Every year I get to travel with retailers from newsXpress to look at innovative and inspiring local independent retail. This video explores two shops in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each offers products that would easily work in local Aussie newsagencies and each pitches their products in ways we could.
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Local independent retail is vital for local towns. Newsagents are these businesses – if we innovate and offer appealing shops to visit.
Newsagents who operate traditional businesses focussed primarily on lotteries, magazines, papers and cards are not the innovative businesses to which I refer here. No, innovative newsagents are those selling products outside what is usual for our channel, products people talk to others about, products people will travel an hour to two to buy.
Innovative newsagency businesses are those offering experiences in-store that are fresh, enjoyable and memorable.
A pathway to running these types of businesses is to look at what others are doing. These overseas retail study trips are key to that. Often, it is the shops you discover along the way that are truly inspiring, the shops from which we learn the most.
Translating what we see overseas to the Australian context is not about copying these shops item for item. It’s about adopting their strategic mindset. It’s about having the courage to reduce your reliance on low-margin traditional products to make space for something new and exciting. It’s about identifying a passion, whether it’s puzzles, games, crafting, or local gourmet foods, and committing to being the best local source for it.
This transformation requires a shift from being a passive stockist of goods to an active curator of a collection. It involves visual merchandising that inspires, staff training that empowers your team to be passionate advocates for the products, and a marketing approach that highlights your unique offerings.
For those who can’t make the trips, we create videos like this one with snippets of inspiration. Often, for those interested, this is followed-up by one-on-one discussion as to what can be done to improve the business in ways we see happening in some amazing local indie retail overseas.
These conversations are where the inspiration from a video can be forged into a practical, actionable plan tailored to your specific location, your customer base, and your personal interests. We can explore how to source new products, how to manage inventory for niche categories, and how to use your shop’s physical layout to create a more engaging and profitable experience. The journey from a traditional newsagency to an innovative retail destination is a significant one, but it is a journey that secures not only the future of your business but also reinforces its vital role as a cornerstone of your local community.
I hope the video is interesting and useful for you.
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Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative newsagents keen to evolve their businesses for a bright future. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.