This photo shows what used to be the newspaper stand in this newsagency I visited in in Queensland. The old newspaper stand went from floor to ceiling and reached out toward the front of the store by at least 1.2 metres. The location is just inside the entrance to the small 70 square metre shop in a shopping centre – prime and expensive space. This old newspaper stand location is easily seen from outside the front of the shop, it is perfect for attracting shoppers.
The newspaper stand was completely removed from the business and papers put in a more space efficient stand, still at the front of the shop. The new stand takes up a quarter of the space and is situated in less-expensive real estate at the front.
In the place of the old newspaper stand is the stand of gift items you can see in the photo. This stand has been setup to facilitate easy change.
Take a look at how this change is working:
Newspaper sales in the business have not been harmed by the move.
Yesterday morning, an office worker who works nearby noticed the gifts, and spent $175.00 in a single purchase from the new stand. They came back and spent another $65.00 in a second transaction. This is a new customer for the business purchasing new items for the business. Te total gross profit from the two transactions was $108.00.
This newsagent would need to sell 453 copies of their local daily newspaper to achieve $108.00 in gross profit.
The value of the move goes beyond the two transactions yesterday.
Newspapers are available in more than thirty outlets within a five minute walk of this newsagency. They are also regularly given away metres away from the business by the publisher. The gifts in the stand are not so easily available. Indeed, you wold need to drive to find the closest competitor.
This new customer discovered yesterday as a result of the strategic move to move the newspaper stand is set to be far more valuable to the business over the long term than a newspaper customer won by the stand being in this same location.
The story here presents an argument to use to the newspaper publisher rep who may pressure you to not remove their stand or the magazine publisher who may challenge you considering moving the front of store prime retail space currently allocated to magazines.
This post is about strategy, strategy for finding new traffic, strategy for growing the overall GP of your business, strategy for attracting shoppers who will return to make more valuable purchases.
Every newsagent can do what this newsagent I visited yesterday has done. Every newsagent can transition their business. The steps do not need to be big or bold. They can be often and small.
Yes, this is a newsXpress business, yes, the strategies they are engaging with are newsXpress strategies. yes, I am a director of newsXpress. There is enough information in this post to inspire anyone on moves like I have outlined – regardless of the group you are in.
While some in the channel say rip out your newspaper stand and leave it at that, the better advice is to present viable long-term alternatives to re-locating newspapers to elsewhere and replacing them with a stand that enables moves like I have outlined here.
Any change requires you to think beyond a single move. You need to plan. This is where newsagency marketing groups should shine.