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

Month: January 2016

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: Host an 80th birthday party

Ask most Australians where they would got to purchase an 80th birthday card and most would say a newsagency. We are known for specific captions far more so that supermarkets with limited ranges. We ought to celebrate our unique captions by hosting events – like an 80th birthday party one afternoon. Or a 90th birthday party or a 100th birthday party. Get known for celebrating the wisdom of those of age and, at the same time, reinforcing our businesses in them minds of shops buying cards for these folk.

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marketing

Poorly timed email from APN to QLD newsagents

Screen Shot 2016-01-23 at 9.28.53 amAPN sent this email to affected newsagents in North Queensland at 5:28pm last night. While the email provides a week’s notice on a price rise, anyone working with newsagents would know that an email late on a Friday is not a smart move – if they want newsagents to be properly informed about the contents. Newspaper publishers need to get better at their email communications.

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Newspaper distribution

Excellent comms on Dr Seuss promotion

Click here to see the letter to newsagents from News Corp’s Herald and Weekly Times re the upcoming Dr Seuss promotion supporting the Herald Sun and the Geelong Advertiser. I am sharing it here for newsagents in other states to see another example of professional communication sent our early enough for proper preparation for what loos to be a terrific promotion.

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newsagency marketing

Managing weekly magazines

Magazines are allocated to us with the goal of us not selling out during the on-sale. I don’t mind selling out. In fact, I would prefer it.  I’d manage space respecting the weekly titles. Here is how Midtown Comics in New York manages space allocated to regular titles:

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magazines

Small business takeaways from Colin Powell’s keynote at the NRF Big Show in New York

IMG_4673When I heard Colin Powell was keynote speaker for the National Retail Federation conference in New York this week I wondered about his retail connections. Sure he was involved in shopping for weapons but what about retail and, in particular, small business retail.

As it turns out, Powell was a terrific keynote speaker. From stories of his years as a teenager working in a New York toy shop through to his thoughts on leadership, he was relevant. Click here for a more complete (and professional) report on the speech.

The point I like the most is one about delegation – giving people parameters and allowing them freedom to operate within the defined parameters. I like this because I see opportunities in newsagencies for more delegation, for giving junior and casual employees authority for parts of the business, to encourage them to take the business places not envisaged by often tired and old-school leaders.

Leadership is a tough gig, especially in this world of faster and more comprehensive change, and a world of more demands from and for employees. Indeed, the changes today around leadership are as considerable as the changes around and in the traditional Australian newsagency model.

From a newsagency channel perspective, the biggest mistake of those claiming to lead through associations is their obsession with leading relating to legacy products and processes. There is no future in that. Powell talked about lading for the future, leading to be relevant to the future.

This is a conference newsagents would have got plenty from.

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Newsagency management

2016 is already a year of consolidation in and around our channel

Already this year we have the considerable news of the closure of Network Services, the closure of Cleo magazine and Dolly magazine cutting half its issues. Now there is speculation of the sale of the Sunday Times newspaper in Western Australia to Seven West Media.

I have been told many times over the years by News Corp. stalwarts that the Sunday Times held a special place in Rupert Murdoch’s heart. If it was sold there would be some Murdoch watchers who see the move as prescient.

Disruption and consolidation is to be expected in the continuing print media circulation declines. The last quarter of 2015 is among the worst I have seen for magazines – more on that in the next couple of days.

On newspapers, we must be very close to a decision by some publishers to cut the number of days they print or to cut the print product altogether. My understanding is falling ad revenue is the key factor in such consideration.

The consolidation we have seen already and that anticipated ought to drive newsagents to work harder and faster on their own future as too many still rely on print product for much of their traffic and relevance.

The changes we are seeing should not worry us or cause newsagents to question closing their businesses. Rather, they are opportunities to re-define our businesses for a brighter future around the points of difference we wish to drive. Indeed, the changes are not unexpected.

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Media disruption

Valentine’s Day in the US

Here is around 80% of the Valentine’s Day card range I saw in a Hallmark Gold Crown store yesterday in New York.

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Whereas in Australia Valentine’s Day is primarily about acknowledging and honouring love between partners and spouses, in the US it is for all sorts of situations: to pets, from pets, between kids, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, pastors … it is a broad and all-encompassing season. Great for card retailers – especially in that it educates people about card giving and receiving.

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Greeting Cards

Terrific magazine store design

The Hudson News at Grand Central Station has a busy thoroughfare on either side. The store designers embraced this with a circular design while at the same time creating a space that brings you in and makes news the feature – with the ceiling news ticker and TV screens dotted throughout with current commercial new playing.

I love the feel of this shop. It is perfect for its unique high traffic location.

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I get that most of us could not justify this type of fit. That said, there is plenty to learn from segmenting magazines through to making the range enticing. Take a look at this photo showing how they pitch a segment:

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I love the line: Takes you places.

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magazines

Hey Marcus Berkman, not all newsagents are the same

Marcus Berkman, writing his article, We are supposed to feel grateful to our newsagents and banks for compromising their standards of service for The Independent, has a massive whinge about WH Smith and their use of self-checkout.

For instance, I occasionally go into WH Smith in one of the mainline railway stations to buy a newspaper or a competitively priced bag of Revels. They used to have four or five tills and a queueing system, which meant you were usually in and out of the shop in a couple of minutes. Sometime last year they ripped all this out and replaced it with eight self-service machines and one till, which is the only place from which you can buy cigarettes. This means there is always a queue of half a dozen people for the one till, some of whom are buying gaspers with bags of change or out-of-date credit cards, and all of whom will miss their train.

The things is, Marcus, your bitch is with WH Smith and not newsagents, not the real newsagents, the family run businesses that provide personal service, usually from the proprietor or a family member.

For the record, this newsagent does not like self-checkout terminals as the dehumanise the retail process.

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Customer loyalty

The on-trend Valentine’s offer newsagents could copy

Here is an on-trend Valentine’s pitch that I saw earlier this week. It is aimed at the 18 to 35 year old from a small card and gift shop situated outside the city, in a high street location. I am sharing the photo so people can compare their offer. Sometimes, thoughtful product selection for a display is the best way to attract the right shopper into the business.

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Gifts

Kid friendly approach to Valentine’s Day

I love the kid friendly approach to Valentine’s Day by this card store. It is fun and supportive and less about the more commercial aspects – other than that they want you to buy the materials for this from them of course. It is certainly a welcome difference from the usual hearts, chocolates and roses.

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We card sellers do not make a good job of educating people about cards and this season in Australia.

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Greeting Cards

News Corp’s Herald & Weekly Times shows how to run a good newspaper promotion

Further to my post about the botched promotion from News Corp’s Adelaide Advertiser, click here to see how the folks at the Herald and Weekly Times have communicated with newsagents about their Australia Day promotion. It is clear and to the point. This is typical for Victorian run promotions.

While newspaper promotions are important, they need to be relevant, easy to execute and easily understood by all involved.

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Newspapers

Could I do that? Things newsagents should look for in other retail businesses

Like many newsagents I know I love looking at other retail businesses for inspiration, to secretly critique them and to people-watch.

In looking at what other retailers do, if I find something I like, the first question is could I do that? That question is really about whether I have the space, the skills and other resources to pull off such a terrific display or some other engagement I have seen.

The question is complex as it is more than copying something good you have seen in another business. You have to implement the idea in a way that fits into your business, it needs to blend and have a commercial purpose beyond looking good.

Having a business foundation for any such move is vital as this will include a commercial goal and time triggered measurements to ensure the learnings implemented are having the desired effect.

The best ideas I find are the simplest: visual merchandising tips, enticing signage, product adjacencies I had not thought of, a counter layout that is genuinely fresh, shop floor shopper engagement that is exciting and drives sales and an overall environment that makes me happy. It is a thrill to discover fresh ideas that challenge what you have done for years in your business.

The most enjoyable ideas I discover are in retail businesses outside the traditional newsagency channel. When I travel I seek out retail that is nothing like what we do for this reason as I know I will find fresh ideas. I especially like looking at local artist businesses as these tend to be less influenced by mass retail trends. That said, some mass retailers are brilliant and offer lessons in every store.

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Newsagency management

Casa Magazines in New York demonstrates magazine specialisation

With only a limited magazine range available in mainstream retailers, it is left to magazine specialists to serve those committed to a title or magazines generally. I have written about Casa Magazines in New York before and grateful to have been able to see their business again. Range is their point of difference. Range only.

The last photo is of the ceiling inside the shop – looking toward the front door, showing they even use that space to pitch product.

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magazines

The Atlanta Gift Fair redefines the gift opportunity

I am grateful for the opportunity to walk the many floors across the three buildings of the Atlanta gift fair last last week. While there were plenty of suppliers with the squall products, there were some exciting new products to see along with new approaches to retail and visual merchandising.

This year was different to last year with suppliers more keen to do business. For example, within 24 hours of meeting with a supplier I received an email from them. This is not usually the case. – no, they wait for the long show to end and then do the follow up. The more attentive response this year indicates a keenness in a tough marketplace.

What is fascinating about the show is the range of what constitutes gifts. In Australia we are bound by what the buyers of our wholesalers select. Getting to Atlanta I get to see what those buyers miss. It is fascinating and can open to opportunities.

Every newsagent with a gift department needs to continue ti evolve the offer. They need to decide what their specialisation is. The days of being a general gift store are gone. Price is an issue too. Restricting yourself to lower price gifts could deny you destination traffic that could be valuable. In fact, at Atlanta I saw many opportunities for specialisation that could work in newsagencies.

Country newsagents are especially fortunate in the gift space as they tend to have the retail space and captive market to work well for them.

The fair itself is attended primarily by women 35+. Our group of three guys with funny accents was a bit out of place. But since Americans love a good accent we were able to charm our way to some cool stands.

Here are my top five takeaways:

  1. Product range refresh is vital to your success. Often, this means supplier refresh (change).
  2. How you display products is vital to success.
  3. Colour is crucial to telling stories.
  4. Walking the floor and interacting with what you sell is essential.
  5. Love what you do. It’s not a job, it is a life choice.

I have more than 300 photos from the fair. Here is a small selection to reflect some what I enjoyed.

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Gifts

Sunday newsagency challenge: move pencils to the counter

Take all products off your counter except for a terrific selection of everyday pens covering all sorts of needs. Do it for a week and see how it goes. You could find it a waste of time or you could find people purchasing pens who did not come in to purchase pens.

The idea of these challenges is to get you to try something at is a challenge.

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Stationery
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