I’m told VANA / NLNA emailed newsagents last week promoting free membership for six months. I’m not sure if it is free for existing members or only new members.
In their pitch they say they provide members improved income, reduced costs and improved foot traffic. The marketing reads as a bit old school to me though, and out of touch.
Newsagents have access to very competitive insurance rates as well as easy access to HR support. They don’t need to be in NLNA to access these things.
As for an Amazon locker, that’s an agency offer that we know from overseas experience will do little for over the counter sales in a shop.
Like I said, it all feels a bit out of touch.
It’s on my mind because a new newsagent asked me about it. They felt that they could fail in their new business if they did not join. I explained that everything the NLNA business spruiks can be accessed elsewhere. I told them to save their money and that is belonging to a representative body was important to them, the better established and nationally representative ALNA is what I recommend.
People can join any group they want or feel is right for them. My only advice is do your homework, make sure it is a good fit for you.
Now, for disclosure, I own newsXpress. you could consider newsXpress a competitor of NLNA. I don’t see it that way as the suite of benefits and services available through newsXpress is very different.