When was the last time you marketed your cards outside your newsagency? You have competitors actively marketing to attract your card shoppers to their businesses. Compete with them or plan for declining card sales.
For years I have written here and spoken at newsagency conferences about the need for newsagents to make every day your pay day. Click here for an updated, more focussed, version of the advice. This is on my mind as several more newsagencies close that did not need to close.
Here is a before and after photo of a display unit of cool erasers we have in the newsagency. The photo on the left shows how the product arrived in-store and was initially displayed. The product on the right shows how the same display box looks with a simple change. You can now see what this product is. That simple change alone ought to boost sales.
We need to obsess about these things otherwise we condemn ourselves to average sales. Retail is detail. Engage in the detail and you are chasing a better result.
When I talked about this with a newsagent a few weeks ago they told me they didn’t have time for this. They were dismissing as if concerning themselves with this level of detail was beneath them. Any newsagent who wants to maximise their return will care about the detail I am writing about here.
Retro products are easy to sell right now so I love it when a magazine offers a retro cover like the last ever issue of Cleo and this copy of Mojo I noticed in the newsagency today. the cover gives us an opportunity to promote the magazine outside the usual magazine department placement with other product from this year in the gift department. There are many gift suppliers playing to the interest in retro, we are spoilt for choice. Being able to leverage this with magazines is a bonus for the gifts and for the magazines.
My newsagency software company announced capital city user meetings a couple of weeks ago. Included in the free sessions will be retail management advice. These are not sales events – rather the goal is to help small business retailers leverage their IT investment for even better outcomes. The start time is 8am so as to not interrupt too much of the day.
I will be at all sessions and would welcome an opportunity to catch up with anyone on any topic.
FYI here are the details:
Launceston User Meeting
Date: 07/03/2016 Time: 8:00am
Venue: Quality Hotel Colonial Launceston
Address: 31 Elizabeth St Launceston TAS 7250
Breakfast: Coffee, Tea and Egg & Bacon Muffins on arrival
Parking: Limited Free onsite parking
Hobart User Meeting
Date: 08/03/2016 Time: 8:00am
Venue: Hotel Grand Chancellor
Address: 1 Davey St Hobart Hobart TAS 7000
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee and Swiss cheese and ham croissants on arrival
Parking: Onsite Parking available charges may apply, let the parking assistant know you are attending a meeting. Marketplace Car Park is open 24 hours and there is metered parking within close proximity to the hotel.
Melbourne User Meeting
Date: 09/03/2016 Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Hawthorn Art Centre, Mayor’s Room
Address: 360 Burwood Rd Hawthorn VIC 3122
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee and mini tomato and cheese croissants on arrival
Parking: Free onsite parking – enter via Kent Street
Brisbane User Meeting
Date: 10/03/2016 Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Quality Inn Airport Heritage
Address: 620 Kingsford Smith Drive Hamilton QLD
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee, selection of biscuits, slices, cakes and muffins on arrival
Parking: Limited free onsite parking and free street parking
Adelaide User Meeting
Date: 11/03/2016 Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Rydges South Park
Address: 1 South Terrace Adelaide SA 5000
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee, egg and bacon muffin as well as fresh fruit served on arrival
Parking: Limited Free onsite parking as well as 2 to 3 hour free street parking
Sydney User Meeting
Date: 15/03/2016 Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Novotel Sydney Olympic Park
Address: Olympic boulevard Sydney Olympic Park NSW 212
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee and ham and cheese croissants on arrival
Parking: Hotel car park fees apply: All day rate $25.00, or $13.00 for 1 hour, every additional hour charged at $5.00. Additional parking is available in P3, accessible from Sarah Durack Ave or P8 accessible from Herb Elliot Ave at a rate of $5.00 per hour
Canberra User Meeting
Date: 16/03/2016 Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Mercure Canberra
Address: Cnr Ainsille & Limestone Ave Braddon ACT 2612
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee and a chefs selection of breakfast items on arrival
Parking: Free onsite parking at the front and back of hotel
Perth User Meeting
Date: 17/03/2016 Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Assured Ascot Quays Apartment Hotel, Marina Room
Address: 150 Great Eastern Highway Ascot WA 6104
Breakfast: Tea, Coffee, whole fruits and warm muffins served on arrival
Parking: Free onsite parking available
Gold Coast User Meeting
Date: 30/03/2016
Time: 8:00am – 11:00am
Venue: Mantra Twin Towns
Address: Wharf Street Tweed Heads NSW
Breakfast: Coffee, Tea, Mini ham and cheese croissants and mini Danish on arrival
Parking: Free Parking available across the road from the conference centre at Mantra Twin Towns, there is a walk away connecting the hotel to the conference centre as well as a lift
We are chasing growth in sales of roll-wrap by using tubs placed below the flat wrap in one of my stores. While the photo makes the product look untidy, the in-store impression is there is plenty from which to choose. This is what we have gone for with the change.
I think the more we own product layout and placement in our businesses the better for our businesses.
We also have roll wrap at the counter plenty of time and elsewhere as we seek to surprise shoppers with the opportunity. I think plenty of roll wrap purchases are on impulse. Key to this is placement.
We should not rely on suppliers for initiatives as they are not retailers, they are not in our shops seeing what we see and talking with our customers. No, the best people to know what is best for your business is you and your team in the business.
Newsagents need to ensure their newsagency software is ready for the transition. If you are not across what is necessary, please talk with your software company. This is not something to ignore.
Suppliers ought not accept an order from a retailer unless they are able to fulfil the order. This is not too much to ask, especially in this era of being always on, always connected.
It is frustrating placing an order to only have part of it arrive months later and not be able to tell a full story in-store.
Some suppliers are worse than others. The best way to deal with them is to complain once, louder the second time and cut them off the third time.
Suppliers need to have the systems and processes in place to stop this from happening, to stop taking orders when at the head office they know from forward orders or warehouse management that the orders cannot be filled. Anything less is not good enough.
I see this problems with big and small suppliers. It happens too often. Indeed, it peaks following major trade shows where some suppliers manually gather orders and take a week to key them in and see what their actual commitment is.
Once supplier told me they could not fulfil as my order and the order from a few others pushed them to another container and they did not want to risk it. What a way to run a business!
In the case of an out of stock where the supplier accepts unsullied goods as a backorder and has a need to send out a catch-up order, the supplier ought to carry the freight cost of this and not push the retailer to get to a minimum spend.
In Esperance Western Australia earlier this week I found a newspaper I like, one that uses news of the day to promote the newspaper. Kudos to the folks at The Esperance Express.
I am publishing this post to give newsagents a place where they can comment about any allocations concerns flowing from the take over of magazine distribution by Gordon and Gotch by Network. Please be detailed in your comment … i.e. what you used to get versus what you get now.
I was in a newsagency this week where a magazine relay resulted in this four square metres of retail space was reclaimed from magazines delivering 25% GP for gifts delivering 50%+ GP. No titles were cut. Rather, a more efficient allocation of space was achieved through smarter space management. This is smart newsagency management – respecting a core low margin category in a way that lowers the overhead cost of the category on the business.
Magazine publishers should look at this as newsagents have to make moves like this given the margin dollars being achieved from magazines continue to fall in a marketplace where rent and labour costs are increasing. Are you listening?
It has been interesting comparing suppliers at the Sydney Gift Fair, those who were their at least. Here is what I like in a supplier. If you are a supplier and don’t do this, I’ll mark you down in my view:
I could add to this list. This is my top seven. It has been on my mind this week because of experiences I had at the Sydney Gift Fair. I got to enjoy some suppliers more than others.
What I am looking for in supplier relationships that provide benefits beyond good products. I want professionalism and operational efficiency.
We have too many suppliers with old-school ways that hold retailers back.
Click here for the latest update from Network Services on the transition from titles to Gordon and Gotch. network advises the list of Transition issues has been reduced from 150 to 92. The updated list is hosted on both NetOnline and Gotch Connect. Links to the portals are included in the communication.
The communication through the process is consistent and thorough.
I’ve got the perfect product for you, it’s perfect for newsagencies.
Rarely is this statement following by a pitch for a product that is perfect for my newsagency.
I am so over suppliers assuming they know what we should sell. I am over suppliers pigeonholing newsagents and their businesses in a way that denies smart newsagents the opportunity to genuinely change their businesses.
Many suppliers do not know today’s engaged and growing newsagency. Many don;t want to know as they have built their businesses around serving businesses rooted in the 1970s and 1980s. It is 2016 folks. Average sale value is way up, GPO is way up. What we can sell has changed forever and this is because many of us are buying from suppliers who to not look at our businesses as selling what newsagent can sell.
I am not angry at suppliers, just frustrated that they have not seen the change in many newsagencies, that they themselves are rooted in the past.
I’d prefer suppliers to start a conversation by saying tell me about your business and what you sell.
I met a supplier yesterday in Sydney who was like this. Their average wholesale price point is $100.00. Their products are unique, not newsagency like. This was a big plus for me as I am keen to continue to push the definition of my business through the products I range. This is one of the reasons why I do not want suppliers to see me as a newsagent as that locks me in a box that does not work for me or for my customers.
So, if you are a supplier reading this, consider a new opening approach:
The answers to these questions should guide a more productive discussion and relationship for both businesses.
Stop putting newsagents in boxes as that box marked newsagent or newsagency is crumbling fast. It has no future – the old school newsagency that is. The future, for the record, is bright and exciting.
I have spoken to several newsagent / gift shop suppliers at the Sydney Gift Fair about turning on electronic invoices. Through my software company we are helping the suppliers get it right so all retailers can access the files regardless of the software they use. This is exciting as electronic invoices makes suppliers more appealing to small business retailers. Time is money as they say.
I have encouraged the suppliers close to turning this on to use electronic invoices as a marketing pitch in their campaigns through 2016.
This is a good benefit of a trade show like the Gift Fair – the ability to get to suppliers to connect with them on a business to business level and make the pitch – and to have suppliers speak to each other about the benefits of this type of engagement.
As the channel grows and the supplier base diversifies, it is important for all of us to encourage newer suppliers to transact with us in efficient ways we have become used to.
UPDATED 9;44PM 23/2/16.
Here are the official attendance numbers so far for the Sydney Reed Gift Fair:
I have been there on all days and the mix of people has changed. Yesterday, for example, was better attended by corporate gift retailers whereas on the weekend saw better representation by family businesses.
While there are plenty of visitors from interstate, the majority are from NSW/ACT.
What is the RRP? is a common question retailers ask of suppliers when considering an item and I think this is the wrong question to start a conversation with.
I have been talking about this with suppliers at the gift fair in Sydney over the last couple of days. One bemoaned to me about this question for their terrific range of beautiful giftware. The range looks expensive. But it is not expensive, not in the overall scheme of things as the purchase is an emotional one and with emotional purchases price is less of an issue.
Questions I’d love retailers to consider when contemplating new products include:
Asking the RRP as the first question and often the only question denies you the opportunity to consider that, maybe, price is not the issue.
I know of newsagents who have sold items priced at $100, $200 and more that they initially, on first seeing the product, said they could not sell. Price is often not the factor we retailers think it is.
We need to not be the barrier to shoppers spending money with us. We need to do this by being more open to products, more considerate of factors other than price as being more important.
Having products that are not easily compared or that can be packaged in a way to look unique to us is the another way to make price less of an issue.
Buying products for the shop based on price keens the business operating a price based model and while that works for Aldi and the like, it does not work for newsagency businesses where growing margin is important.
Gotch has been promoting the new Built the Millennium Falcon partwork on Twitter:
Check out the TV ad for the new partwork from De Agostini – Build the Millennium Falcon – Part 1 at newsagents now! pic.twitter.com/u2xbrgOXrS
— Gordon and Gotch AUS (@Gordongotch_au) February 22, 2016
Here is a video promoting the Millennium Falcon part series:
This video can be used on Facebook and in-store to bring the opportunity to life.
The Dr Seuss promotion run nationally by News Corp. over the last two weeks has been a terrific success, driving traffic and purchases in response to TV advertising and house ads in the papers.
Aside from the issue in some states of senseless cutting of newspapers supply by News and the appalling margin in most states for the Dr Seuss books at at the heart of the promotion, News has missed an opportunity tholepin newsagents make many times more from this promotion. This is why I say:
Paranoia, selfishness and ignorance deny newsagents achieving a better return on newspaper publisher promotions
Paranoia because News will not share details in a high-profile campaign like this early enough for newsagents to source other product in the same licence.
Selfishness because News only looks at a promotion like this from the perspective of their company when a less selfish approach could make the promotion more profitable for newsagents and therefore drive greater support from them.
Ignorance in that News people have not made themselves adequately aware of the opportunities for newsagents with allied product.
Take the Dr Seuss promotion, given enough time newsagents and / or their marketing groups could have sourced licenced Dr Seuss product to sell alongside the News titles during the promotion. This would have made the promotion more valuable to newsagents. It could have also driven even more newspaper sales than the promotion itself drove.
But these things take time to organise. In the case of Dr Seuss licenced product, given how decisions are made around it. it could have taken at least six months to undertake necessary negotiations. Once newsagents knew that it was a Dr Seuss promotion it was too late. The opportunity was lost.
News and other publishers need to consider more that their products are a piece of a large jigsaw for newsagents. They are no longer a stand alone jigsaw. For them to be genuinely valuable to newsagents we need earlier, more transparent and more thoughtful engagement. Stop worrying about a competitor finding out. When it comes to newspapers in Australia, we don’t have genuine competition – far from it even in two newspaper cities.
While News has in the past briefed some or all the groups on promotions, it is too late for sourcing licenced product that needs to be imported. I’d love to see this change.
This is not a blog post that should anger folks at News. No, they should see this post it as an opportunity to work smarter so newsagents make more money and more deeply engage with their next major licence promotion.
If your sales counter is like that in many independent retail businesses there will be stuck on notes on computer screens and elsewhere, all most likely being ignored. Take them down. Throw them away. De-clutter your side of the counter so you have more attention for your customers.
Business birthdays are important – for you and for your customers. Embrace the opportunity for a celebration. But be sure to not make it all about making more money. Take some time to embrace the achievement and love it.
Here are my tips for celebrating the birthday of any small retail business:
A key aspect of these ideas is to subtly remind people that your business stable and can be trusted.
How are paper bags handed to customers with their purchase? Are the scrunched up? Is the top of the bag left open? Think about it. Make a decision to handle bags, paper bags especially, a certain way, you way, a professional way, a way customers appreciate, a way that respects what you have sold.
Think about. Train your people. Manage the folding of shopper bags professionally and be proud of your point of difference.
I love this move by one of the managers in my store – it is designed to disrupt the sales counter. There is no missing the line that is being promoted on TV at the moment. The placement helps us connect with the TVC.
The Reed Sydney Gift Fair and the Home and Giving Fair kick off today. For plenty it will be a busy few days, up to five for some, navigating the two fairs, looking for new product opportunities.
Change is what people will be looking for, significant change. Differentiation from what we have done in the past is important as is differentiation from what other retailers with which we compete is important.
If you can get to the fairs and have not planned to do so yet, I urge you to go. For inspiration alone it will be well worthwhile.
I will be there for Tower Systems and for newsXpress. Anyone who wants to catch up can call me on 0418 321 338.
In terms of preparing for the fairs, I know newsXpress published two weeks ago a guide to the fairs along with maps and supported by on the ground buying assistance from a team of merchandise experts, ensuing exclusive deals are understood. This is supplemented by a couple of social activities for networking among member newsagents. I expect the other marketing groups will have offered the same services to their members. It is at large fairs like this that marketing groups can show off their point of difference and demonstrate value of membership.
Looking through more than 2,000 photos I have taken at international gift and toy trade shows already this year it is clear we need to be ready for another wave of colouring and adult colouring products.
In addition to the color-in socks pictured, I’ve seen many ranges of colouring cards, place mats, table runners, wallpaper, jewellery, caps, t-shirts, books, books and, yes, books, calendars, plates. You name it there are businesses out there turning it into a colouring opportunity.
I am concerned that some of this product will come to Australia. My concern related to the copycat product. For each terrific product, there are plenty of awful cheap knock-offs, undermining the trend-setter.
As our market is small and we tend to follow launches from overseas, I think we need to be prepared to be pitched a new wave of colouring product.