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

Author: Mark Fletcher

Customers are loving the free Christmas cards

We are a few weeks into the free Christmas card promotion and customers are loving them. While they love the gift of the card, is is the intent of each card that catches their hearts.

This second card has also been bought by customers who want to pass it onto friends for them to use on Christmas Day.

In creating these opportunities, I wanted to provide retailers with something they could give that could nurture a feeling or joyfulness in what can be a stressful and busy time of the year.

Often, people are not aware of the gift opportunity when at the counter. The reactions have been wonderful.

Historically in our channel, we have offered hamper prizes or the opportunity for a cash price is customers buy this or that, or spend a certain amount. This promotion is accessible to everyone. It is modest, and personal.

I am grateful to have this to differentiate from the other card shops nearby.

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Greeting Cards

NSW Back to School vouchers a good opportunity for newsagents

NSW newsagents have a terrific opportunity with the Back to School vouchers. To participate, you need to register with Services NSW. Parents can get three $50 vouchers for each school-age child.

Newsagents using the Tower Systems newsagency software can access advice on setting up for receiving vouchers as a form of payment and how to handle vouchers in a sale transaction.

My advice to newsagents is to gently pitch that you accept the vouchers on your social media pages as well as in-store. Also, ensure that all team members know you accept the vouchers and how they should process them.

Parents and carers can start using the vouchers now. I think being early in your pitch is key here.

The Services NSW website lists what vouchers can be used for, including these stationery items:

    • exercise books
    • pens/pencils
    • coloured pencils/crayons
    • textas/highlighters
    • erasers
    • pencil cases
    • rulers
    • sharpeners
    • glue
    • scissors
    • calculators, or
    • geometry sets.

The other important note is that you can’t give change for a voucher. If any value is left, it is forfeited.

These vouchers are a terrific opportunity for local newsagents and now is the time to embrace the opportunity, not after Christmas, not in the New Year.

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Newsagency management

Our suburban newsagency sold $9,000 in boxed Christmas cards in November, and 80% of that was online

Our small suburban newsXpress business in Mount Waverley sold $9,000 worth of charity boxed Christmas cards over the 30 days of November 2022.

80% of the boxed Christmas card sales were to online shoppers.

Online purchases of boxed Christmas cards have taken off for us this year, after already terrific sales in 2021 and 2020.

We are not doing anything special. Any retailer of boxed Christmas cards could do this from any location.

But having said that, we do carry a broad range, describe the cards so they are found through Google searches and we regularly pitch on social media, leading with the charities the cards support.

There are some in our channel who say that online is a small part of newsagency businesses and that most newsagents ts are not even doing online. I think these types of comments are ignorant and designed to discourage newsagents engaging in online.

Again, what we are doing in this newsagency in suburban Mount Waverley any newsagent, any retailer, could do.

The thing is, what this business is doing with charity boxed Christmas cards is only part of the online story. This business has already passed $300,000 in online sales this year. No, that is not a typo, $300,000 … of good margin sales.

The detail of what we are doing is part of the DNA of newsXpress, in the advice it provides for store specific websites – about range, margin opportunities, product descriptions, online marketing, and plenty more. What we are doing in this business we are also doing in another business, for a different category of products, with similar success.

Online retail is strong, but competitive, high-value, but challenging. It is an opportunity to play outside the constraints of the shingle, an opportunity to leverage space and labour to improve the return on these business costs.

To be clear, a newsagent selling online does not have to restrict what they sell to what is sold in a newsagency. We are in some of our businesses, but not in others.

Once you have established yourself online, thanks to excellent insights data and captured customer data it is easy to grow at a faster rate than in a physical store. 

I get that plenty of newsagents will read this and think they cannot achieve the same. You will never know if you stand still.

There remain many online opportunities that newsagents can leverage to drive the value of their businesses and to improve the efficiency in their use off labour, space and more in their businesses.

Important footnote: The value of the online boxed Christmas cards purchases goes beyond the cared themselves. These shoppers do put other things in the basket – not all but plenty, making their shopping with us even more valuable.

Second footnote: This is a business without lotteries and without magazines FYI. I mention that to reinforce-orce that we do not have two key and newsagency-traditional traffic drivers in the business.

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Greeting Cards

A warning on phone scams

Someone recently rang a shop and asked to purchase some gift cards. A the shop did not have them in stock, the caller suggested they buy them from a nearby supermarket that was running a sale. They pointed out that the shop could make more money by selling them at full price.

A staff member went to the supermarket, bought some cards and then, over the phone, sold two to the caller, before another person in the shop intervening because of suspicions of fraud.

It was theft, plain and simple.

The moment someone on the phone suggests you go to another shop to purchase something the call should be over.

While cyber crime is all in the news right now because of Medibank, Optus, Harcourts and more, there has been no decline in old-school fraud, like described above. This is the time of the year, when we are busy, and maybe with our guards down because of this.

It is worthwhile reminding team members to be on the lookout. Unless you know the person, be suspicious. And, for sure, never transact over the phone unless you are absolutely certain you know the person.

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Newsagency management

The Australia Post 40% surcharge for packages to WA may be here through to Christmas

I sought clarity from Australia Post management as to how long the 40% freight surcharge to WA may be in place. They responded indicating they were hopeful it wold end by Christmas but could not guarantee it.

Here we have a massive government owned business increasing fees by 40% and getting little media coverage and airline crew considering strike action for a far lower percentage wage increase and it’s front page news.

For any business selling to people and businesses in WA, the surcharge is a considerably cost. Today, 24 hours after the surcharge began, my own businesses have not passed on the increase. Like others, we are waiting to see what happens. The thing is though, in reality, I have no idea what I am expecting to happen.

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Newsagency management

newsXpress partners with the Royal Australian Mint to get more Donation Dollars into the hands of Australian’s in the lead up to Christmas.

This is a big deal, a respected government organisation partnering with local commercial businesses, local newsXpress stores, in an initiative that has community at its heart. The Donation Dollar is all about encouraging Aussies to give to charities and community groups.

The Donation Dollar is a respected initiative, something that has attracted praise from around the world.

The engagement by newsXpress stores in this is a wonderful opportunity for the members of the group.

MEDIA RELEASE 23 November 2022 

More Donation Dollars out in circulation in the lead up to Christmas 

Today, the Royal Australian Mint (the Mint) launched a new initiative to get more Donation Dollars into the hands of Australian’s in the lead up to Christmas.

This initiative, which will be rolled out at newsXpress retail stores across the country from 24 November, encourages people to swap their change for Donation Dollars and increase charitable giving in the lead up to the Christmas holiday season.

Managing Director of newsXpress stores, Mark Fletcher said “We are excited to be working with the Royal Australian Mint on this important initiative. With nearly 200 stores across Australia, newsXpress can help get Donation Dollars into the hands of thousands of Australians in all parts of the country.”

Royal Australian Mint CEO, Leigh Gordon, said rolling out this initiative through newsXpress stores will make Donation Dollar more accessible to Australians.

“We have minted one Donation Dollar for every Australian as a tangible reminder of the importance of giving back. Donation Dollars have been distributed through the banks since September 2020 with an estimated six million currently in circulation. While Australians will continue to come across Donation Dollars, this partnership with newsXpress means that Australians don’t need to wait to find a Donation Dollar in their change, they can simply visit one of the newsXpress stores to get their hands on a Donation Dollar – making this hard working coins more accessible to all. Every dollar out in circulation, is another dollar working to make Australia better.

The coin is designed to be instantly recognisable with the words Give to Help Others and a green centre with a gold ripple design emanating from the centre symbolising the ongoing impact each donation dollar makes to those who need it most.

“Since its launch in September 2020, 2.8 million Australians have found and donated one or more donation dollars to a charity or a business or person in need. Independent research commissioned by the Mint shows that the average donation prompted by the Donation Dollar is $21, equating to approximately $59 million in donations generated by this initiative to date.

“I encourage all Australians to visit their nearest newsXpress store and swap their regular dollars for a Donation Dollar, or check their change, car consoles and saving jars for this very special coin. When you get your hands on a Donation Dollar, remember to donate it to someone in need, whether this is a charity, homeless person or struggling business,” said Mr Gordon.

From tomorrow, Australians can head into their local newsXpress retail store and swap their dollars for Donation Dollars. For more information and to find a participating newsXpress agency, visit www.donationdollar.com.au

About the Royal Australian Mint 

The Mint is an award-winning, world class Mint and a global leader in the mint industry. The Mint produces circulating coins for Australia and other countries; collectible and investment coins for domestic and international customers; and custom-made medals, medallions and tokens for individual or corporate clients.

The Mint is also a national cultural attraction that educates millions of Australians and international visitors on the history of Australia’s decimal currency, and the significance and value of coins.

About the Donation Dollar 

The Donation Dollar is an official circulating coin, designed to be given, not spent or kept. The Royal Australian Mint will produce 25 million Donation Dollars, one for every Australian. If every Australian donates one Donation Dollar a month, an additional $300 million every year can be raised for those who need it most.

Coins are efficient products in that people visiting to purchase coins often purchase other items in the business as many coin sets are purchased as gifts.

Now, the Donation Dollar is a bit different as it can be purchased but will more likely be handed out as change – this iOS hope the Mint is keen for it to reach the community.

 

Note: I am the Managing Director of newsXpress Pty Ltd

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Newsagency opportunities

News Corp loses the Victorian election and brings into focus the role of its newspapers

The story bouncing around Twitter today via some commentators is the failure of News Corp, and in particular The Herald Sun to win the Victorian state election.

Jonathan Green shared this image of front pages:

Barry Cassidy made this point:

Then there is this from Emily Webb:

And this from a former respected Herald Sun journalist Rohan Connolly:

For those outside Victoria, these observations from journalist Neil McMahon may assist:

And in terms of what happened and why, this piece by Patricia Karvelas is well worth reading:

Given the election results, there would have to be people at News Corp.thinking about their business and what needs to change since their considerable investment in this election has failed. If the company does not change its output focus, I suspect product purchases will continue to decline.

No matter what your politics, any post election assessment needs to consider the extent of the failure of News Corp to cut through. A newspaper not cutting through is a newspaper with a problem.

One answer for News Corp is that they go back to journalism, and leave their political lobbying and their donation of free advertising to others – they should go into the vaults and check out pre-Murdoch copies of The Sun and The Herald and see what made those newspapers great, and trusted. They should go back to fact-based journalism.  And, they could cancel the contracts of all opinion writers.

But maybe there is money in what they do. If there is, they will stick to what they have done for years. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I doubt there is money in their yelling at people, being a propaganda pamphlet rather than a news outlet.

The Victorian election result reflects damage on the News Corp brands in this state. I suspect it will cost some sales. It will be interesting to see if the damage is sufficient to negative impact ad revenue. negatively impacting ad revenue is something that would catch the attention of those making the decisions on the on what and how they cover politics here. And it is at this end, the commercial end, where the decisions of News Corp. play out for newsagents.

I do not expect to read any analysis in their pages about the considerable failure News Corp. as a company suffered yesterday in Victoria.

Footnote: What I have written here about News Corp and The Herald Sun I could also write about Neil Mitchell at 3AW. The few times I listened in it was biased commentary, not fact-based. The election result bust be seen as a Neil Mitchell failure, too.

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Ethics

Christmas really does bring out the worst in people

At a shop counter I heard a customer say (yell) it’s just not good enough. I want to buy it. I came here to buy it. I have money to buy it. And you’re out of stock. What am I supposed to do now.

The person at the counter had no answer. The customer stood their ground, repeating different versions of the same stuff.

Online, a customer placed an order and then rang the store 5 minutes later asking when they would receive it. The team member on the phone explained the process, that orders are picked in the order in which they are placed, the customer yelled I just paid you and now you say there is a delay. They hung, and called back a minute later. I want you to promise you will send it today, they demanded. When told the biggest delay to getting picking and packing done is calls like this, the customer demanded to speak to the supervisor. I am the supervisor was the response.

A newsagent emailed the owner of a supplier with words of venom and disrespect, demanding the attention of the owner for an issue completely outside their control. They refused to consider the evidence that they were wrong. They ignorantly told the business owner how to run their business.

Each of these stories is true and unrelated, in unrelated businesses. The connection is the season and the tension associated with it.

People are on edge. I suspect it is partially Covid related – it’s still there, impacting business, impacting everyday in terms of staffing, the supply chain and more.

What I don’t get is that there is too often right now no escalation visible, people are at full volume, full anger in a heartbeat and they are too ready to blame others while not listening.

As employers our role is to protect those who work for us, to ensure a safe, respectful and healthy workplace. If I hear of people being rude, abusive or offensive to anyone working for any of my businesses I will stand up to them and, if the situation warrants, invite them to take their business elsewhere.

Life is too short to put up with ignorant, rude and offensive customers.

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Newsagency management

More from Australia Post on the situation with freight to and from Western Australia

We received this updated information from our Account Manager at Australia Post corporate late yesterday:

Introduction of a WA Emergency Service:  

With key road and rail transport arrangements into and out of Western Australia significantly disrupted or unavailable, we are obliged to declare an emergency ‘force majeure’ event. This means the acceptance and delivery of Parcel Post (eParcel) and StarTrack Road Express consignments under the terms and conditions of your existing agreement are unfortunately suspended and cannot be offered in the short term.

Until these critical lanes can resume efficiently, we have stood up a replacement “WA Emergency Service” option that includes an additional temporary levy to assist with the significant increase in road transport costs into and out of Western Australia. This will help ensure we can continue to deliver for our customers. The WA Emergency Service terms are outlined below and apply until the force majeure events come to an end.

  • The WA Emergency Service will incur an additional emergency measure cost of 40% (ex GST) of the freight charges currently set out in your agreement.
  • The WA Emergency Service fee is temporary and will apply to all articles lodged for interstate delivery into, or from, Western Australia.

The WA Emergency Service will come into effect for any parcels lodged and/or manifested from Monday, 28 November 2022. The fee will appear on your invoice and will be payable in line with your existing arrangements.

There is currently no change to our Express Post and StarTrack Premium services.

It is interesting to me that there has been no coverage on this in the news.

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Australia Post

Australia Post on freight challenges to and from Western Australia

Australia Post provided this update to its customers Wednesday.

The current extreme weather and flooding have caused significant damage and closure of rail lines and major roads. This is continuing to disrupt and impact transport infrastructure and supply chains to and from Western Australia.

The Australian Government’s National Emergency Management Agency has advised that while the transport system is slowly recovering, the current supply chain disruptions are likely to be ongoing until at least Christmas.

I want to keep you informed about what this means for your business as we prepare for the upcoming sales events.

What’s changing?

Changes to pre-Christmas final lodgement dates for deliveries to and from WA: Given this ongoing situation and the current delays, we have brought forward our recommended pre-Christmas final lodgement dates for Parcel Post deliveries for our Business and Government customers by one week.

The new dates are as follows:

  • Deliveries to WA from the east coast of Australia:
    lodgement by 8 December.
  • Deliveries to NSW from WA:
    lodgement by 6 December.
  • Deliveries to VIC and QLD from WA:
    lodgement by 5 December.

For StarTrack Road Express services, it is recommended you continue to review the StarTrack transit grid, although delays may be experienced for deliveries to and from WA. We recommend lodging your freight as early as possible.

Our Express Post and StarTrack Premium services are currently unaffected, and customers who need to send items to Western Australia urgently are encouraged to consider these options. However, as more customers opt to use these services, we may see a delay on those lanes and will advise should there be any change.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact your account manager.

Despite these external challenges, I want to assure you that we are doing all we can to continue to deliver for you and explore all available options to keep your items moving. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these disruptions together and we will continue to keep you updated as the situation evolves.

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Australia Post

We can’t ignore Black Friday in the newsagency

Black Friday, a retail sales tradition that has its roots in the post Thanksgiving sales United States from around 100 years ago.

Amazon really got behind Black Friday. Today in the US, you’d see almost every retailer engaged in one way or another.

Here in Australia, engagement with Black Friday has grown, slowly at first, faster in recent years.

This year, walk around any mall or along any high street shopping setting ad you will see retailers engaged.

Black Friday is an opportunity to quit slower lines and to sell items sourced specifically. It’s also an opportunity to make space before the run home to Christmas.

There are no rules around what to discount or the level of discounts. But because the season is now sir widely adopted, you are in a crowded marketplace and need to yell to be seen and heard.

In my experience, engaging with Black Friday is worth it. We play in-store and well as online. We go out 2 or 3 days before Friday and run through to midnight Monday. Our discounts range from 40% to 50%. We have a good mix of products purchased at a discount so as to maintain GP%.

It’s not too late to engage this year is you move fast today. The display does not need to be special. The key is placement in the best position on the shop floor, simple signage and a pitch on social media.

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Newsagency management

Copy paper supply chain challenges impact Australia stationery retailers and paper users

Kudos to GNS for this advice to customers today about the challenges right now in sourcing copy paper in Australia:

Dear Customers,

GNS has been notified by Opal Australian Paper of a production issue at Opal’s Maryvale Mill, which is likely to impact Opal’s ongoing ability to supply copy paper to us.  Opal’s brands include Reflex, Victory, Brilliant, Australian, Planet Ark, and most private label brands sold by independent dealers.

The production issue relates to the ability of Opal to source wood, the key input required by the Maryvale Mill to manufacture paper. VicForests, a key wood supplier to Opal, has announced that in response to mandatory injunctions issued by the Victorian Supreme Court, it will be suspending most current timber harvesting activities, at least in the short term.  Opal sources 100% of its wood from third parties, including from VicForests, so the decision has had an unexpected impact on Maryvale Mill’s wood supply.  Opal anticipates that this situation may extend for at least up to a couple of months.

Opal is the largest manufacturer of copy paper in Australia, so the production issues are likely to create market-wide shortages and supply constraints for several months.

As a result, and to support our customers with managed supply over the foreseeable future, effective immediately:
•    GNS will move to selling all copy paper brands “on allocation”, with allocation of inventory based on customers’ historic purchase volumes over the last twelve months; and
•    GNS has removed all brands of copy paper from our online site, so purchases will only be able to be made via your Customer Service contact until further notice.

Until we can assure you of wider availability, we believe these measures are necessary to support an orderly and equitable market in copy paper.  We are also working hard to identify cost-effective alternative sources for these ranges and will update you in due course.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions in relation to this matter. We appreciate this is a challenging time and thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Paul Yardley | CEO

GNS Wholesale

I think the move by GNS to an allocations system for copy paper  is fair.

Click here to access the ABC news story about the Maryville Mill as it provides more context for the situation.

Amazon has stock. $28.95 for a box of 2,500 sheets. For those in urgent need.

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Newsagency challenges

Deeper sales basket online

Comparing like for like category online sales to in-store for a couple of online businesses I have that are in the same space as retail shops I own, the average online basket depth is deeper than in-store.

While both in-store and online have seen basket value increase, online is still 40% and more up on in-store. This could be because an online shopper is chasing a free shipping trigger, or because they want everything to come at once whereas a local in-store shopper knows they can return.

We have certainly been thoughtful in our online store settings and our licence product ranging with an eye to achieving a deeper basket.

If have spoken with retailers from several other retail channels and they experience the same – a deeper basket for online sales than in-store.

I mention it today to reflect on another difference online versus in-store – the deeper basket.

A deeper basket is a more efficient sale. Add this to the icing on the cake value of online and you see terrific value for the business from online.

This basket information, coupled with other analytics such as shopper source, returning shopper value, conversion rate and more and you have a dataset that is tremendously useful in considering business development.

At the time of writing, online sales are at 2,642 transactions, which I am very happy about.

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Newsagency management

The Victorian Liberal party pitches payment for state government services in newsagencies

I am not sure what consultation was done on this announcement by the Victorian Liberals to use retail newsagencies as a payment point for state government services. In my opinion this is move few newsagents would want. We have the evidence from years of trying services – bill payment, gambling account top up, parcel collection and more – the services fill the shop with people who do not purchase other things, people angry if you do not attend to their micro margin service.

I see no upside to this for the local Aussie newsagency. But that’s just my opinion.

I tweeted a response about this. Not on the post by SkyNews reporter Simon Love as he blocks comments .. not a fan of free speech I guess. I quoted the tweet instead and which I names Matthew Guy, he won’t see it as I respectfully disagreed with something he tweeted a couple of years ago and he blocked me.

Back in the 1990s when we saw ourselves as service businesses this idea might have been considered.

Times have changed.

The most successful retail newsagency businesses are those focussed on retail, growing sales through product diversity, benefit from good margin and loving shoppers who return because of what you sell and the service you offer on the shop floor.

Handling services like government access payments, parcel pickup and bill payment are all counter-based services. years ago we’d say that it’s at the counter where you make your money. That is not true of retail today. It’s the shop floor where you interact with customers that you make the most money. At least that is what plenty of successful newsagents tell me and it ‘s what I see in my own newsagency shops local high street.s.

I suspect they are pitching the in-store engagement to try and show they are thinking of ways to support local small business retailers. Kudos to them for that. But, this election promise is a fail. People want to transact online for the everyday, even older folks who people say are not online-savvy.

If the Liberals really did want to support local small business retailers they would find a way to nurture and support high street retail, the genuine local retail. Encouraging locals to shop locally on the street rather than in an expensive mall would be a policy win in my view. Too many councils are failing at this. Too many planning decisions approving malls work against the local high street. Yet, if Covid has shows us one thing it’s that shopping outside of a mall is safer.

If Matthew Guy wants to talk about his policy and ways he can better engage with local small business retail, my number is 0418 321 338. Better still, he could host a public forum for local small business retailers where he can listen to what is needed.

Heidi Murphy from radio 3AW tweeted about this, too:

Heidi’s comments are open, which is good.

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Ugh!

Niche interest magazines the best performers in 2022 in the newsagency

Sales of niche magazines are growing from what I can see in my biggest magazine business where we have around 1,100 titles.

While sales of weeklies and major monthlies are good, it’s the niche / special interest titles where we are seeing terrific year on year growth. These titles are attracting new shoppers, too. People are prepared to travel quite a distance to satisfy their interest in niche titles.

Scootering in the 1970s is a good example of niche, very niche even.

I don’t see this growth in my businesses with 300 titles. But in those shops the cost of retail space is considerably higher – so, naturally, we have reduced magazine space because of the low margin for that category.

We are not doing that is the main business as the cost of space is less and we have been able to adjust the business to sell more high margin gifts without harming the growing magazine sales.

We support the niche titles with social media posts, good, easy to access and easy to shop display and shop floor service for those keen for that.

Light Railways is another example of a niche title people will travel for.

I get that some newsagents are angry about magazines, the poor margin, the mediocre quality of the distribution model, but growth is growth, and for me in this shop, range is key to the growth.

I’m not suggesting newsagents expand their range. My purpose here today is to note good news. Hey, a 15% increase in magazine sales is good by any measure. That it is on the back of niche titles gives us a way to replicate the growth into 2023, which we plan to do while seeking ways to cut the overheads relating to magazines so we can make the meagre margin work.

In this business, the magazine relay we did earlier this year has played out well. Adjacency changes have helped to deepen the basket. these niche magazine shoppers are more likely to purchase multiple magazines at a time compared to the weekly and high-volume monthly magazine customers.

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magazines

Our customers don’t like it, they won’t buy it …

As the staff member in a newsagency was saying that, behind their back, a customer picked up two of the items and purchased them.

It frustrates me when I hear about retail business owners, or retail staff, who block the opportunity of success in their business. Their negative talk discourages them from engaging positively, and, if heard by customers, it can discourage them, too.

I saw this firsthand recently in a shop. The staff member didn’t;t think they were doing anything wrong by saying that people shopping in the shop your not like a product. The thing is, they said this without understanding the product.

I opened the product and demonstrated it to them. They loved it. It’s not what they thought it was. Their ignorance had got in the way of them finding joy in something they sell.

I wonder how much business this ignorant approach of our customers don’t like it, they won’t buy it has blocked.

Sure, there are products on any shop floor that don’t sell. You can see that in the data evidence. data matters more than opinion. The staff ember I observed was sprouting off based only on opinion … about the product I mentioned and other products.

If it was up to me I’d invite them to leave the business because their negative commentary suggested they did not like working there.

I am not saying everyone working in retail has to love everything about the business and all the products. Rather, I am saying that product knowledge is the starting point – understand what you sell. If you don’t like it, keep that to yourself. Never speak for what the customers of the business may or may not do. And if you do plan to comment about whether a product works in the business or not, make the comment based on evidence and not opinion.

Retail is more competitive than ever, especially local small business retail. Having a negative staff member facing customers is not good for the business. Such a person needs to either change or leave the business. Doing nothing about this could harm the business.

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Newsagency management

The complex challenge of home delivery in Australia claims Deliveroo as the company enters Voluntary Administration

Deliveroo, a platform with around 15,000 delivery riders in Australia, has announced that the company has been put into Voluntary Administration:

Dear Customer,

We have today made the sad announcement that we are leaving Australia. This has been a difficult decision to make,’ the statement said.

We have enjoyed serving you the amazing food that Australia is known for, working with thousands of brilliant restaurants and riders.

Deliveroo, like all other companies, is now doing business in challenging economic conditions, which requires us to take difficult decisions.

‘We always aim to deliver the best possible service for our consumers wherever we operate, and if we cannot do that we will be prepared to review our position.

‘In Australia, we have concluded that achieving a sustainable position of leadership in the market is not possible without a disproportionate level of investment which would have highly uncertain returns.

On the basis of this decision, Deliveroo Australia has been placed into administration. The director of Deliveroo Australia has appointed Michael Korda, Andrew Knight and Craig Shepard of KordaMentha as voluntary administrators. To find out more, including information for creditors, please visit click here. You will receive further communications from the Administrators shortly.

What this means for you

Deliveroo Australia has ceased operations, meaning you can no longer place orders on Deliveroo in Australia.

You will still be able to access your customer account for up to 6 months from this date onwards. After this period your customer account will be closed. Within this period while your account is open, you can download your customer information.

Thank you for ordering with Deliveroo.

For any further information, please visit the administrators’ website at: https://kordamentha.com/creditors

We want to thank you again for using Deliveroo.

The Deliveroo Team

While Deliveroo was food related and on-demand, it’s early demise is interesting to compare to the 140 years of home delivery by Aussie newsagents. Of course, what newsagents delivered was completely different to the on-demand food-based Deliveroo situation.

This home delivery / last mile / on-demand delivery space is in for a big shake-up. And, no, I don’t see a path back into that space for newsagents. We are better off focussing on the freedom of retail, especially niche local retail.

On the last-mile though, Milkrun appears to be the only business standing in on-demand groceries. Several startups have closed in recent months after pouring through tens of millions of dollars.

In the food space, deliver was fourth in size in Australia. Our marketplace size and geography make this a far more difficult territory than the population concentrated major cuties of the US and UK.

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Newsagency management

Retailers are being swamped with last minute Christmas offers from suppliers.

There has been a flurry of Christmas product pitches and offers from suppliers to newsagents and other retailers over the last two weeks.

I think there are several reasons for this.

  • Supply chain challenges have seen stock arrive late with some suppliers. They were too wary to push what they did not have. Meaning they now and limited time to push.
  • Some others suppliers have over ordered on the back of strong 2021 and 2020 and have not allowed for any post-Covid (even though we are not retail post-Covid) trading situation change.
  • Some are engaged in the usual end of year warehouse clearance for Boxing Day sale opportunities.
  • Some are approaching new channels because of bumpiness being experienced in their traditional channels.

These and probably other reasons have combined to provide us with more product pitches now than is usual for this busy Christmas time of the year. 

It is a lot of noise in an already challenged retail situation with strong trade, staff scarcity and patchy retail conditions.

I am okay with the changes and that suppliers want to pitch what they want / need to move. What I am not okay with is the nosiness, demands and pressure of some. What they think is a good offer may not be and some suppliers don’t realise that their view may not be the view of the retailer.

A couple of suppliers have recently asked me what they can do to boost Christmas sales. I’ve said it’s too late, there is nothing to do now as most retailers have their Christmas plans well and truly set. Any pitch now needs to be out of the box compelling at a level that demands attention. I’ve said unless it is that, don’t waste retailer time as they are too busy.

Oh, and by out of the box compelling, I mean a discount so good that the retailer can sell at half price and still make better than average margin. I appreciate that’s a tall ask. But, if you want attention from retailers in the next few weeks, that is what it will take.

While Christmas sales are excellent, and Boxing Day should be goon=d in states with it, most smart retailers planned for these opportunities early this year, making current pitches very late.

3 likes
Newsagency management

Hiring without an interview

Such is the labour market situation right now that businesses are hiring without an interview.

Back in the day, you’d create a shortlist of candidates, bring them in for an interview followed, usually, by a trial shift for maybe two of them.

Retailers I have spoken with recently are hiring based on a quick phone call, starting the chosen candidates at the next available shift, and hoping they have got it right.

While this change to rapid and unchecked hiring does not sound ideal, it seems to be working. I know in my own case that is what has happened. Maybe I have been lucky. I am not 100% sure though. But maybe, the old approach was unnecessarily time-consuming.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

5 likes
Newsagency management

Terrific online sales for newsagents

Plenty of newsagents with their own website are enjoying terrific online sales, and by terrific I mean good enough to add real value to the bottom line of the business.

In my own 4 shops we run for store specific Shopify websites, and they are doing well … but more on the results of those another time.

For many years, newsXpress has offered free access to members to sell on network connected Magento based tech websites for Jigsaws, Pop! Vinyls and Beanie Boos. These websites generate online sales for businesses without the need for a local store website.

What’s unique about the websites is that they offer shoppers a single warehouse view for items located across the fleet of connected newsXpress businesses. This tech was built before Magento offered it. It was ground-breaking on so many levels.

People shopping on the site can also see exact current stock on hand data at the store level. We do this to drive in-store traffic. We know from Telstra data that more than half of the time people use a website is to see what stock is available in a shop they are considering visiting.

By offering shoppers access to inventory across a fleet of stores drives a deeper basket. The tech of the website preferences stores closest to the delivery destination, fanning out based on availability.

It is common to see big sales, like this one from yesterday morning going to  Moreton Bay in Queensland:

Placed on 12 November 2022 7:34:38 am AEDT
Item Store Sku Qty Subtotal
Slush the Dog Large Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421370696 1 $59.99
Prince the Blue Husky Medium Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421364749 1 $17.99
Nori the Narwhal Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421362165 1 $9.99
Buff the Husky Regular Beanie Babies newsXpress George Town 008421421831 1 $9.99
Twiggy the Pink Owl Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368464 2 $19.98
Melly the Gray Koala Regular Beanie Bellies newsXpress Southland 008421407262 1 $9.99
Camilla the Poodle Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421363834 1 $9.99
Halloween Tatters the White Mummy Regular Beanie Bellies newsXpress Southland 008421409266 1 $9.99
Christmas Bella the Brown Bear regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421372409 1 $9.99
Chessie the Brown Monkey Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421363919 1 $9.99
Romeo the Valentine’s Day Dog Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368648 1 $9.99
Turbo the Spotted Turtle Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Newhaven 008421363926 2 $19.98
Juliet the Valentine’s Day Penguin Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421368655 1 $9.99
Tamoo the Monkey Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368471 1 $9.99
Lola the Multicoloured Llama Regular Beanie Babies newsXpress Newhaven 008421412174 1 $9.99
Yips the Chihuahua with Horn Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421363209 1 $9.99
Christmas Kinley the Brown Reindeer Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Treendale 008421364992 1 $9.99
Halloween Drizella the Crimson Bat Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sefton Plaza 008421364961 1 $9.99
Grindal the Dragon with Horn Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Southland 008421363216 1 $9.99
Sheldon the Coral Octopus Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421363902 1 $9.99
Halloween Radar the Bat Beanie Boo newsXpress Treendale 008421362370 1 $9.99
Jamal the Camel Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sefton Plaza 008421362233 1 $9.99
Gilda the Pink Flamingo Slippers Medium newsXpress Newhaven 008421953387 1 $29.99
Bamboo the Panda Slippers Medium newsXpress Newhaven 008421953363 1 $29.99
Bamboo the Panda Sequin Square Purse newsXpress Sefton Plaza 008421951420 1 $24.99
Whimsy the Cat Sequin Square Purse newsXpress Treendale 008421951512 1 $24.99
Lion King Nala Regular Beanie Babies newsXpress Southland 008421412648 1 $14.99
Dexter the Brown Chihuahua Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368785 1 $9.99
Subtotal $432.70
Shipping & Handling $0.00
GST $39.34
Grand Total $432.70

For orders over $100.00 shipping is free. It is subsidised by newsXpress to help member businesses maintain good margin. They purchase the Boos for a lower price than any other retailer, which also helps.

I share this here today for a few reasons:

  • There are some in our channel who talk down online, saying it is not big in newsagency businesses. I know of plenty of newsagency businesses where online is more than 25% of revenue. I suspect they talk it down as that narrative suits their commercial interests.
  • There are some newsagents who don’t think they can do online. Some of the businesses listed above thought that too. All they had to do is to flick a switch to get sales.
  • Online revenue is usually to people you will never see in your shop. It’s icing on the cake revenue that leverages existing inventory, labour and space.
  • Collaboration magnifies the value opportunity for newsagents. Our channel started as a collective of small businesses working together. Over the years, the collective faded away. Small businesses collaborating to support a single website help those businesses win sales they would otherwise not win. This sale, a not uncommon sale, is an example of the value of collaboration.
  • Actions speak louder than words. In our marketing, newsXpress says it offers these types of group member websites. This post backs that up with evidence. This Boo website has been live for many years. It has generated millions of dollars in revenue.
  • Some in our channel say Beanie Boo sales are dead. I say there is no evidence is sales revenue that is the case.
  • Some say it costs too much in stock. I know of newsXpress businesses winning good Boo sales from $1,000 in stock.
  • Some say online is too hard. It’s not when you have good head office support and good tech for capturing and managing sales.
  • Small businesses can compete with big businesses. This sale represents and the Boo website offers proof that small business retailers can compete with big businesses. Big W, target and K-Mart can’t and don’t match what this time offers, and shoppers understand that.

The big thing about online and those who talk it down or question results, you don’t know what you don’t know. By this I mean, unless you are active in the online space, and I mean deeply active here running 1, 2, 3 or more consumer-facing websites of your own and have done so for several years, you really don’t know what you don’t know.

I have discovered that for myself.

We launched a new consumer-facing website a few months ago. It did okay, but was soft. We looked at how people engaged, where they spent time, what they picked up but did not purchase, and more. We modified the website and it was like turning on a tap. $15,000 in sales in 4 weeks. $15,000 additional revenue for the newsagency business. 50% margin business. Business leveraging existing stock, labour and space. And, this website is a baby, it’s not even walking yet.

I have to say, though, that what I have not yet covered here is the website failures, and there are some glorious failures that have been wonderful learning experience. the successes today stand on the broken bones of those files websites. It’s what happens in business: try something and if it fails it becomes a success by teaching you things.

Online is not going away. I think it is essential for every retail business to have an online opportunity in their business. The best opportunities will come from those connected to, those who understand your business those who want to help you bring it to life for you, and not your local web developer or accountant.

Is this a newsXpress pitch? Kind of. But it is more a pitch about the importance and value of being online, being found by people who do not walk past your front door … because it is those people who offer you the icing on the cake opportunity, the bottom line net profit hit we all love to see.

8 likes
Newsagency management

News Corp. makes it so difficult to cancel a subscription to The Australian that some are bound to give up

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a digital subscription to The Australian because there was a story I wanted to read and I figured $4.00 was okay since I could cancel.

Two days ago I decided to cancel, before the end of the initial $4 period offer. I figured I’d go to the New Corp. website for The Australian, login to my account, click cancel, and be done. No, not so easy. In fact, it was hard, messy and slow, close to impossible.

News Corp puts up a ton of barriers on The Australian website, demonstrating a clear disinterest in even basic customer service.

I went to my account on their website, clicked manage my subscription, clicked cancel and the website provided a phone number. I thought that’s odd, I must be able to cancel without speaking to anyone. Anyway, I clicked chat, and here’s how that went.

So, I called, navigated their phone system, and eventually got to speak with someone. They were courteous, but not keen for me to go. I had to repeat I want to cancel several times before they agreed to take that step for me – but not before they wanted to know why I wanted to cancel and not before they pitched an offer for me to stay, two weeks free I think.

That phone call took between 5 and 7 minutes, all for a subscription that is cents a day. I wondered how many people would stay with the company going through that. It must be enough for them to have this commercial business model of barriers in place making it so hard and time consuming and threatening almost to cancel.

My customer experience with News Corp was frustrating, time consuming, off-putting. While the person I spoke to was courteous, it should not take me asking multiple times to cancel. The experience was bad enough that I won’t sign up again, even if I am desperate to read an article. Cancelling took too long, their obsession with wanting to know why even though I said it was none of their business was rude, confronting.

I get that I am not a natural News Corp customer – I think they negatively impact our democracy given the political lobbying campaigns they run dressed up as news under their mastheads – but I was a customer for a brief while and the process of ending that was appalling, so much so that I want to tell others considering subscribing with News Corp – don’t as they make it way to hard to leave them … appalling customer service.

The thing about online is that people was a frictionless experience, smooth, enjoyable. The News Corp experience was anything but. For a company that shouts everyday at some politicians and everyday people – telling us what to think, how to behave, they could do well to focus inwards and yell at themselves. Their online house needs to be improved.

On a scale of 0 to 5 rating the News Corp online subscription cancellation experience where 0 is appalling and 5 is excellent, I’d give it a .5 – primarily because the website did not crash at least and their phone system did not auto hang up on me.

23 likes
Ethics
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