SBS news tonight
SBS is preparing a story they anticipate will run on their TV news tonight that references the newsagency channel. I have been contacted for some background information. I stressed there is plenty of good news in the channel as there are businesses transitioning, finding new traffic through new opportunities.
The ethics of tough competition in small business retail
This is not my story. It is a story about an other newsagent family and how a competitor targeted them, leveraging their marketing in what I think was an unfair action.
The newsagents, with whom I am friends, determined to host an event in their shop for a high-profile brand of products they sell. While they are not the only retailer in their shopping centre with the brand, their approach is unique and bold and goes beyond what is traditional for the brand.
They promoted the event in-store with professional posters as well as online, through boosted Facebook posts. They spent money.
For the party, they organised prizes, specially made tasty treats themed to the product they were promoting, activities and more. It was set up as a terrific and fun family event that aimed to also sell plenty of stock but to also give people an opportunity to engage with the products, to learn and have fun beyond plain shopping.
They were exhausted by the start of the day of the event, having put in plenty of work to dress the shop and create an experience that matched their proactive marketing, but excited for what was to come.
On the morning of the event they discovered a small business competitor in the centre had cut prices of the same products to close to cost, for one day only. They announced this with a hand written sign at the store entrance, capturing traffic heading to the newsagency with the promotion.
While I accept competition is real, this promotion by the competitor to cut prices to almost cost price on the day a fellow retailer in the centre in running a value-add promotion in which they have invested considerably is, in my view, poor form. It goes beyond regular competition.
I think what the other store did is lazy marketing, disrespectful to the competitor and disrespectful to customers who love the brand being promoted.
A smart retailer would have countered with their own event, at a different time, adding value in a variety of ways. Instead, this retailer ran a spoiler sale designed solely to mute the success of the in-store party run by my friends.
There were shoppers who saw the activity for what it was, and said so. Others were happy to get the discount.
Long term, the better retailer will win as this is what shoppers will appreciate – the retailer who understands the brands they sell, who services the collectors of the brands, who offers experiences that are enjoyable beyond price based shopping.
In the meantime, sure, the almost cost price sale had an impact. But no one won. My friends had the success of their event dulled by the competitor’s actions. Any boost the competitor got was money through the register but little in the way of gross profit.
People who shop solely on price are not loyal. For the competitor to keep anyone they won through the almost cost price sale they will have to keep discounting. I can’t see the upside in that.
Retailers in local shopping precincts and in shopping malls have to walk a fine line in handling competition. While I get that all is fair in competition, there are ethical lines one should not cross. I think what the competitor did in this instance is a crossing of an ethical line.
Promoting crosswords in the newsagency
Crosswords continue to be one of the most valuable magazine categories in newsagencies. On average, they account for between 6% and 8% of magazine revenue. In the latest benchmark study, crossword unit sales are up, ahead of most other categories.
This is an important category for newsagency businesses. It is one where you can beat every other magazine retail channel. My advice is you place it at the front of the magazine department.
Here is the crossword section in one of my stores. While the location gets moved as we tweak magazine locations, the space allocation is consistent.
Is partwork launch marketing less than it used to be?
Back when Mind Body Spirit first launched in Australia years ago there was a ton of noise in-store and in the media. This latest launch, happening now, is low profile compared. we are doing our bit but without TV driving traffic as it used to I expect sales to be quite low.
We have the launch issue with weeklies, the highest traffic location in-store.
Game of Thrones one of the most bankable brands in 2017
While the latest season of Game of Thrones may have ended its run this week, GoT licenced products are set to be popular right through to Christmas.
Spending on the demographic focus of the business, GoT could be the most popular licence in a shop this year with avid collectors happy to spend big on limited-edition opportunities as well as big piece, high ticket price, items.
Like any major licence, key to leveraging success was locking in products months out from the airing of the latest season, often committing to products without understanding exactly what you were committing to.
While there are other strong licences, such as Star Wars, anything Disney, the Wiggles and more, GoT is a favourite of mine because of collector loyalty to the licence and to businesses that are serious about their commitment to all things GoT.
A challenge in this space is dealing with multiple suppliers and being able to be on early allocation of new product, especially the limited edition product. To achieve this you have to be proactive, often chasing relationships that are unusual for the newsagency channel.
It is certainly exciting being part of a licence franchise for which there is a terrific traffic rush.
Are you ready for Fair Work compliance visits?
Fair Work has been making compliance visits to retail businesses, checking employee and payroll records.
It is important that all employee related records are ignorer. These include rosters, payroll records, payslips given to employees, your injuries register and more.
At the same time, it is worth ensuring your have current employee emergency contact details as well as superannuation records, with records showing up to date superannuation payments.
If any employees work under a specific type of visa, it would be useful to have that as part of their employee records on file, stores securely.
Even if your business is not in a area targeted by Fair Work, now is a good time to self-check your compliance. The fines for non-compliance are considerable.
Inspiring words as a business owner sells their ‘newsagency’ and moves on
With Hamish Cameron’s permission I share here his note to me on the sale of his Albany Western Australia business, lessons learned and what’s next:
Well the time has come to move into another direction and exit the retail space.
Within 10 days of listing the business for sale I had two cash offers presented which does speak to the attraction of a relevant, well presented and profitable business.
As you would see regularly, trying to sell a newsagency isn’t always such a straight forward proposition – the hard work has finally paid off.
So as I drift into the sunset of my retail career and reflect on why this business has worked so well I find myself returning to Community Engagement.
Aside from Product, Presentation and People the contribution to the community we live in has been critical in securing and growing market share in this regional town.
I thought I would share this with you as something of a positive story, we all need to hear positive things especially in the retail industry.
I hope you share this with that in mind, will leave that completely up to you.
We were approached by the Albany Youth Services Assoc to help with their fundraiser and awareness campaign around the plight of Homelessness and the impact it has on the community.
Following in the footsteps of various CEO Sleep outs around the country the AYSA again held this event in the town square. Apart from rolling out the swag for the night I was keen to help in whatever way I could.
Utilizing our window display was always a going to help raise some awareness, to compliment this we placed donation tins at the counter and set up an online donation page through our ticketing software.
All money raised is going towards buying emergency bedding in the form of Backpack Beds (swags) that local agencies can supply to people and families that find themselves in this horrendous predicament.
We raised $5300, which will purchase 35 swags – hardly world changing I know, but for some hopefully it’s the first thing to go right in a long time.
Yes we have run many similar type things over the years although this one will stick with me. Two things happened.
- I watched a middle aged lady standing in front of the display, she was nodding as she was reading the message, promptly pulled out her phone, took a photo and shared it on social media.
- She then walked into the shop, put two $50 notes into the tin and said word for word “What you are is what you do, what you do is fucking awesome, there is no other business like this – I am proud to be a customer”.
Passion, Engagement, Ownership and Pride – we all want this from staff, getting it from customers is truly the retail holy grail.
I will be hanging around until the January handover (had to get one more Christmas bonus) and will keep an eye on the blog until then. May look at doing some retail consulting next year and freelance window displays in the industry – a clear weak point in the newsagency sector. Who knows, maybe make some newsXpress Stores actually look 21st Century, contemporary and cool…… break those long tried, repetitive, lazy and tired presentation techniques so synonymous with the industry!
Anyway, I also want to say thank you for your input into my business over the years. While I may not always agree or have a different take on a story I do appreciate the effort you make to educate, question and champion newsagents and their industry. In all sincerity – Well Done, good luck and thank you.
Father’s Day strong early in the season
While we know that around 60% of Father’s Day card sales are in the last two retail days of the season, already we are seeing year on year card unit sales up by 18% and revenue up by 21% – reflected in data to the end of last week. This is in a store that has been established in its current location for seven years, in a centre with another newsagency and many card competitors plus Father’s Day outposts.
Several factors are combining to play well for us including:
- Consistent pitching of discount vouchers. A shopper who is not a regular getting a voucher for some other purchase often looks for what else they could purchase, to leverage the cash discount on the voucher. Our Father’s Day cards are situated to leverage this.
- More consistent pitching of heartwarming Father’s Day cards on social media.
- Consistent placement of a changing cycle of Father’s Day cards at the counter.
- Launching a unique range of appealing and visually fresh Father’s Day targeted gifts that only twenty retailers in Australia have and using these as a traffic draw.
- Attracting shoppers to the season using a stunning bold signpost visual merchandising.
We are also consistently executing what has worked well for us in previous years: Father’s Day cards on the lease line, rewarding card shopper loyalty, Keeping the card range looking fresh. Sequencing cards in the display based on our knowledge of our shoppers.
A question for distribution newsagents
Do you charge your sub agents for the collection of newspapers being returned?
While you ponder this, I think it is ridiculous that there remains a physical process around returns. Newspapers are a slim-margin product for distribution agents and for retailers. requiring physical returns to be returned if a cost impost on both parties.
It is time newspaper publishers eliminated this old-world approach. They have the data. They can spot audit. It is time the ‘tax’ of physical returns was removed from small business.
Coles promoting discount News Corp. newspapers
Check out how Coles is promoting discount newspapers from News Corp. at the moment. I hope News Corp. does not do for newspapers what Bauer did for magazines by making discount bundles the new normal and educating customers to expect them.
Either a title is worth the cover price or not.
Content sells print media products more so than price.
Newsagency management tip: be careful about out of hours employee contact
With easy social media and other digital access platforms it is easy to contact employees outside their hours. If you expect them to respond outside hours and the communication is about matters other than their roster, you could open yourself to a claim under Fair Work provisions.
The best way to avoid any trouble is to make it clear, regularly, that while you may email or post to a private business employee only Facebook group, you do not expect an out of hours response from them. Having documentation of your advice re this may be useful in the event of a dispute.
One way to deter shoplifting
Check out this sign seen in a retail business recently. It is sure to draw some attention a more traditional and law-enforcement type sign may attract. We need to keep changing how we tell customers they are at risk of being caught because people see laziness in the usual and that tells them theft could be easier. Winona may be noticed enough to work.
Newsagents need to take care sourcing on-trend stationery
A newsagent showed me a line of stationery they were pressured to take with the pitch they are on-trend, that they will help compete with Typo. The stationery is not selling. The products are not on-trend, there is no professional marketing the prices are too high.
Compared to notebooks in Officeworks (see photo), the products forced on the newsagent are more expensive and not of as good a quality.
Too many suppliers say they have products for competing with Typo and similar. Most don’t know what they are talking about. Take care. Buy carefully. Educate yourself about what Typo and others have. Knowing your competition is crucial.
Shame on Sunrise on the Seven Network for promoting Lottoland versus small business newsagents
On the Sunrise breakfast TV program yesterday the hosts crossed to the CEO of Lottoland, Luke Brill, who was standing outside a newsagency, for a story (an advertisement really) about the US Powerball jackpot Lottoland was promoting.
Shame on everyone involved in the Seven West Media Sunrise program for this segment, especially the decision to have the Lottoland CEO outside a newsagency. What were they thinking?
Surely, someone in the production team on Sunrise would have thought hang on, we are part of Seven West Media, we produce shows that are featured in magazines that we rely on newsagents to promote and sell … oh and worse still through our Pacific Magazine subsidiary we publish New Idea, Better Homes and Gardens and other top selling magazines that we rely on newsagents to promote. Why are we joining in attacking and mocking them with this Lottoland segment?
If someone did think that and did comment on it, they were not listened to. Instead, what went to air was a continuation of the attack on our local family owned tax paying small businesses. Shame on everyone involved at Sunrise.
In case you missed it, here is the story that aired:
This story is an attack on small business as well as an attack on Australian taxpayers. It comes on the back of a relentless TV ad campaign by Lottoland that mocks small business newsagents.
- Lottoland is a company registered in Gibraltar, where they pay no income tax on money earned from overseas.
- Lottoland pays no local taxes like Tatts pays. $1 spent on Lottoland does not deliver the same benefit for the local economy that $1 spent with Tatts delivers. Reports indicate in Victoria alone the cost is at least $90M over three years.
- It has its gaming licenced through the government of the Northern Territory.
- Lottoland purchases have been banned in South Australia.
- New WA Premier Mark McGowan has said publicly he favours the SA model.
I am shocked someone in the production side of the Sunrise show did not question the story, especially the placement outside a newsagency. I am equally shocked the hosts did not bring more balance to their story.
The folks at Sunrise were happy to talk up the US$800M+ prize value and while they did explain a Lottoland ticket is a bet on the numbers drawn, there was no clarity around what a winner would actually receive. My reading of the 14,483 words under the terms section on the Lottoland website indicate that the US$800M+ would never be paid in full as they would apply the US model. In the US the IRS takes a percentage for tax. However, Lottoland pays no tax so I am not sure of the basis on which Lottoland would claw this amount from the win.
I think there are ethical and social responsibility questions for politicians to answer about Lottoland. This company is ripping millions of dollars out of Australian wallets for which there is little or no community contribution. They are doing it at a cost to local family run newsagencies – that employ locally, pay Australian taxes and support the local community.
Politicians who care about the local community and about small business should want to stop this bleed.
Lottoland think they can win the community engagement challenge with a million dollar deal to name a sports stadium. We are stupid if we let their spend at Manly pay off.
Oh, and all through this, the genius folks at Tatts have remained silent. They have allowed the Lottoland attack on small business newsagents continue. Indeed, some Tatts in-store collateral appears to have been inspired by the Lottoland ads. Totally ignorant or dumb or both. It’s Tatts, who knows?
I don’t have lotteries in my businesses so none of this affects me at the register. However, I have business relationships and friendships with newsagents who are affected, every day. That a TV show that positions itself as a show for Aussies has participated in this is gutting for them.
What should Sunrise do? They should be clear about what Lottoland is. they should trace $100 spent on lotteries at a local newsagency and compare that to the same spend on Lottoland. They should talk about the role local newsagents play. They should engage in robust and transparent debate about Lottoland versus local lottery products. The should ask politicians why they are not acting. They should look at their processes to work how how this screw up occurred. they should apologise to small business newsagents and all who work in them. They should ask Tatts why the have been silent through all this.
What should newsagent do? Write your local politician along these lines: My family runs a small newsagency business serving our community. We employ locals. We pay taxes. What do you intend to do about the Gibraltar based online gambling business Lottoland that is attacking us, taking revenue from us and not contributing to the local economy like we do?
Consider a Facebook post: The Sunrise TV show this week ran a story about Lottoland and their $800M+ jackpot. They filmed this outside a family run newsagency. Lottoland competes with newsagents. We pay Australian taxes. They don’t. One you win first division with us, you get the total prize. With Lottoland you don’t When we sell you a lottery ticket it is a ticket in a lottery. Lottoland sells you a bet, not a ticket. If you want to support your local economy, local jobs, better roads and better schools, support local newsagent lottery outlets and not Lottoland. Oh, and tell Sunrise to stop promoting Lottoland.
The opportunity of the marriage equality survey for newsagents
Regardless of your position on the question being put in the marriage equality survey next month, it is an opportunity for engagement that reinforces your local connection.
You could declare your position and promote that in your business. While I expect that would scare some newsagents, the challenge is to believe in your opinion enough to leverage your business to support the opinion.
You could host a survey party where people come in and complete the survey and have a bit of a part to boot.
At the very least you could ensure people are enrolled to vote, although the deadline is today for that. Click here to go to the AEC website where people can check. Offer to do this for them.
Alternatively, without declaring a position, you could establish a noticeboard in your business as a place for respectful statements for the yes and no positions. You could remove any statement or poster that you consider to be disrespectful or hurtful. However, I would argue that any statement against voting yes is hurtful given the evidence form the US and elsewhere where same sex marriage has been legalised … suicide among gay people has declined.
Engaging on an issue like this shows your business as engaged with the community. Sure, there is a risk of alienating either side, or both. However, not engaging shows your local business as not being engaged on what is being reported as the biggest single issue in the country this decade. An engaged business is a healthy and confident business.
Here is the post from Facebook last night that I did for one of my businesses. I used the same text with only a suburb change for each. The reaction overnight has been terrific.
News Corp. paper bundles frustrating newsagents
It seems that bundled deals are the new normal with News Corp. with more running in different locations and for different mixes of titles.
Given the poor communication from News Corp. to newsagents and to the software companies, how newsagents handle the various discount ts in-store is not as consistent as it could or should be. The result is a hodgepodge of data that I suspect will challenge the company’s ability to assess the results of the promotion.
The smarter move for News Corp. would be for them to develop a national strategy, liaise early with the software companies, agree on structure and then rolled it out to newsagents with advice for each software program to ensure newsagents do this one way – so that the data feeding back to News Corp. marketing gives them what they need.
The current approach takes up more time than it should and results in more data of little or no value.
News Corp. nationally has always been poor when it comes to data and IT. If only the folks in Victoria were listened to 15+ years ago when they lead Australia on the tech front.
Flexible shop fixtures
I am often asked about flexible shop fixtures that can be changed as the needs of the business evolve. In my last major shoplift I used the fixtures from Nufx. I have no commercial relationship with them, other than as a regular customer. Gary Walsh is the contact. He provided excellent service. 0477 006 233.
Father’s Day is an opportunity to reset men’s gifts
Gifts for men are a challenge for shoppers and retailers. Shoppers commonly say they can’t find anything interesting for me and retailers often say the same thing at gift fairs and from talking with gift wholesalers. This problem is magnified in the newsagency channel where suppliers assume what we can sell, and are often wrong.
We are using Father’s Day to pitch some fresh gifts for men in multiple locations in-store. Gifts not from traditional newsagency suppliers. The key to this is each display displaying range more so than volume of stock.
It is working well with gifts performing well in the business, people discovering items they did not realise we stocked, gifts that work outside of the Father’s Day traditional gift.
Some items have been imported especially, thereby providing a unique platform for pitching in-store and online. They help bring a fresh visual aesthetic to the season, which I like.
A kock-on benefit for us is the traffic the various father’s Day displays attract and they opportunity to then browse nearby Father’s Day cards. This is important as newsagencies are not the same destination for card season traffic that they were a few years ago.
I am excited for Father’s Day this year and what we can do to reposition the business as a offering gifts for a broader appeal than people may have assumed.
Newsagents frustrated with Belle subscription offer
There is no missing the subscription offer sticking out from the current issue of Belle magazine on newsagency shelves. In fact, it sticks out so much that it covers most of the magazine in the pocket located behind it – making this pitch not only disrespectful of newsagents but disrespectful of other magazine publishers. Shame on whoever is responsible.
Newsagents make 25% off each magazine sold. This bold subscription is offensive as it is the publisher using our real estate to convert shoppers from in-store purchase to subscription.
I get that subscriptions are part of the mix. This is different given how it is being promoted. It is stealing our retail space and maybe hurting sales of other titles along the way.
It sucks.
Media coverage on old news of Lotterywest CEO change
The Weekend West splashed a full page oh poor me story last weekend on the departure of the former Lotterywest CEO, following a FOI request by the Liberal opposition.
It is disappointing and unfortunate The Weekend West ran this story as they did as it did not tell the full story of the harm done to small businesses and the families that own them by the decisions of the old, now removed, executive leadership of Lotterywest.
Whereas the story paints the former CEO as a victim, newsagents suffered tremendously – financially and emotionally.
Thankfully, the has changed as a result of the change of government and subsequent decisions.
If I was a newsagent in WA selling Lotterywest products I’d be banging on the door of the Editor of The Weekend West to demand more balanced reporting rather than this oh poor me piece about a CEO who lead an organisation through a period of extraordinary bullying and financial hardship meted out against family newsagency businesses.
I am grateful to newsagents in WA who let me know abut this report on the weekend.
Read more here about the improving relationship between newsagents and Lotterywest following the state election and subsequent decisions by Premier Mark McGowan.