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

Author: Mark Fletcher

A heartwarming newsagency transformation

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit a newsagency in the Northern Territory last week that I first go to see late last year. What I saw last Wednesday was a different business. I wish I had a before photo to show. In it you would see a traditional newsagency – clean, neat but traditional, not doing anything to attract new shoppers.

This was a good newsagency but not growing, not exploring opportunities outside of magazines, newspapers, lotteries, cards and stationery. As the business is right next to a supermarket with all these items it needed to differentiate.

The business I saw Wednesday last week was different.

The best word I can use to describe what I was is: optimistic. Yes, this business looked and felt optimistic.

I am not sure the optimism I saw it is captured in this photo I took though.

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The refreshed and refocused business is attracting new shoppers through ranging different, non traditional, products and displaying them in an appealing way. It is also leveraging existing traffic for greater efficiency.

The photos faces into the newsagency from the entrance. That space you see, the dance floor, is a fresh space changing every two weeks, making the business more appealing than ever and making a fresh pitch to reflect change, to combat store-blindness of regulars. The space you see provides a fresh appeal. Products are zoned, shop ability is high.

Some key changes are not seen in this photo though. The windows out of shot of the photo are pitching products that appeal to demos not usually that well served in newsagencies, demos that are shopping with the shop.

I think the biggest change is in the approach to business. This business and those in it are having a go at finding a brighter future. That is reflected in buying, displays and promotion. They are doing things now they would not have done a year ago. And each thing do, each new product they carry, each marketing pitch they make, they learn from whether it is financially successful or not.

And as I write this I think about that uniquely Aussie thing of having a go as I think it is key to the mindset and to the optimism I am seeing.

Not so much in this newsagency but in some I have seen recently, some newsagents have lost the energy to have a go. Those who do have a go and who encounter a good response, financial or not, are encouraged to have a go more and more and this is what ultimately results in valuable change and an optimistic outlook.

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Newsagency management

Leveraging Finding Dory in the newsagency

IMG_9935We have Finding Dory licenced products ranging across several departments in-store and are using these online and on the lease line in-store to attract traffic.

My experience with licences is that range is essential to success. A display unit of cards works okay but place it with activity books and other products and you gain more attention. It also helps you promote a range that is different to what other retailers may do.

The other move I have found helps drive success with licences is having more than one location in-store. There is good research supporting the importance of several touchpoints to guide sales success.

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Gifts

Money gift card holders

The range of money/ gift card holders in the US for all major seasons is far superior to what we have in Australia. It’s a missed opportunity for us. My experience is money holders usually sell out first at Christmas.  Here are three designs from an extensive range for graduation in the US this year.

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Greeting Cards

Finding ways to draw attention to magazines in the newsagency

IMG_9915 (1)We are always looking for fresh ways to draw attention to magazines in the newsagency, to have people stop and take notice instead of walking on by to their in-store destination.

While a common activity in a newsagency is to feature magazines at the counter or on the lease line facing outside the shop, another activity that we find works is the placement of other products that themselves draw the attention of shoppers.

The photo shows a placement of carefully selected plush items at the base of the crossword display. The plush items are on the floor, to attract attention of kids and those who buy for kids. While looking at the plush items enough shoppers are noticing the crossword range to make the tactical placement worthwhile.

I see this activity, the placement of products with magazines to draw attention to magazines, as a marketing activity for the newsagency.

This location is at the rear of the business, in an out of the way corner – so it was important for us to draw attention of people in the shop who are not there to intending to purchase crossword titles. The placement is about interrupting their attention, but to do so with some subtlety.

We have done this before, placed products from other departments with, next to or in front of magazines to draw attention to magazines. I think it is important, indeed more important today with magazines not generating the foot traffic they used to years ago. We have to work harder at drawing traffic, including from people in our shops.

While a large magazine department with an excellent range is important and makes a destination purchase statement, we need to cleverly engage with all shoppers in the store to have them notice magazines.

What works for you will be different to what works for me. The thinking around the plush item selection was the number of families shopping with us as well as the number of retirees, who purchase for grandkids and great grandkids.

The magazine categories where I see this type of attention-grabbing placement working are: crosswords (of course), craft, auto, food and fashion. Each of these is on my list because of good allied product available to draw attention of the appropriate shopper.

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magazines

Wonderful new Hallmark card range

IMG_0003I like this new (small) range from Hallmark, promoting hand drawn art. We are not placing the small range in regular fixtures as the cover needs to be seen to be appreciated. We have it in a feature section in the card department. One customer purchased several from the range on the weekend, commenting about how different they looked.

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Greeting Cards

The importance of the new driver opportunity for newsagents

IMG_9978I am confident a survey in Australia asking people where they would purchase learner driver handbooks and L and P plates of different types would show newsagencies as one of the top destination stores, if not the absolute top. We can better own this opportunity.

I know in my newsagency most purchases of these items are destination purchases. They are a good traffic driver for us.

Thinking about this on the weekend, as a result of serving a customer, I realised we (I) do not do enough to leverage the opportunity. While we have a good range of product, in a stable location, well displayed and easily shopped, we are not promoting the opportunity outside the location or outside the newsagency.

While we could rest on our laurels and maintain good sales by doing what we do today, I wonder if there is an opportunity to increase sales of what is a staple category for every newsagency by promoting the opportunity outside the business and promoting it better inside the business through a front of store feature from time to time.

These are products people need and that, for the most part, have not been replaced by a digital alternative. They also allow us to connect our businesses to an interesting mix of people beyond what is obvious. For example, selling to new migrants presents a new opportunity. However, unless we seek they out they may not think of us.

My own plan is to run a front of store display to coincide with a promotion of gifts for new drivers, cards for new drivers as well as these instruction books and L plates and P plates. Linked with the display will be out of store promotion, on social media, connecting the learner driver and new driver opportunity in my local area with the newsagency.

I think this type of marketing, for products for which we think we are already well-known, is vital to our businesses, to shore up the community knowledge and connect with some who may not have us top of mind for these products.

Marketing like I am suggesting is inexpensive, under $10 – and well worth it even if it finds one or two new shoppers.

Whereas in the past we relied on traffic for a small number of mega categories in our businesses, today our future relies on leveraging many categories, each delivering small amounts of traffic. Promoting learner driver manuals and P and L plates is an important, if small, marketing activity for any newsagent.

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Management tip

Magazine unit sales in newsagencies decline 10.7% in March quarter

RETAIL NEWSAGENCY SALES BENCHMARK STUDY: JAN–MAR 2016 vs. 2015

This year on year same-store newsagency sales benchmark study is an analysis of basket data from 163 newsagencies: city and country, shopping centre and high street, banner groups (Newspower, Nextra, newsXpress) and independent.

2016 has kicked off with a challenging first quarter for many newsagents, traffic and revenue are down year on year and still too few are embracing categories outside what has been traditional for the channel.

Too many newsagents are drifting, waiting for something to happen rather than forcing change in their businesses.

  • Customer traffic. 67% of newsagents report average decline of 1.8%.
  • Overall sales. 75% reported an average revenue decline of 1.3%.
  • Basket depth. 62% report a 1.8% decrease in basket size.
  • Basket dollar value. 68% report a decrease in basket value of 1.9%.
  • Discounting. 33% of respondents use a structured loyalty offer such as points or some other discount.

Benchmark results by key departments:

  1. Magazines. 82% of report an average decline in unit sales of 10.7%. The average decline in weeklies was 10.9%.
  2. Newspapers. 78% report average decline in over the counter unit sales of 6.9%. The decline was somewhat contained by promotions but nowhere near as much as has happened with promotions in the past.
  3. Greeting cards. 62% of report average revenue decline of 3.2%. This is concerning.
  4. Lotteries. 62% of those with lotteries report average decline of 2% in transactions.
  5. Stationery. 73% of newsagents report a decline, with an average of 5.4%.
  6. Ink. 28% of stores report ink separately. Of these, 54% reported increase of 3%.
  7. Gifts. Of the 61% with gifts, 67% report average growth of 6.2%.
  8. Tobacco. Of the 42% with tobacco, 82% report an average decline of 17%.
  9. Confectionery. 63% of stores reported an average decline of 5%.
  10. Toys. Of the 20% with toys, 62% report growth of 5%.

Data from the newsagents included in the study indicate extraordinary differences between businesses at either end of the performance scale.

For example, in one newsagency, magazine sales are down 35%, cards are down 13%, stationery is down 11%. The business does not sell gifts, toys or anything outside the very traditional core newsagency mix. This business is in serious trouble.

In another newsagency, magazine sales are down 22%, cards are down .5%, gifts are up 17% and account for more revenue than cards. Toys are up 250% as a result of this being a relatively new category for the business. What the business is losing in one category it is gaining in another because of deliberate decisions being taken.

There is good news for newsagents working on their businesses, pursuing new traffic. I see this working in many situations.

In terms of magazines, looking closely at a subset of businesses in the benchmark study, I can see no evidence of in-store marketing for magazine driving sales. Businesses with excellent aisle-end displays experienced results similar to those businesses that did little or no in-store promotion.

In the last study, I saw results for a store that reflected a considerable turnaround. I made a video of the story: https://youtu.be/f-YilFlFG68 This same store has delivered excellent results this quarter, achieving further growth.

In my own newsagency: key category numbers off a good base, are: Diaries: up 219%. Cards up 17%. Gifts up 25% and account for 16% of sales; Magazines down 3% and weeklies down 3%; Stationery up 3%, Plush up 33%. Traffic: down 6%; Average Sale Value: up 10%; Average Item Value: up 5%. Revenue up 4%. This business has no agency products.

BENCHMARK GOALS

I am often asked for benchmark goals newsagents ought to aim for. Here are some benchmarks I have developed in my work with newsagency marketing group newsXpress and through my newsagency software company Tower Systems:

  1. Gross profit: this is the goal gross profit for all product sales not taking into account any revenue or costs related to any agency business. The traditional newsagency average is 28% to 32%. For a newsagency focused on the future, the goal has to be at least 45%.
  1. Ratio of Gift revenue to Card revenue: 50% minimum. The goal ought to be 100% or more. If you do $100K a year in cards, target to do $100K in gifts, or more.
  2. Revenue per employee – $250 an hour minimum.
  3. Revenue PSQM $4,500 – $8,500 depending on country versus city / high street to shopping centre and depending of the product mix. Higher GP lower revenue required.
  4. Overall revenue mix percentage targets: Cards: 25%; Gifts/toys/plush: 25%; Stat: 10%; magazines/newspapers: 20%; other: 15%.
  5. FLOORSPACE ALLOCATION: Cards: 25%; Gifts/toys/plush: 25%; Stat: 8%; magazines/newspapers: 15%; other products: 15%; office/back room / counter: 12%. It’s rare you make money from an office or store room.
  6. Mark-up goals: Stationery: 125%; Gifts 110%; plush: 110%.
  7. Occupancy cost: between 9% and 11% of revenue where revenue is product revenue plus commission from agency lines. Location and situation are a big factor in this benchmark. For example, a large shopping centre business will have a higher cost than a high street situation. NOTE: It is easy to say the landlord is responsible for this ratio. As the retailer you are responsible for margin and revenue.
  8. Labour cost: between 9% and 11% of revenue where revenue is product revenue plus commission from agency lines. Labour cost should include fair market costs for all who work in the business. (See above).
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Newsagency benchmark

Sunday newsagency challenge: get rid of department keys

Department keys used in newsagencies running any of the newsagency POS software packages result in poor business data. Every time you use a department key you deny the business the opportunity to reasonably track data. There is not a single situation I can think of in a newsagency today where use of a department key is warranted.

Newsagencies using department keys are more open to employee theft.

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Newsagency challenges

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: the Turtles are back!

IMG_9926Are you making the most of the imminent return of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a new movie? This photo shows the display at the counter of the newsagency. We have a range of TMNT products from several suppliers. The range is being promoted online to attract people who might not usually think of us for TMNT product.

I love the green trim used on the display, this connects with the key colour used in TMNT creative over the years.

If you are thinking this is not for you, TMNT has a broad appeal from those discovering it for the first time through the new movie to kids who started with the brand in in the 1980s through the first comic or the TV series. We are seeing people interested ranging from five (or younger) through to mid thirties.

This is my marketing tip today because some of the most successful marketing at the moment is through licences.

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marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: leveraging being local

You know the pitch: Local businesses create jobs. They provide opportunities for school leavers and university graduates.

Local businesses share the local narrative. Through what we all do and how we do it we share the fabric of our communities.

Local businesses contribute to the local and Australian economies. We pay local government, state and federal taxes. These taxes pay for schools, health services roads and more.

Online businesses and many overseas businesses don’t serve and support your local community the way you do and my businesses do.

You are sure to want people to do business with you not out of pity but because of what you do and how you do it. Here ware practical ways encode local connections in a valuable way:

  1. Share local product information – on your shopper receipts. If there is a care or use element that can have a local connection or focus for a product, include this information in an auto-generated not on your receipt.
  2. When you sell a locally made item, have that information pop-up so your team member can thank a customer for buying a local product.
  3. Include country of origin on product data for products you sell.
  4. At every touch point opportunity, on receipts, product labels, at the counter and elsewhere seize opportunities to add value, local value, value from you in the form of information, advice and comments that your competitors, especially online competitors will not an cannot offer when they sell similar items.
  5. Include being local in your tag line on receipts and with your logo: Local and proud of it! Or something like this.
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Management tip

Laughing at the newsagency counter on a Saturday

IMG_9929I never thought I would see this in a newsagency the customer said with a smile today. She then showed the soap to her shopping companion who listed some people they could give the soap to.

It made my day for it showed the tactical counter placement being noticed and gave us another customer who will not think of us as being traditional.

There is no future in being a traditional newsagency.

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newsagency of the future

A must read report for newsagents who are magazine specialists

Screen Shot 2016-05-13 at 10.18.43 PMOn their website, the MPA has released a report that speaks to the value of the magazine medium. It covers masthead engagement by print, digital and social media. It is invaluable for those who want to understand key magazine brands as their engagement can be leveraged by us.

I am finding the social media data of most interest. The insight into the different platforms the different brands engage with is valuable as a retailer making choices as to platforms to use to speak to the different customers we seek to attract.

Here is a snapshot. Look four lines down at the Better Homes and Gardens numbers. Compare their Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest numbers. That is information we can learn from and leverage in our own social media engagement relating to titles we sell.

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I urge all newsagents to read the report.

magazines continue to play an important role in our channel. Our job is to engage with the category in a cost-effective way. This means managing key costs such as labour and retail space. Do this and the category can work for us.

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magazines

MPA trial results provided to ACCC

Magazine Publishers Australia on Thursday provided a copy of the interim report by Boston Analytics into the trials undertaken recently into the supply of magazines to several groups of newsagents. Here is part of the public statement from the MPA:

The pilot delivered on expectations with substantial increases in efficiency i.e. decreased rate of return (-17% in Pilot A and B vs. +2% in Pilot A and +1% in Pilot B historical and -2% in control groups). Based on the modelling work done by Boston Analytics, sales were expected to decline at an 8% given the amount of supply that was cut from the long tail. But the declines were higher than that with Pilot A and B delivering -9% and -11% declines in sales respectively. Excluding an outlier store that increased its sub agents, Pilot A delivered -12% which is quite similar to Pilot B.

The value of the trials changed with the closure of Network Services. The single distributor model – yes, I am not including IPS as their roster of titles is very small – is of itself leading to changes we are seeing and changes on the way.

I think the best time to assess where we are at with magazine distribution will be sometime after June this year. By then Gotch will be well settled with its expanded mix of titles and will have had time to talk with publishers, especially those publishers that provide considerably more inventory than ever sells for its is these publishers that drive the most significant and expensive over-supply.

I have been aware of the pilot results for several weeks and while they are interesting, I am more interested in a study that actively includes all publishers and not just the top three.

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magazines

Is this news on the front page of the Herald Sun?

IMG_9909People at News Corp. was unhappy enough with a question put by Duncan Storrar to Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer on ABC TV Monday night to dig into his past for material for what looks like a smear campaign across the company’s mastheads.

Storrar’s question – You’re gonna lift the tax-free threshold for rich people, why don’t I get it? Why do they get it? – resulted in a poor answer from O’Dwyer that hurt her cause.

Today’s coverage by News Corp. appears to me to be designed to damage the reputation of Mr Storrar. It is a personal attack in page one of newspapers when there are far more important page one news stories.

Mr Storrar’s past has nothing to do with this story, it is not news. News Corp. is again using its newspapers for partisan politics. Shame on them.

Is this a newspaper we should censor and not put on the shelves today?

Fairfax is taking a different approach on this story, looking at the Q&A interaction as news.

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Uncategorized

Is the marketing ‘tax’ by Tatts on small business newsagents fair?

For decades, newsagents selling Tatts products had to pay for infrastructure in their business for promoting Tatts products. Such infrastructure included poster frames and other fixtures necessary to host marketing materials – posters, signs and the like. Tatts provided the posters at no additional cost.

Now, Tatts is set to levy newsagents a fee to fund management of content.

This fee for content by Tatts looks like a ‘tax’. It requires newsagents to pay for something they previously were provided by the company for free.

In the material from Tatts I have seen I have not found a reasonable explanation for the new fee, no adequate justification for the additional business cost.

Newsagents have no control over the marketing content, no say in products promoted, marketing style. This is a Tatts focused marketing channel with 100% Tatts controlled content. Given that the company marketing serves it’s own online sales as well as the retailer, and given Tatts used not charge extra for marketing collateral, unless I am missing something here, I think the charge by Tatts for content is unreasonable.

While this does not affect me as I do not have Tatts products in my newsagencies (by choice), I am concerned for newsagents I work with. I am raising this specific topic here today at the request of some of them as they are frustrated that this ‘tax’ is being applied without discussion or negotiation, that is apparently being done without pushback from those who claim to represent newsagents.

I know some newsagents have complained to politicians with little interest being expressed on the issue. This is unfortunate as any politician claiming to support small business ought to be actively engaged on this issue.

Since we are in the middle of a federal election, take a moment to ask your local candidates if they could lobby Tatts on your behalf abut this new ‘tax’.

There is no time like right now to get their attention.

While I am not happy at what appears to be an ureasonable cost for the DigiPOS infrastructure, I am more frustrated with this cost for the marketing collateral and that it is a percentage of sales. The costs to Tatts should not be a percentage so why charge small business retailers a percentage?

This looks and feels like a tax to me.

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Ethics

Newsagency of the Future: 2016 workshop dates

I have set dates for a series of Newsagency of the Future workshops for June. These will be followed with the release of a video version presenting the highlights from the pool of information I plan to cover. Here are the dates:

  • June 14 Perth.
  • June 15 Adelaide.
  • June 20 Melbourne.
  • June 21 Sydney.
  • June 22 Brisbane.
  • June 23 Hobart.

I will share a link soon for online booking. Participation will be free. each session is expected to start at 10am and run for two hours with plenty of time for questions and discussion.

I will explore overseas trends, changes affecting newsagents in Australia and outline why I think this channel has a bright future, in any location and any size store. The goal is to get more newsagents working on their future through a prism of optimism.

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Newsagency management

Free online seminar: Navigating online lenders – 10 questions to help you decide if this is right for you

With permission from Tyro, here are details of a free online seminar Tyro is hosting next week on navigating online lenders. Online lending is growing at a rapid rate and this is an excellent opportunity to learn about it:

Online lenders are shaking up the world of traditional business finance. From P2P lenders, marketplace lenders, online invoice finance to merchant cash advances – there are now over 20 online lenders operating in Australia alone. But is online lending right for you, and if so, which one is best for your business?

In this 30 minute online seminar, Australia’s very own Bank Doctor and small business banking advocate Neil Slonim will share the questions he uses to evaluate online lenders to help you determine which one to go with.

It’s a checklist you won’t want to leave home without if you’re considering switching to an online lender this year.

More about the presenter: Neil Slonim leverages 35 years experience on both sides of the banking fence to provide independent and practical specialist advice to businesses that are reliant on banks for funding and other services. His blog theBankDoctor.org is a Not for Profit online resource centre offering SMEs free information and tips to help them deal with the challenges of funding a business. theBankDoctor.org was recently recognized by SmartCompany as one of Australia’s best business blogs.

Register here – https://tyro.com/navigating-online-lending/

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Newsagency management

Relaying the card department in the newsagency

Two weeks ago we completed a relay for cards in the newsagency. While the business is only two years old, the time was right. We had good data to guide decisions, space options and a plan for a fresh approach, for a newsagency, to displaying cards.

Here is the main card wall. Note we have another bay of cards on the right, down the aisle and ut of shot.

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We had trailed these fixtures in the card department with success. Customers love them as they make shopping easy. We call our cards by showing more of the full front of each card.

The big difference of the re-plan is we have removed the gift bays we had in the middle of sections of cards as they were not woking as well as we needed. We felt a more complete and free flowing card display would be better for us.

One important aspect about this move is – the fixtures are easy moved, easily changed. They clip in and clip out. That’s right, there is nothing purpose built. I will never install purpose built fixtures in a newsagency again. If a shoplifter proposes this, look elsewhere.

Another important aspect is we own the fixtures. I think it is essential newsagents own their own fixtures as this provides maximum in-store flexibility.

Here is what the customer sees at eye level.

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And as they look down standing in the same spot, here is what people see.

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And this is another section of the card department, off the wall and to the right. On the back of this is wrap. We are not sure about the location of wrap., That may require work.

IMG_9741

This shows the placement and how we are using cards as part of our traffic flow plans, feeding card traffic into the magazine department at the back of the shop.

Our overall thinking about cards in this shop is that we want to promote range such that every shopper feels they will be satisfied for whatever card giving need they have.

In addition to what we see in the photos, we also have cards displayed off location, in non traditional card fixtures (this is important) as well as five card spinners offering diversified ranges that speak to different needs. These spinners are moved around to combat store blindness of customers and our team members.

I urge newsagents to look at the card offer, to ensure it is fresh, easily shopped and obviously satisfying for any card giving occasion.

Our channel sells close to 35% of all cards sold in Australia. We need to grow this. We can do this by being professional in our approach and by helping people buy more cards than they intend.

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Greeting Cards

News Corp. is asking newsagents in SA to give away a local newspaper for no compensation

News Corp. has taken on charity status with its request (offer) for retail newsagents in South Australia to give away the Messenger newspaper for free.

This does not make sense to me at all.

Screen Shot 2016-05-10 at 4.44.42 PM

If you think this will attract traffic it will not, in my opinion.

News is asking newsagents to provide a service. This massive company ought to have the decency to offer fair compensation.

I would be shocked if any newsagent says yes.

15 likes
Ethics

Magazine space allocation and placement in the newsagency

Space allocation for magazines in retail newsagencies today is vital to managing the return we receive from this challenges category. Cutting space allocated is almost the only management action we can take to reduce overheads. The risk, however, is cutting space and driving revenue and the return lower than it should be.

My advice on cutting magazine space is to do it with the right fixtures that allow you to display more in less space, fixtures that make use of previously dead space in the newsagency to thereby reduce the ‘cost’ to the business.

This photo shows the magazine department in one of my newsagencies.

IMG_9767 (1)

On the back wall you can see the full face display. This works well because the sign above the display draws people in. It tells magazine destination shoppers to head here. Each title gets one pocket. The fixtures are deep enough to accomodate this.

The double-sided display in the foreground of the photo currently has higher volume titles. The fixture is in three parts and each pocket is deep. Pocket depth is important as it enables us to not waterfall and thereby fit more titles into less space and this is key to managing costs for the low-margin category. This fixture enables full face display of plenty of titles and half and third face display of others.

All of the fixtures we use are movable, re-configurable. This is also important as it allows changes to magazine space allocation and placement without having to bring in external resources.

Nowhere in our magazine space to we have old-school flat-stack fixtures. I think they waste space – however, given the volume some stores receive I understand they are essential to managing placement of floor stock.

The fixtures we are using are modern. This is important to me as it makes a pitch about the business and magazines themselves.

Newsagency shoplifters have a lot to answer for in that even today some are promoting purpose made old-school magazine fixtures. That should have stopped five years ago. My advice to newsagents on magazine fixtures: never have anything purpose built. Never.

Flexibility is key – flexibility in floor placement, space allocation and title placement in the fixtures. This is all part of managing magazines for success.

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magazines

Beware those spruiking federal budget moves

The federal budget handed down last week was not a budget in that parliament was prorogued before any bills relating to initiatives in the budget could be enacted. No, the budget was part of the election platform for the Liberal / National Party government. This is why we ought to disregard any supplier or would be supplier touting budget initiatives when encouraging us to purchase from them. Unless the benefits are legislated they may never happen.

3 likes
Ethics
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