. You notice it as you enter and when you head to the checkout from the market area. It’s very shopper friendly. I think this will drive magazine sales.
This supermarket refresh is not the only work being done by Coles to drive market share. They are working in the local shop/ petrol / convenience spaces from what I understand.
The investment by Coles in a fresh retail offer is another reason newsagents with older shop-fits need to consider their investing in their own businesses. We are competing in a tough climate with aggressive ricks and mortar retailers and equally aggressive online retailers. Not investing in a relevant looking shop encourages shoppers to shop elsewhere.
I encourage newsagents to visit one of the new Coles shops. It needs to be seen live to get the full scope of what they have done and to see their commitment to growth. It’s impressive.
Click on the images to see larger versions.
The challenge of magazine browsers who place reading material inappropriately
I found a copy of The Girls of Zoo in our kids magazine section Tuesday and was frustrated that the person reading this had placed it in this kids space and not back where it belongs. It’s not a title to put in front of kids.
I know, there’s not much we can do about this other than regularly checking the magazine department.
But it is frustrating seeing this lazy and ill-considered action by someone who wanted to look at the titillating photos in Zoo. This placement magazines away from their usual location is almost always only done with adult titles. I suspect it’s because they are to embarrassed to take a few steps back to the home location for the magazine.
If only they’d think before they put a title like this in our kids section.
Zombie shooting set a sell-out Christmas gift
This desktop Zombie Shooting Set sold out for in a week. We have more stock on the way. The success of the zombie themed movies and the mega success of TV shows like The Walking Dead make products like this more appealing.
While not banded to a TV or movie franchise, this pencil and eraser set has sold because of the popularity of the genre. Customers have bought them as stocking stuffers and as Kris Kringle gifts.
We displayed this item as part of a funky gift range. This range attracted traffic for us. We are becoming known in the shopping mall as a destination store for these types of gifts.
On a side note, I like that we’re selling what is essentially a stationery item here.
The Big Rides magbook a good Christmas gift
The Big Rides magbook that came out late last month is a title we are featuring as an ideal Christmas gift for bike riders. Indeed, this title is an excellent example of magazines as a Christmas gift. It’s not something avid bike riders would necessarily purchase for themselves or even be aware of. This is why we are promoting it so that those buying gifts for bike riders can see the title and other good =bike magazines we have in-store.
Long service leave can be a challenge for newsagents
Newsagents need to make sure they are aware of their long service obligations, especially around the time of buying or selling a newsagency. From what I can see there are different rules in different states. In NSW for example, it can kick in at five years whereas in Victoria obligations kick in at seven years.
I was talking with a newsagent yesterday who has discovered an obligation for two recently departed employees. They did not know they had the obligation. Ignorance does not eliminate the responsibility – this is what the authorities will say. Their accountant had not budgeted for the figure – that’s where the problem started in my view. Long service leave is an obligation that ought to be reflected in the financials of the business when you put it up for sale or at least dealt with in the paperwork reflecting obligations of the purchaser – even if there will be none.
Paper plane sells out in a week
This terrific paper aeroplane kit sold out in a week. We bought it on a nostalgia whim and a week later it’s all gone. You know from the nature of the product that all stock has been purchased on impulse, making the it an even more valuable product. A good impulse item can be empowering for your buying just as a failure of a product can result in you second-guessing purchases.
We report on seasonal items separately from gifts. This item, since it is not Christmas-themed, sits in our gift department. There we have it in a relevant category. This is important since buying is not only about sometimes buying more stock of a successful item. It is also about buying new items that appeal to the same shopper as those buying a very popular item.
Aldi offering Donna Hay cookbooks
Aldi is today offering Donna Hay simple essentials cookbooks for $7.99. I don’t have these in-store so there is no real competition from what I can see. While Aldi has stayed away from magazines, it will be interesting to see if this changes.
Christmas frankie looks stunning
The latest issue of frankie, out this week, looks stunning. It’s got a higher price to reflect the bonus items in the title like DIY designer envelopes, greeting cards, wall planner and other freebies designed for frankie magazines.
We’re supporting the latest issue of frankie with good placement in our main magazine aisle and additional support with co-location.
More discounted magazines
Woman’s Day, NW and OK! for $9.95. Newsagents are sent the original titles at full price and the discount pack as well. These are coming so often now that customers have been and are being educated. The net value of the titles is being eroded and we lose margin dollars as a result. I’m certain that we’re not getting values from these discount packs.
VANA runs Love Your Newsagent campaign for its members
VANA has announced details of a Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal and their Love Your Newsagent campaign:
VANA is proud to be launching this year’s Love Your Newsagent campaign to raise money in support of the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal and providing a raffle draw for a newsagency customer to Win a trip for 2 to Hawaii. Click here to view the campaign promotional video.
Aim of the campaign
The main aim of the campaign is to raise funds for the Good Friday Appeal and we are extremely grateful to you in helping to promote this campaign in your store.Stage One – All Victorian Newsagents
The first stage will take place from mid-December 2013 until March 2014 where all Victorian Newsagencies will be provided with a Good Friday Appeal collection tin to be placed on your counter for customers to make their donations. You will also be provided with supporting window stickers from the Good Friday Appeal advertising the campaign.Stage Two – VANA Members Only
The second stage will take place from mid-January 2014 until March 2014. All VANA members will be issued in January with a Love Your Newsagent pack supporting the campaign, consisting of 2 books of raffle tickets (50 tickets in each) to sell during this period, together with full colour posters and window decals promoting the raffle of a trip to Hawaii in support of the Good Friday Appeal. If you wish to become a member of VANA and get involved in Stage Two, please contact the VANA office on 03 8540 7000.
Since I’m not a VANA member I’m not in stage two. I’m also opting out of stage one as my newsagency is running another fund raiser in this time and supporting local charities.
Excellent Christmas Chocolate results
Three days ago we put out a new range of Christmas-themed chocolate. Stars, trees, words – Merry, Xmas, Thanks, Wish – and some other tasty Christmas treats. Space constraints limited our display options but that has not stopped the range selling. Customers are loving the point of difference of this range. We love that!
Now more than ever in newsagency businesses we need to seek our new products and new suppliers to attract new shoppers as well as to offer more variety to existing shoppers.
Something I love to hear from a customer is: I never expected to see that in a newsagency.
Lotto in NZ is well represented in c-stores
The strongest representation of lottery products in Auckland that I have noticed over several trips to the city this year is in convenience store locations. The Fix stores are particularly noticeable with excellent branding for their business as well as for Lotto. While Lotto products are available in the relatively small number of newsagency like businesses, the strongest presence I have noticed is these convenience outlets.
Looking at the Fix shop in the photo it is easy to see why it’s considered a good fit for soft gambling. The business is open 24 hours a day, conveniently located, well named and offering brand name products to appeal. Their tag line is: Whatever you need, whatever you crave. I like this shop a lot – it’s modern, clean and well-stocked. If this business was in Australia it would give City Convenience and 7-Eleven a benchmark to aspire to.
But my interest in Fix goes beyond the business itself. I found myself thinking abut the model from the perspective of tatts and their engagement with 7-Eleven and, more recently, Coles Express. I can see why Tatts wants to be in businesses that are more conveniently located and open longer hours. I expect this push for Tatts products to be available everywhere and at any time will gain momentum.
Newsagents have the opportunity to step into this space, to become convenience businesses. However, it’s a big step. Convenience is more competitive than gifts, than traditional newsagency and even than stationery. It’s not a move I’d make but I can see it appealing to some newsagents. For it to work it would need to be done under a national name with solid financial backing to match the noise of the already strong competitors in the space. Moving to convenience alone, as a solo operator, is not a wise move.
Newsagencies strong and profitable with lottery products would be the type that I think could fit the convenience model.
Network lacks accountability when scaling out new titles
We received three new titles from Network Services yesterday. We didn’t order them and this is frustrating. While we might have ordered one, we would not have ordered the other two.
Network Services demands accountability from newsagents in terms of paying their account on time yet the company refuses to accept accountability for its actions that contribute to the level of indebtedness we achieve. This is an unfair situation. Yes, it has always been thus. However, it’s worse today than ever. Magazine sales are declining yet Network increases titles and therefore drives a level of indebtedness imbalanced to sales.