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

Month: July 2018

Call for newsagency sales benchmark data

Here is the email I sent to newsagents yesterday calling for sales data for the next benchmark study:

Q2 2018 NEWSAGENCY SALES BENCHMARK STUDY.
I am preparing a new benchmark study for the newsagency channel to look at the latest sales trends overall and in key product categories for the second quarter of 2018. This quarterly newsagency sales performance study will help newsagents see the future based on the data trends. Click here for my last report.

How to participate.

  1. Please run a Monthly Sales Comparison Report for 01/04/2018 – 30/06/2018 compared to 01/04/2017 – 30/06/2017.
  2. Tick the category box. IMPORTANT.
  3. Tick to exclude home delivery and sub agent data.
  4. DO NOT tick the supplier box.
  5. Preview the report on the screen. Save as a PDF and email this to me at mark@towersystems.com.au.
  6. Read the report yourself and see what it shows you about your business.

I will email the results to all participating newsagents and publish the results on theAustralian Newsagency Blog as a service for all newsagents.

My work with this channel goes back to 1981 when I wrote newsagency software to manage newspaper home deliveries. That software evolved into Point of Sale software and has been rewritten as software technology has changed. 

I own and run three newsagencies. Over the years I have had three others. I am a 50% shareholder in and CEO of newsXpress, the newsagency marketing group.

Tower Systems serves 1,750+ newsagents with best practice newsagency software, 60% of all newsagency businesses with newsagency software. Overall, Tower Systems serves in excess of 3,500 small business retailers.

Mark Fletcher
M | 0418 321 338

4 likes
Newsagency benchmark

Educating on the damage done by plastic bags

We are promoting the latest issue of National Geographic magazine to leverage the cover story on the damage being done by plastic. This is timely with moves by state governments on plastic bags as well as moves by our two major supermarket chains. The topic is timely. Also, it fits with our own moves on plastic and the elimination of bags for newspapers, the most wasteful use of bags in the business.

We are featuring the title with a horizontal run close to its usual location in-store. Here is that placement. It is the only area in our magazine department where we currently run a single magazine issue in this way.

8 likes
Environment

Excellent Better Homes and Gardens deal

The three free Lindt chocolate bars with the latest issue, the 40th birthday issue, of Better Homes and Gardens will help us sell out of this issue. The cover looks terrific and tasty. The chocolate adds to the temptation.

We are making the most of the Better Homes and Gardens promotion opportunity with the magazine featured next to our weeklies as well as at the front of the store for passers-by to be tempted and on our social media pages.

This offer is a good example of how we can attract traffic with a magazine. At Knox we have two Coles. They don’t have the chocolate with their copies of BHG. So, we are pitching it for all it is worth.

The BHG shopper is attractive to us for other items they will be more open to purchasing. There is no doubt shoppers for some titles are more valuable for us than shoppers for other titles. BHG shoppers are consists neatly valuable for basket depth.

4 likes
magazines
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