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

Month: April 2019

Do you want XchangeIT involved in lottery ticket sales?

XchangeIT reps say they have been asked to connect lottery terminals with newsagency POS software. They are talking with POS software company its about feeding transaction data from lottery terminals to POS software.

As I understand it, XchangeIT will receive transaction data that you select on your POS terminal to add to a sale. If you have multiple lottery terminals the feed will all be to one XchangeIT location and you’ll need to select the right transaction.

Here’s my question for those who capture lottery product sales in their newsagency POS software: are you likely to use something like this or will you stick with scanning tickets?

I am asking the question here since I don’t currently have lotteries in my newsagencies. My feeling is that the XchangeIT planned approach is clunky and that it brings another party to lottery transactions that does not add value.

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Lotteries

Newsagency of the future workshops: beyond 2019

Opportunities for new shopper traffic, higher GP% and greater per visit value.

I invite you to a new free business management workshop for newsagents where I will share an insight into trends in current trading data, trends for core categories overseas and opportunities for growth as we all recast our businesses.

I will ask some tough questions and through these navigate to challenges that sit at the root of some newsagency channel core categories and work through, with you, several opportunities growth in these.

What we explore together will be relevant to any newsagent in any situation, large or small, city or country. The sole focus will be on creating a brighter future, even if that means for you your own business exit strategy.

You will receive valuable takeaways you will be able to use right away as well as thought-provoking questions each of us in retail will have to answer.

While some examples will be newsXpress related, this is not a newsXpress sales event. It is a continuation of my Newsagency of the Future Workshops, which I first ran in 2004 and have evolved ever since.

I will also share newsXpress case studies where business owners have recast their businesses through change. These will include city and country businesses. Large and small.

Please, join me as we invest in a stronger newsagency channel.

  1. May 6. 9am Melbourne. Book now.
  2. May 7. 10am Sydney. Book now.
  3. May 8. 10am Brisbane. Book now.
  4. May 9. 10am Hobart. Book now.
  5. May 10. 10am Adelaide. Book now.

These are the only dates, because of commitments for the next few months.

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newsagency of the future

The challenge of button batteries in products

The issue of button batteries and the risks the present is important for any retailer selling products that use these. Product Safety Australia, part of the ACCC, is active on the issue of button batteries right now.

Every week, around 20 Australian children present to an emergency department following exposure to button batteries, including ingestions and insertions. Keep products with button batteries out of sight and out of reach of small children.

You only have to look at the recalls this year to understand how current and serious this issue is:

  1. Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) — Promotional Silicone LED bicycle light distributed as part of the RAA Street Smart Program
  2. Officeworks – Teknikio1, Teknikio2, Teknikio3, Teknikio4 – Electronic Circuit Sewing and Activity Kits
  3. Daiso Industries (Australia) Pty Ltd — Various Candles, Lights, Calculator and Stopwatch Products containing Button Batteries
  4. Cricket Australia — Promotional LED Wristband
  5. St John Ambulance Australia — Tiny Tots First Aid Kit

There are plenty of news stories about the issue, like this one from the weekend about a child who ended up in hospital.

What can retailers do? This advice from the ACCC to consumers could guid our inventory ranging decisions:

If buying a household device or novelty, look for products that do not run on button batteries. If you do buy button battery operated products look for ones where the battery compartment requires a tool or dual simultaneous movement to open. This will make it difficult for a young child to access the battery.

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Social responsibility

Should you publish photos and videos of people you think have stolen from your retail business?

More and more retailers are sharing images and videos of people they say have stolen from them thanks to free access to social media platforms.

It seems to me that the biggest risk of such action is the possibility that publishing such material could be defamatory. All Australian states and territories passed the Defamation Act 2005, which stipulates under section 439:

(1) A person must not publish matter defamatory of another living person (the “victim”)— (a) knowing the matter to be false; and (b) with intent to cause serious harm to the victim or any other person or being reckless as to whether such harm is caused.

Are retailers able to reasonably determine truth as well as harm that could be caused.

I hear the argument – the video does not lie. However, in a court, with robust defence, theft may not be determined.

While we retailers want swift justice in the event of shoplifting, I am not sure that publishing a video or image on social media is justice.

No, I am not saying don’t publish videos and images on social media. Rather, I am saying take care, make an informed decision. Be sure of your facts. Make sure that the action you choose to take is worth it.

I’d note that in the US, the 7-Eleven approach is to build the cost of shoplifting into their product pricing model.

Here are some more resources on this for you:

  1. Life Hacker.
  2. Adelaide Now.
  3. American Express.
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Newsagency management

Pitching cards for guys

I took some photos of guy cards at one of my shops yesterday and used them to put this video together for newsXpress members to use on social media. It is deliberately simple, short and narrow if focus. By narrow, I mean I deliberately selected cards offering humour – I’ll do a different video on expressing other emotions.

The video is a small part of a broader strategy around male card giving. I want to help newsagents sell more and be seen by more people as the destination for cards, especially male cards.

In our card departments it can be chaljenginnto find a car because of a sea of colour. The video calls out some cards people could / should identify with.

For those wondering why the whole card is not shown, that is a design choice.

newsXpress releases between four and six new videos each week for use on social media. They cover cards, stationery, gifts, jigsaws, games and more. They, along with a library of social media images and other collateral are available for newsXpress member use anywhere.

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Greeting Cards

Reject Shop is competitive on cards

I had an opportunity to see the card range in a Reject Shop earlier this week. As the photo shows, it is considerable. (Click on it for a better look.) yesterday, I checked another of their outlets. It was an equally impressive in range. While the Reject Shop attracts a specific shopper, their range position in this category is instructive as to range newsagents should consider for their businesses.

If you have not been in a Reject Shop recently, go – there is much they are getting right for the shoppers they pursue, as their strong card range shows.

I think caption range is important in maximising the card opportunity as is depth of style within caption range.

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Greeting Cards

New York Times: HOW RUPERT MURDOCH’S EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE REMADE THE WORLD

In the Aussie newsagency community there are many media watchers. For them, I commend this New York Times article: HOW RUPERT MURDOCH’S EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE REMADE THE WORLD as today’s recommended reading.

Be sure to read this too, from Michael West: Rupert Murdoch’s US empire siphons $4.5b from Australian business virtually tax-free.

 

There is also this from The Intercept. on Lachlan Murdoch, philosophy and white nationalism.

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Ethics

What would it take for newsagents to engage with magazines again?

An Australian publisher asked me this question yesterday. In the discussion I said I would pose it here, without identifying them.

They asked because they are concerned at the continuing fall in engagement from newsagents supporting their titles. For context, most titles have cover prices today that they had four and more years ago.

I said margin dollars was the issue – this is made up of a low GP% of 25% and a static cover price, and falling sales, which combine to make the titles less financially rewarding today than four or five years ago but requiring the same labour, space, shrinkage risk and cash flow investment as four or five years ago.

Magazine publishers increasing cover prices in line with CPI at least and offering a respectful GP% of at least 35% would, in my view, encourage greater engagement.

What do you think…

What would it take for newsagents to engage with magazines again?

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magazines

The local charity disconnect

I am tired of people from local charities and community groups only stepping into or calling or emailing the business to ask for product or cash donations.

Local charities and community groups need to learn that support from local businesses is only possible if local shoppers, including members of their group, support local businesses.

While we have a structured and consistent process for handling the many charity requests we receive, it is interesting to note how many competitors from people who never shop with you – it is plenty. It’s another reason for the structured process we have being good.

There was one situation I heard about recently where someone visited a newsagent to ask for a product donation from a specific niche category. When the staff member was getting the owner, another staff member chatted to the person who mentioned in passing that they buy their stock of the particular product online because it is so much cheaper. Checking online later, it was 5% cheaper if bought several times the quantity one would usually purchase at a time.

People from local charities needs to support local retailers if they want support from them. 

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Social responsibility

What does the Big W store closure news mean for newsagents and small business retailers?

The announcement yesterday by Woolworths that it would close 30 of their Big W stores and close two distribution centres over three years understandably played as big news. The closures represent 16% of the Big W rooftops.

Following the conclusion of the BIG W network review, Woolworths Group has identified approximately 30 BIG W stores for closure over the next three years and two distribution centres (DCs) that will close at the end of their leases. The cost of exiting these sites will result in a P&L charge of approximately $270 million mainly related to lease and other store exit costs.

Given the closures in our channel, the planned Big W closures over three years are lower than we have been seeing.

Looking at this news more broadly, I have comments in a number of areas:

POSSIBLE IMPACT FOR NEWSAGENTS.

Newsagents with a business in a centre with a Big W that is closing could be in for some disruption, depending on what the landlord does with the freed space. This would be especially true in centres that were build around the major tenant.

If I was in a centre with Big W as the anchor tenant today I’d be asking questions as well as redoubling efforts for stand-alone traffic generation.

ONLINE.

The Woolworths announcement points to online playing some role in the decision. I think there is truth in this. Department stores, including discount variety stores like Big W, are struggling with online as their shoppers focus primarily on price. Shoppers buying on price are not loyal. Loyalty is driven by service, value-add and exclusivity of product.

Australian department stores and discount variety stores are yet to reasonably face the challenge of online.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.

I think the announcement yesterday will impact consumer confidence as it gets people thinking about the impact of losing work and it gets other retailers thinking about their own situation.

BEING UNIQUE.

The Big W announcement is a reminder to every retailer large and small that you need to have a unique proposition. Your pitch needs to be competing, enticing and positively memorable. Achieving this insures your business against competition. however, it is hard work, relentless work. Plus, being unique is easier said than done.

WHAT TO DO TODAY.

In our shops today we should be happy, positive and engaged. We need to provide these experiences to shoppers, playing against expectations and ensuring we are not feeding into any negative thought about the Big W news.

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Newsagency management

News readership growth as print sales continue decline

Fairfax is today reporting terrific growth in readership for The Sydney Morning Herald as reported by NewsMediaWorks, a publisher run organisation that tracks readership combined with print circulation.

The Sydney Morning Herald started 2019 as the most-read title bolstering its lead over News Corp titles after recording more than 8 million digital and print readers for the first time.

The Age also increased its audience from 3.66 million to 4.02 million over the month.

Here is part of the table at the SMH article, listing results.

I am about to start harvesting data for over the counter sales in newsagencies for the last quarter. Early indications are of further significant declines.

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Media disruption

Gentle faith cards a hit with customers

The Day Spring range of cards we have been selling for over a year now have landed a terrific niche of shoppers, which has guided us to expand our range of allied products for them. Displayed outside the card department, we are able to focus on the niche in-store as well as through social media. We have made a series of videos and posts. Some focus on individual cards, others on captions and others, like this one, on overall range.

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Greeting Cards
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