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

Month: April 2016

How Australia Post is changing

IMG_9116This sponsored tweet from Australia Post speaks to the extent of change in the retail side of the challenged business.

Now more than ever in the history of specialty retail we are living in borderless times.

Change is vital to the future of every retail business.

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Australia Post

Why I think newsagents should turn off early return facilities in their newsagency software

A newsagent I am working with is confronting an above average decline in magazine sales. Working through their data I can see they have been driving some of the sales decline by early returning magazines based on settings in their newsagency software, settings that were too severe and that did not take into account any marketing, free gifts or other activities that could see a spike in sales of some titles.

In more that ten cases recently they have early returned issues of different magazines only to try and reorder because of unexpected demand.

This newsagency they early returned copies of the 100th anniversary issue of Marie Claire, an issue that sold out. This is nuts!

While I understand concerns about the costs of magazine oversupply, going too hard the other way can hurt the business.

Following settings set in newsagency software, some newsagents will early return without considering anything about a specific issue – the free gifts, a new TV campaign, some other social media or a very hot cover that drives sales.

My advice is to not early return the day of on-sale except in genuinely exceptional circumstances and where you have thought about this carefully. Rather, put the product out, give it a crack and take a look at sales toward the end of the month.

This is what a magazine specialist would do.

I urge all newsagents to review your approach in your newsagency software to early returns. If you think your approach is right after the review – good. All I encourage is you think about it and ensure you are not magazine magazines to drive a decline in sales through ill-considered early return settings in your software.

The more newsagents early return and lose certain sales the more likely publishers will pus for their products to be placed in a more diverse, non newsagency, mix of retail businesses.

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magazine distribution

Supply of Stationery News today

Gotch as provided this notice for newsagents re supply of Stationery News today. Gotch responded quickly on my notifying them of the problem on behalf of my stores and newsxpress stores early this morning. What they have sent to newsagents is a good quick response from the company:

Dear Retailer,

This is to inform you that you will have received the annual April 2016 subscription issue of Stationary News today.

There has been an allocations error with your account where you have been supplied 2 copies instead of 1.

If you wish to take up the subscription please return 1 copy via the usual method for credit.

If you do not wish to take up the subscription offer please return both copies via the usual method for credit.

GGA Title Code: 25232
GGA Issue Number : 1760
Title Name: Stationary News
Issue Description: April 2016

We apologies for any inconvenience.

Thank you.

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magazine distribution

Why I supported the MPA campaign in the newsagency

IMG_8981I have been asked several times why supported the MPA magazine promoting in my newsagency when I make more money from other products.

While there is no doubt newsagency businesses are (or should be) in transition. However, magazines remain a vitally important traffic driver.

The MPA promotion was exclusive to our channel, the flow display unit small and easily moved and the range of titles promoted fitted with other categories we sell. Further, there was no downside for me, no crazy engagement required at the counter.

Plain and simple, this campaign was a good fit for the business. It made sense to me to support it.

The alternative is to refuse this and other channel exclusive magazine engagement opportunities. That leads to only one place – the elimination of magazines altogether. If that is your goal, talk to a gift shop owner or or the owner of any other single or limited category of products. They will tell you they would love our everyday traffic drivers including magazines as it provides a traffic base from which to build a more valuable business.

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magazines

The Ty Frizzy if a perfect gift with magazine purchase from Pacific Magazines

IMG_9048The Ty Frizzy free with the latest issue of Total Girl magazine is perfect for the target shopper but evermore perfect for us as we sell Frizzys along with plenty of other Ty products. Indeed, Ty is an extraordinarily successful brand for us, making this promotion one we welcome and support.

This is not an issue to stick in the usual place. Leverage the amazing value gift for maximum sales. That is what we are doing and it is working a treat.

Kudos to Pacific Magazines for such an engaged promotion.

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magazines

Newsagents: beware the lease negotiator

I said no thanks to a landlord proposal for a newsagency in a shopping centre a few years ago as my assessment at the time was the offer was not viable. The landlord would not move enough to make the opportunity viable.

A newsagent subsequently took on the tenancy, with a lease negotiated on their behalf by someone claimed to be a good negotiator. Sure enough, the business went broke, costing the newsagent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The lease ‘deal’ was no deal at all. While their negotiator got paid for their service and the landlord got their rent, the business operator paid the price.

In hindsight, given what was negotiated, the lease negotiator appeared to be more concerned about getting the shop than the long-term viability of the business they were negotiating for.

Be wary of anyone saying they have negotiated a lease deal for you. Do your own research, check the viability for yourself. Landlords run with strict financial models. While they have some room, the amount of room they have is usually considerably less than some promoters of lease negotiating skills suggest.

The family taking on the business I rejected have lost plenty. sadly, the story is the same for some others taking on leases negotiated by the same ‘expert’.

If you are paying a lease negotiator, have a written agreement with them laying out your requirements and tying their fees to proven viability of what they negotiate. Ensure the lease costs proposed fit with your business plan and that the permitted use clause is appropriate to the future plans for the business.

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Newsagency management

Homespun magazine in gift shops

IMG_9007A few doors away from a newsagency and supermarket with Homespun magazine is this gift shop also offering the title.

As newsagencies reallocate magazine space to higher margin product I expect to see more special interest magazines in a more diverse mix of retail businesses as publishers chase impulse purchases closer to people interested in their niche topics.

What is interesting about this shop is their use of a Homespun poster on the door, as if it will attract shoppers to the business. Maybe the poster will work better here with product in the windows either side appealing to the Homespun reader.

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magazines

Changing the way we merchandise roll-wrap in the newsagency

We are having success pitching roll-wrap outside the card and wrap department in the newsagency, and outside of the card company packaging.

While the Hallmark branded box looks professional and facilitates easy shop floor placement, we wanted something different, something that made the product the hero rather than the corporate brand.

My experience is people buy wrap for the design more so than the brand of the product. So, making the product the hero was a goal for planned changes in how we pitch roll-wrap on the shop floor of the newsagency.

Here is a before picture next to an after picture:

IMG_8989 (1)

IMG_8990 (1)

We have four of these stands, all placed outside the card and wrap department, each in a different location and each with carefully selected roll-wrap. We have no more than two designs in each stand. The stands are checked daily to ensure they pitch the product in the best possible light.

This work is part of a broader project changing our approach to cards and wrap, reaching out of the destination location to capture more revenue from people visiting the business to purchase items outside of the card department. The goal is to make the experience in-store more appealing and more memorable than in a traditional newsagency and certainly than shoppers see in a supermarket.

The wire stands we are using are from K-Mart and cost $6.00 each. This is a small and easy investment in a different and more visually appealing approach.

Small steps like this are important in growing sales and increasing the average spend of a shopper visit. Gone are the days of one or two big steps that can be taken to grow revenue. Instead, we are in this world of many small steps and this approach to roll-wrap is one.

If you engage with it, I hope it works for you as it is for me.

Traditionally, newsagents would ask card companies to supply all fixtures and setup the type of display I have written about here. I think this is a mistake. Own your approach. This gives you control and control is paramount. Historically, too many suppliers have had too much control over our floorspace, to our detriment.

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Management tip

News Corp. responds on unauthorised sales of coins

News Corp. in Victoria sent this letter to Victorian newsagents yesterday:

2016 Official ANZAC Coin Collection – ANZAC to Afghanistan

Dear Newsagents/Distributors,

We would like to thank distributors & newsagents for the great job that they have done with the launch of the ANZAC Coin promotion. Early feedback indicates that it should be another great success in both the increase in paper sales, as well as sales of the coins.

Disappointingly, we have also received feedback that there are full sets of the coins being offered for sale on eBay and Gumtree. The online ads feature photos of the full sets alongside images of posters distributed for promotional use in newsagent stores.

A requirement for retailers and newsagents to participate in this promotion, is that the coins can only be sold with a token from the paper and cannot be sold separately or in advance. This is critical in achieving the primary objective of the promotion, to increase newspaper sales.

Where we have identified the parties involved in the unauthorised sale of the coins online, we have taken appropriate action. It should be clearly understood that any contracted party involved in the unauthorised sale of the ANZAC Coins risks action being taken under the terms of our contract.

We acknowledge that this issue relates to a minority of outlets and thank you for your support in this matter.

Kind Regards,

 

Circulation Team News Victoria

While I would have liked this communication to be in the market sooner, that they have sent it is good and appreciated.

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Ethics

What is the cost of offering tobacco products in the newsagency and is it worth it?

Sales of tobacco products are down more than 7% year on year on a same store basis in the first quarter of 2016. The latest decline on the back of declines for most through 2015 and 2014 mean it could be useful to consider getting out of the sale of tobacco products.

In considering whether to stay in tobacco or to quit, newsagents need to consider:

  1. The cost of the retail space and the value of alternative uses for the space. Tobacco units, by necessity, are at the counter. They are bland, promoting nothing other than warning signs. This is premium space that could be used for alternative products people would purchase on impulse at the counter. Calculating the cost of the retail space could be more about opportunity cost than the actual cost of the space.
  2. The labour cost of managing the tobacco category. With average hourly labour costing $23.00 and more plus on-costs and at least an hour a week needed to properly manage even a small tobacco department, you need to sell close to $200 a week just to cover the labour cost.
  3. The cost of theft by employees and or customers. The average cost of theft of tobacco products is between 3% and 5% of revenue a year. While many retailers will say they do not have a theft problem, only those with tight inventory management and tracking procedures will know this for sure.
  4. The return on inventory investment. If, for example, you have $1,000 invested in tobacco products, what is the return this investment generates for the business through a year and is there a better return opportunity for you from the same level of investment?
  5. The message it pitches about your business. If you are transitioning your newsagency from the old-style traditional newsagency of magazines / newspapers / tobacco / cards / stationery / lotteries to something new, fresh and relevant to your area, which I hope you are, does tobacco fit with this or is it too old school? Think about the tobacco message and its relevance to you.
  6. Community health. How does selling tobacco products fit with what you stand for?

A newsagency I am helping at the moment sells $800 in tobacco products a week. The labour cost is an hour, or $26.45 a week (including on-costs), the retail space costs $44.50 a week or $120.00 a week if you consider the counter position to be prime space and theft tracks back at a weekly average cost of $30 a week. Assuming they can stop the theft, this leaves, at the most generous estimate, a cost base of $70.95 for tobacco in the business.

On their current margin, they are above the break even point of $475.00 a week in sales. However, once I factor in regular discounting they do to drive sales and apply the cost of theft back in, I would say this business ought to get out of tobacco now.

Their sales trend is down, in line with the national average so it is only a matter of time. My advice to them is to get out of tobacco ahead of the curve, to own the terms of their departure from the category.

If I factor in opportunity cost of tobacco, the decision has an urgency. This is a good retailer, they would use the space well and make far more money with products with 50% GPO and more in the tobacco space. Feather, they would use the space to drive a difference for the business. See, as things stand for them right now, the business is different compared to your average old-school newsagency, except for tobacco. This is a big factor in crafting my advice.

If your tobacco sales are under $2,000 a week, do the analysis. Let your data be your guide. If they are under $1,000 a week, it is almost certain you ought to get out, urgently.

Every day you hang on to any product category that is not paying its way or that is not relevant to the narrative of your business is a day lost for the future of the business.

We have to manage our newsagency businesses by the numbers. This is better for the business than emotional decisions and gut feel when it comes to considering your position on matters such as what to do with tobacco.

Footnote: I have no personal experience in this space having got out of tobacco products in 1999.

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Management tip

Women’s and men’s fitness magazines together in the newsagency

IMG_8982In many newsagencies I visit I find women’s fitness magazines placed near fashion and pregnancy titles, away from men’s fitness titles. While I understand the rationale of this placement, I think there is value in women’s and men’s fitness titles being placed together as the same shopper could purchase from either or both segments in a visit.

The photo shows the placement we are trialling in the newsagency at the moment. We will run with this and then flip with women’s titles above men for a couple of weeks … and then measure the results.

I think constant change like this is important in the magazine department to keep the offer fresh and to try and get titles in front of shoppers they might otherwise miss in the shopping visit.

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magazines

Sunday newsagency challenge: rank your competitors

Make a list of the competitors of your business with #1 being the biggest / toughest / most important competitor. next, get everyone in your business to make their list. lay all the lists out in front of you and see if they show you anything you had not realised about your business.

I did this recently with a newsagency and the result was enlightening for the owner. Most of their team ranked competitors the owner did not even have on their list. This is resulting in changes to the business.

Sometimes, seeing our businesses through the eyes of others has us make changes we did not know were necessary.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency management tip: be professional in your front of store pitch

IMG_7598Take a look at the front of your retail business, looking at it as if you are customer approaching the shop or walking past.

What do you see? What is the key message pitched to attract people to the business and to step in through the front door?

If this your best pitch? Are you being competitive? If your voice clear?

Getting the front of your shop is one of the most important marketing investments you can make in your business.

The photo is from the front of a newsagency I visited recently. While I am sure the owners think the message they are pitching is relevant and professional, it is not. This business could look more appealing with a clearer message, a differentiating message.

The terms SALE and BARGAIN BOOKS mean little today. They are non specific. There is no urgent call to action, no indication of value.

The product mix, type of display and signage do nothing tomato this business stand out. A small investment in time and product display could have the samara similar products displayed more effectively and with grater commercial success.

My management (and marketing) tip today: get the front of your store right. Make it look appealing, with a clear message that differentiates your business.  Oh, and change it weekly.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: magazine placement as in-store marketing

IMG_8983We made a crazy change to magazine placement in the newsagency on Friday last week –  placing entertainment / film magazines between car magazines and motorcycle magazines.

The photo shows the result of the move. Click on it for a bigger version.

I call this a crazy move as it is against what is usual or reasonable or expected for magazine placement in a newsagency.

I made the move to interrupt / disrupt as I know this increases the opportunity for products to be noticed. My goal is that all magazines in the display are noticed more as a result of the changed. An increase in noticing a product is the first step to increasing sales.

With magazine sales falling, anything goes in terms of placement. Now is not the time to do what is usual as that will only facilitate usual, declining, results.

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magazines

President of Condé Nast on why their magazines defy the trend

The Guardian has an article quoting, Nicholas Coleridge, President of Condé Nast speaking about why their magazines are not down. He clearly loves print:

“There is something extraordinarily alluring about a glossy magazine, the physical quality, particularly a very thick one.

“It is a pleasure that cannot easily be matched, the care taken by art departments, impossible in a faster moving medium, and the sense of a club feel… you feel yourself attractively badged and comfortable.”

The article is worth reading as he goes on to talk about changing magazines and how that has to be done gradually.

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magazines

How boring is your Mother’s Day display?

What does your Mother’s Day display look like. Are you promoting photo frames, mugs, journals, bookmarks, retro magnets and coasters, tea-towels, pens, chocolates and money banks?

I have looked at several Mother’s Day displays this week in gift shops, newsagencies and even in a department store and, frankly, none was inspiring.

Where is the fun? Where is the retail innovation? Where can I see a Mother’s Day display that is different to last year and the year before that? Why is this season so boring in so many businesses?

Check out what I saw at a UK card shop when I was there in the lead up to Mother’s Day two months ago.

IMG_5939 (2)

This is fun. It got my attention. While not appropriate to every store, it is right for the store in which I saw it.

I think we have to challenge ourselves to be this different. We have to challenge ourselves to do something this year that is a right turn from what we did last year … if it is not too late. If it is too late, start planning now for Father’s Day. Plan to be different, to use the traffic generating season to break customer expectations, to get them looking at your business differently.

Changing customer perception is vital for our businesses right now. We have to get people seeing our businesses differently and one of the best ways we can do this is through major seasonal displays.

Sure, many customers have an expectation around Mother’s Day that we need to serve. We can do this while playing outside this expectation and shocking / challenging along the way.

So, what is Mother’s Day like in your newsagency? Are you using the season to change customer perception of your business?

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Management tip

News Corp. and Tatts in joint promotion

I have heard from newsagents in the last hour and a half about a joint promotion announced by Tatts today. The responses I have received from newsagents so far include: groan, really?, ugh, what will they think of next? and, groan (again):

There is some very exciting ‘news just in’ for Set for Life, not only did we have another 1st Prize winner in the draw last night – but there is also a fantastic promotion running this May.

For the entire week 15 – 21 May any customer that purchases a Set for Life entry will receive a complimentary News Corp newspaper!

This promotion is all about increasing the awareness and trial of the new game Set for Life with new customers, whilst also increasing circulation of the News Corp titles for the entire week. The great news for you is that you will receive full commission for the papers given away as part of this promotion (it will be as if you sold the newspaper even though it was given away for free!) as well as full commission for the Set for Life products that you sell.

This is a great opportunity for you to invite your newspaper customers to trial the new game Set for Life, and talk to every customer about the game.  It’s also a wonderful time to encourage customers to play using their own numbers, with Entry Coupons being distributed via every copy of the The Sunday Mail on Sunday 15 May.

Be sure to keep an eye out for more information on how this promotion will work in-store and how you can support the offer.  Make sure you also share the exciting news with your customers about the latest winner and keep an eye out for the winners story!

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Lotteries

What have you done about the price rise of postage stamps?

A newsagent expressed concern to me yesterday about the impact of the price increase for postage stamps on their greeting card sales. I asked whether they had taken steps to mitigate the situation, to soften the impact. They said no. I asked if their marketing group had offered advice, they said no. This surprised me.

Back in January newsagency marketing group newsXpress published advice to its members on steps available to mitigate against the impact of the stamp price rise. I wrote the advice. I saw it as common sense. I expected other newsagency marketing groups would od similar as providing such advice is a key benefit marketing groups should deliver.

To assist all newsagents, here is the newsXpress advice:

SOFTENING THE IMPACT OF THE STAMP PRICE RISE.
NEWSXPRESS BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING ADVICE
– JANUARY 25, 2016 –

The 42% increase in the cost of posting a standard letter (or card) could hit greeting card sales – unless to act now to mitigate the situation. Yes, there are things you can do, opportunities you can embrace to make soften the impact.

To our knowledge, no industry association, no card company, no marketing group and no greeting card association has offered any advice or support for newsagents in the wake of the extraordinary price rise.

Not everyone has to pay the new price of $1.00 per item. For example, people with a MyPost Concession Account can post letters and cards for 60 cents.

The following Australian Federal Government concession cards are accepted as proof of eligibility for a MyPost Concession Account:

  • Pensioner Concession Card
  • Health Care Card (all types)
  • Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
  • Department of Veterans’ Affairs Card
  • Veterans’ Repatriation Health Card

If you have customers with any one of these cards, they can apply for the postal concession. Applying is free. Here is a link to the concession account form online from Australia Post:

http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/MyPost-Concession-Account-application-form.pdf

Print the form out and hand it to customers. This demonstrates you offering an appreciated customer service. If you have a retirement village or nursing home in your area, give them plenty of copies of the form – show you care about helping them save money.

Offer to help complete the form for customers.

Australia Post does not actively promote the MyPost Concession account. You should and in doing so you are likely to be appreciated by the customers that benefit. Australia Post reports that 5.7 million Australians are eligible for this concession but that considerably less than half have applied.

The MyPost Concession Account allows them 50 concession stamps a year.

Here are other ways you can make greeting cards more appealing in the wake of higher postage costs:

  1. Have a loyalty offer.
    1. One approach is Discount Vouchers as they provide a cash amount the customer saves off their next purchase. The amount printed on the receipt is perceived as being of immediate value to the shopper.
    2. Another offer could be Buy X get Y – like the Hot Press range from Hallmark. Three cards for $10 would be seen as a saving by customers.
    3. Another offer could be like the Hallmark buy 8 cards and get your 9th card for free. The key in our view with this is you need to date limit the offer.
  2. Run a free stamp day promotion. This is a challenging promotion in that it could be expensive. Therefore, our suggestion is you set the bar and target committed card shoppers. People spending more than $25.00 in cards get a $1.00 stamp for each $10.00 they spend. An alternative could be – people buying 8 or more cards in one purchase get 8 cards. The goal with either approach is to get people purchasing more cards than is usual in a single purchase.
  3. Improve your card offer. The postage price hike will get some people thinking twice before purchasing a card. It is vital you confront this with a more compelling card offer, a better card department and placement of cards in better impulse purchase locations in-store. Placing cards with gifts, for example, can see more cards purchased with gifts – to be handed to recipients with the gifts.

The alternative is to do nothing. If you do nothing you may or may not be impacted by the postage price hike. The newsXpress view: it is better to lean into a challenge, to be on the front foot.

Footnote: I have shared this advice today so you can access the advice itself and so you can see one example of the type of resources available to newsagents who want options beyond being average. Whether through newsXpress or elsewhere, there are people who will help you grow your business.

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Greeting Cards

What do people think about the dot-to-dot magazines?

IMG_8817Some publishers are saying the dot-to-dot is the new adult colouring. I am not so sure. with adult colouring it started as a movement first and magazine publishers followed. I can’t find any such movement re dot-to-dot predating the engagement by publishers. Dot-to-dot appears to me to be magazine publishers trying to create demand, to fill declining sales in the colouring space. While there is nothing wrong with that, supply needs to be fair otherwise we will early return with no space to store the stock.

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magazines

WH Smith report double-digit profit growth

For the six months to February 29, UK retail group WH Smith has reported 11% growth in pre-tax profit. In a Business Matters report is this:

It comes on the back of an improved full year performance last year, in which adult colouring-in books were singled out a huge trend. “Colour therapy”, as WH Smith refers to it, continues to be a huge driver of sales.

I was in several WH Smith stores in the UK a few weeks ao and note they continue to devote considerable floor space to this segment.

The BBC has reported overnight an expansion of Post Office operation into 61 more WH Smith stores in the UK taking the total number to close to 200. The BBC story includes this:

Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells said: “We know that people place huge importance on the presence of a Post Office branch on their High Street.

“Our collaboration with WH Smith will help to secure this, as well as bring new investment into the network.”

I could not find anything in the profit announcement about Australia other than a note about growth in numbers of stores. In Australia, WH Smith owns Supanews, Kennys Cardiology, Wild Card and Gifts and their own branded businesses.

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Competition

Helping a small business newsagent to confront challenges

I have been working with a newsagent on challenges in their business and thought this summary email may be useful to other newsagents, especially those with traditional businesses: magazines / papers / lotteries / tobacco / cards / stationery – and little in the way of gift and good margin traffic generating products.

So, here is my email. I have washed it of any identifiable information out of respect for their privacy. The business is in a small centre, in a competitive situation. New owners have been in for six months. he old owners had been in the business for many years.

Note: I am direct in the correspondence as I have found this to work best. There is no point in sugar-coating anything if affecting change is the goal. Here is the email:

It was terrific to meet a couple of weeks ago.

I have now gone through the performance reports for you business an offer these comments for your consideration:

  1. You are not using the software properly. By this I mean, you are not tracking stock on hand for items you sell. This makes it easy to steal from the business and difficult to provide management advice to the business. For example, in 2015, $25,397 worth of stationery was sold without scanning it. This has denied you the opportunity of understanding what has been sold specifically. To address this: receive all inventory in through your software, scan all sales and scan all returns.
  2. Cards. 30% of card sales cannot be adequately assessed as they are not being tracked by category. This is because of the data issues noted above. No, in terms of card performance, you are trending down 11% year on year. This suggests the card department needs a considerable overhaul. If I look more deeply at Everyday Counter Cards, I can see sales are down 5% year on year – this is below the trend reporting growth in other stores.
  3. CIGARETTES. Sales are tracking at $746.00 a week, down 24% from a year earlier. You have to consider the cost of the space. If you ripped out the units and put in shelving to promote higher margin and unique product could you achieve a better return on the space and the inventory investment.
  4. Magazines. Sales are down 16%, more than in an average newsagency, close to double the decline in fact. I think you need to relay the magazines and refresh the offer urgently to arrest your decline. At the same time, you need to improve space efficiency, cut your space allocation by 25% without cutting range and thereby reducing the operating cost of the category without impacting sales.
  5. Newspapers. Sales are down 4%. This is good compared to the industry trend. That said, I think you could lose your old-school paper stand and place papers in a less expensive location, freeing the current space for more effective use in the business.
  6. Stationery. Down 35%. This is a disaster. Your stationery needs work to get back to where it was. I suspect this is due to poor management of the category. When I looked at the range in store I was left thinking – what do you stand for. Y0u had a bit of everything but without being strong in several key everyday areas.
  7. Gifts. The 212% growth is good. Based on your card sales and considering newsagency channel benchmarks, you could reasonably grow gift sales y another 300% from where you sit today. Considering the store layout, I think you cold do this without capital investment on fixtures.

Right now, your focus has to be on getting your data right for without more accurate segment level data you cannot reasonably measure the performance of the business. So, this would be my immediate focus: get the data right. At the same time I would relay magazines, move papers, bring in more gifts and remove tobacco replacing that space with male-oriented collectible and or gift lines.

I think most of the changes could be done with little or no capital investment in fixtures and no more than $5,000 investment in new supplier lines.

I would be happy yo help you source appropriate product lines. That advice would come from card and other sales data – hence the importance of getting your data up to speed first.

The business overall still feels like a traditional newsagency. That requires urgent change if you are to be competitive with the businesses nearby that are competing with you. The changes you have made this year step you toward the right direction. More needs to be done, and quickly in my view.

Thanks for the opportunity to look at your data and visit your business. I am confident you can be tracking good growth soon and for little cost.

I have attached the reports relied upon for this analysis for your information. Note, I have concentrated on the reports comparing the first three months of this year with the same period from last year.

15 likes
Newsagency challenges

State based marketing collateral for a national campaign

IMG_8799 (1)The different collateral being used by News Corp around the country for the coin promotion is interesting. The photo is from a newsagency in South Australia. I like this free standing unit. It would work well in a shopping centre. The challenge for this display unit, however, is the cost of the floor space for what is a low margin campaign.

The return on investment aside, the different approach to campaign management, marketing and in the papers is fascinating. It speaks of the differences between the various outposts of News. The state based silos remain strong.

5 likes
marketing

Is it time to change friends in/of your newsagency?

Who do you talk to about your retail business? Are they sympathetic, pandering almost? Or, do they challenge your perception of your business?

Do they agree with everything you say? Do they offer pity as a response for you explaining your situation?

Good friends will challenge what you say. They will ask tough questions to test what you say about business performance. They will not put up with a victim mentality. They will want to know what you are doing to improve your situation and that your actions are rooted in your business data.

If your friends don’t challenge you when you talk about your business consider seeking out others you can talk to who do challenge you.

Owning a business of any size can be tough and lonely. Owning a newsagency in 2016, in the perfect storm of channel transition, print decline, migration of sales online and stronger than ever competition is own of the toughest retail business ownership gigs going around.

In the business it is rare you will be challenged. In your immediately family, too often, you will not be challenged. This is why you need to seek out those who could and will challenge you. You need to be challenged. Your plans need to be tested through tough questioning. While some good friend will do this for you many will not.

So, do you need to change your friends?

Seek out people who will give you truthful assessment of what you say, people who will have an opinion and be unafraid to share it. You want people who will actively listen to you and give you their insights.

Seek out people who will want the same from you. The ideal friendship is one that is equal, open and honest in conversation. This is what retail business owners need – people who can help them see what they may not be seeing for themselves.

Footnote: only you can know your situation, your challenges and your friends. The purpose of this post is to ask the question, so you can conclude what is right for you.

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Management tip