The latest results posted by News Corp. speak to challenges for the company in the print space with newspaper revenue down 20% and the benefits leveraged by the company in the digital subscription space.
The results are worth a read by newsagents as they provides context for understanding the focus of the company – digital.
No surprises here but interesting to see that book publishing was their was their highest growing revenue segment. On current trend it appears that this segment will overtake news publishing in the current financial year. For those unaware Newscorp own Harper Collins the worlds 2nd largest book publisher. It amazes me that neither Newscorp or Ovato have identified the opportunity that our channel offers for book distribution.
Steve.
what you say is correct as Heron is now one of my better performing areas.
Peter have a look at United & Alliance book distributors. These 2 are the major book distributors in Australia and will provide you with access to Penguin, Harper Collins , Hatchette and Pan McMillan books. The ABAs buying group is also well worth looking at for better buying terms. We started off with a Penguin rep selecting our monthly book orders. Last month our book sales overtook both our card and stationery sales. Books are by far our highest growth category though it is contributing to growth in our other categories including magazines.
The book distribution world is confusing and can appear rather daunting. Again I am surprised that Newscorp haven’t identified the opportunity that our channel offers as retail outlets for their product.
Steve,
thank you for that advice. I now know were to start.
In regions Australia in particular, book revenue can easily surpass magazines and cards. With careful buying and deft promotion, you can go from $0 to $50K in year 1, sometimes more depending on the location of the business and the location of books in the business.
Books help balance the revenue source, which I think has to be a key goal of any newsagent right now and into 2021.