Westfield has a promotion where shoppers spending $150 in a day get a three month magazine subscription. Given the titles this looks like a Bauer partnership.
I wish the promotion was supportive of newsagents in the centres – allowing people who qualify to collect putaways of their selected titles in their local Westfield located newsagency for three issues.
I encourage newsagents to put Healthy Heartwise magazine in the spotlight as the Maggie Beer overshot is timely with her featuring on the MasterChef TV show this week. This is a magazine you could feature outside of food and health titles – maybe net to newspapers or with the weeklies.
The current issue of Mindfood magazine is worth putting in the spotlight thanks to there Melissa McCarthy cover. Melissa is getting plenty of media coverage and she has a new movie out. Her cover shot is an opportunity to promote Mindfood to people who may not usually pick this title up.
News Corp. has announced it is shutting mX, its free daily newspaper in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in two weeks. This move is a recognition by the company of evolving news and information consumption habits, particularly in the commuter space in which mX operated.
While newsagents are not directly affected, there could be an opportunity for those serving commuters for later afternoon newspaper sales.
Magazine Publishers Australia (MPA) has announced the pilot program to trial proposed new magazine supply rules will commence next month. While the ACCC has made no announcement since the conference a month ago, the MPA was granted interim authorisation by the ACCC and ti is this which enables them to proceed.
I am disappointed that despite their claim to want to understand newsagent concerns and to work with newsagents, the MPA has not made any steps to do this other than whatever it does through the ANF, the body all newsagents speaking on this issue at the ACCC disagreed with.
At the heart of the ANF endorsement is their claim for the need of data. As I showed in a video a couple of days ago, newsagents have excellent data on magazine oversupply. For more information on why I think the pilot is inappropriate at this time see this video.
Here is the press release from the MPA announcing the pilot:
MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS AND DISTRIBUTORS PARTNER FOR A NEWSAGENTS PILOT
25TH OF MAY 2015Under the ACCC guidance, Magazine Publishers Australia (MPA) and Magazine Distributors – Gordon & Gotch and Network Services have partnered to conduct a Newsagents pilot in 20 stores.
The 20 stores chosen, which represent a wide variety of newsagents, will start the pilot early June 2015. The aim of the pilot is to create a new efficient supply model for magazines. The pilot stores’ results will help shape a proposed code of conduct for distributors and publishers within the newsagency channel.
Mary Ann Azer, MPA Executive Director said, “This pilot is the first of its kind. It represents a large investment in resources whether time or money to improve magazines in newsagencies. MPA members sell over 50 million copies of magazines to newsagents annually and our aim is support newsagents to become a destination shop. ”
Alf Maccioni, CEO of the Australian Newsagents Federation, the industry body representing 2300 newsagents across Australia, said: “We support any measure that will help newsagents increase their profitability within the magazine category. Magazines supply have been a legacy issue that to date has not been resolved. From this trial we believe that we will be able to obtain some valuable data that the ANF will share amongst its members. We are pleased that all parties have demonstrated a resolve to fix this issue”
All newsagents want is fairness in magazine supply. If they are to be held responsible for their indebtedness to magazine companies they must have the ability to control this level of indebtedness. If they are to be competitive with supermarkets, petrol and convenience, they bust have control facilities which provide this. This pilot program is not trialling any magazine supply rule changes to give newsagents these things.
I note the ANF CEO claiming 2,300 members. Their Communications head says they have 2,000 members. regardless of the number, they have not sought the views of these newsagents before deciding a position on behalf of them.
Financial year diaries are important to newsagencies as we are the first place many shoppers shop. Compared to Back to School when people come to us last, I am finding that for financial year diaries plenty come to us first. They represent terrific business sin terms of destination traffic and basket-deepening impulse purchases.
For a modest inventory investment and space commitment the return is well worth it.
What do others think?
The Thomas Dux supermarket near where I live is closing and for two weeks they have had this sign in the front window. I like the advance notice they provided, the photo of the team and the invitation to visit the team members at other Thomas Dux locations.
Kudos to whoever is responsible for this messaging. They have got it right.
Too often, shops close without notice, leaving shoppers feeling bewildered.
Qantas has announced the availability of easy access to 4,000 newspapers and magazines for up to 24 hours before a flight through a relationship with PressReader. Once you download a title you have access for 12 hours on your device.
This is a disruptive action by Qantas that could ultimate impact the number of free newspapers picked up by travellers at departure lounges. As a regular traveller, I welcome the move.
Personally, what I especially like is that I will be able to access titles such as the Wall Street Journal.
Newsagents with lotteries tell me customers are talking about the claims in the news this week by Geelong area Powerball syndicate members who claim they were dudded by the person who purchased their tickets.
Some say the reports are impacting on syndicate sales in the lead up to tomorrow’s $50M Powerball jackpot.
I’m writing about it here to open a thread for newsagents who would like to comment about this.
With News Corp. using newsagent sales data to set newspaper supplies newsagents need to be careful about tacking newspaper sales. I urge all newsagents to review how they sell newspapers.
Scanning each newspaper will provide the most accurate result.
Using a hot key to record a newspaper sale will be okay as long as you have the right barcode associated with the hot key. Talk with your software company about this.
Ignoring this move by News Corp. could result in their system having inaccurate data and this could lead to inappropriate allocations.
I was surprised to see this header card promoting the Bauer Reader rewards program in a newsagency recently as I thought it had died a natural death. A Bauer insider told me a three months ago the company was pulling the program for lack of return on investment. I didn’t write about it at the time as I thought I’d wait and see. Having not seen any promotion in-store as I visit newsagencies I figured it was being quietly withdrawn. Then, a couple of days ago, I was in one newsagency where it is given good real estate. hence my question: Does the Bauer’s Reader Rewards program have a future? With small up-take in the channel and apparent limited shopper engagement I wonder how much longer it can continue.
I encourage newsagents to give the current issue of Australian Country Style magazine time in the spotlight to make the most of the free notebook packaged with the title. Showing this gift off will drive sales of the title as it has done so in the past. We have it placed at the entrance to our main magazine aisle.
We bought a pack of these ugly dolls at a terrific discount and instead of selling them at suggested retail for a bonus margin, we decided to price them for quick sale and to place them on the main path to the counter. reflecting the price and the opportunity we did nothing special for the display or sign. Shoppers pick them up and talk about them, the label Ugly Dolls does the trick.
On the issue of how to handle items you purchase at a considerable discount off wholesale – my usual advice is to keep the bonus margin for yourself. Sometimes, however, it makes sense to pass on the saving, to position your business as a valuable place to shop. Sometimes, too, it makes sense to embrace product names that can come across as rude or in your face to get people to notice them.
The CEO of the ANF says the ANF supports the MPA pilot of new magazine supply rules for newsagents to gather data on magazines in newsagencies. The CEO ignores the considerable data set already available in newsagencies. Here’s a new 11 minute video from me outlining some of the data available.
This video illustrates that as a channel we have all the data necessary to support our claim of unfair treatment of magazine supply.
It galls me that our suppliers and the association that ought to be representing newsagents ignore this data.
We have this data because the magazine distributors themselves required us to gather it and provide it to them.
If the ANF consulted with newsagents as it claims to it would have known this data is available. Instead, it falls into line with the distributors and fails its members along the way.
Our sales history for Rocco La Bella titles is not good yet despite this Network sends us six copies of the new title. We gave his title a go initially but lost money. It disadvantages us that we cannot say no to a title and that it is sent despite poor sales history. Shame on you Network Services.
We know Donna Hay magazine with a free tea towel sells well so we are making the most of the opportunity by spreading the title across two pockets – ensuring the value of the gift with purchase is leveraged.
We are promoting Better Homes and Gardens and the BHG branded Your Knitting and Crochet Collection next to each other in each location in-store. They are a natural fit. Placement next to each supports each title and the two as a package.
I like the bagged offer with the current issue of Take 5 magazine as it makes sense to me – the inclusion of their Take 5 fiction title as a sampler with the main title. This type of bundling should help grow sales as opposed to some other bundling which makes no apparent sense.
This morning I made another submission to the ACCC on the issue of magazine supply, encouraging them to collect data to assess the fairness of the newsagent supply model versus the supply model used for our competitors. Here is the full text of the letter:
Magazine Publishers of Australia application A91472
While this letter is written on behalf of newsXpress newsagents, it is written with my experience serving in excess of 1,800 newsagents using the Tower Systems newsagency software and with the support of many other newsagents who have contacted me on this matter.
The model under which newsagents are supplied magazines compared to their competitors competitively disadvantages newsagents.
The disadvantage newsagents suffer will not alter from the implementation of a Distribution Code of Conduct as promoted by the Magazine Publishers of Australia (MPA) and proposed to be piloted as outlined in their Application A91472.
The application by the MPA to the ACCC opens for consideration the various models of supply of magazines in Australia.
For the ACCC to make an informed decision and to consider the public benefit of any change, we submit that the ACCC needs to undertake a thorough assessment of magazine supply.
The current magazine distribution model used by the distributors for newsagents is the same model that existed prior to deregulation in 1999. The model used for competitors of newsagents is one established post deregulation. The two models are quite different. Gordon and Gotch on their corporate website provides insights into how it works with two competitors of newsagents:
In their application, the MPA submits that it needs data to assess proposed changes. We say the MPA has access to all the data it needs to assess the situation in which small business newsagents find themselves.
We suspect that competitors of newsagents receive magazines through a set of rules, processes and commercial arrangements that competitively advantage them and that this could not be achieved if newsagents were treated the same. We suspect the treatment of newsagents enables publishers and distributors to treat newsagent competitors more favorably. We think there is data available to support this claim.
We urge the ACCC to request from the magazine distributors, Gordon and Gotch and Network Services, the following data points per magazine title distributed over the last year, tabulated in a spreadsheet to enable easy sorting and analysis.
This data will enable comparison of sell-through efficiency by channel. It will also illustrate the range of titles supplied to each channel and the relative volume by channel, enabling an assessment of viability.
We urge the ACCC to request from the magazine distributors statements outlining how title ranges and issue supply allocations are set for each of their main retail channels: newsagents, supermarkets and petrol and convenience.
We urge the ACCC to request from magazine distributors and publishers details by title and by retail channel the wholesale price, stocking fee, marketing fee, returns processing fee and any other discount or financial support provided in any form.
We urge the ACCC to request from magazine distributors statements regarding returns processing requirements by retail channel: who counts returns and when and who pays for this; are returns physically returned?; when are returns credited?
We are confident that the information outlined above will demonstrate a less competitive model used for newsagents compared to other retailers.
Despite claims by magazine distributors and publishers, newsagents cannot control the range of titles they receive nor the volume of each issue they receive.
While the magazine distributors hold newsagents accountable for their level of indebtedness, they offer newsagents little ability to actually control their level of indebtedness.
Newsagents want to run commercial and competitive businesses. The current magazine supply model to them makes them uncompetitive in the magazine category. There is nothing in the proposal from the MPA that will improve the competitiveness of newsagents.
Yesterday, I searched for stationery using my phone and while there are three newsagencies less than 1km from where I was standing, none appeared in the results. This is not uncommon. I do searches like this when I travel and it is rare a newsagency appears in the results.
If your business does not come up in mobile device search results you are missing business.
Each of us can do this search for our own businesses and we can fix any deficiency our search reveals – yet too many do not do this.
Whether we come up in search results or not is 100% on us.
Can you find your business?
I chose stationery for my search because newsagents are quick to complain about stationery wholesalers. If your business cannot be found by the millions of Australians who search for products online you need to fix that before complaining about your suppliers.
Make sure your business can be found and make it easier for new traffic to beat a path to your door.
On the Run is a strong petrol and convenience group in South Australia. Their tag line is compelling: we never close! This must be confronting for newsagents nearby to OTR outlets as they offer more newsagency lines. Their magazine range is broader than is usual for a petrol or convenience outlet. They have lotteries too. Plus bread and other daily staples. I’ve also seen cards and some gift lines.
I am not sure when they first got lotteries or how the move was ‘sold’ to newsagents. The OTR approach is far superior to what 7-Eleven did and what Coles Express has in some stores.
To me, the best approach for competing with OTR is to not swim in the same ocean, to not play in the convenience space.
The best place for us to attract Facebook followers for our businesses is outside our businesses. I use Facebook to attract new shoppers more so than for speaking with existing shoppers. That goal was behind a boosted post over the weekend when I pitched three magazines aimed at mums: Practical Parenting, Mother & Baby and Fete Kids.
Reaching 3,694 Facebook users nearby to the shop over two days for a few dollars was worthwhile. It is part of a regular campaign to pitch the business to people who don’t shop with us today, to drive new traffic.
It is important to me to run these micro marketing campaigns for some of our core products, like magazines. When I do promote magazines, I tend to focus at least in part on titles not available in the supermarkets in the shopping centre.
While magazine publishers prefer to see us create billboard type displays in our shops, I think promotions like I have just done on Facebook are far more valuable for the newsagency and the magazines we sell.
While the margin we make from newspapers is too small, the traffic is good. In addition to placing newspapers further into the business, I encourage newsagents to think carefully about what they place next to newspapers, to make the most of the traffic.
This photo shows the placement in one of my newsagencies as at yesterday. On the right of daily newspapers we have foreign language newspapers. Immediately on the left we have a Pacific Magazines stand pitching five popular titles. Next to that we have the Hallmark Avengers range.
As with all good floor placements, we change adjacencies with newspapers regularly – to make the most of the traffic.
One of the best places to promote locally made products in-store is with the products themselves – using a small shelf talker to call out that the products are locally made. A simple small sign like this can get people who want to support local artists and suppliers considering products they may have overlooked. This sign is a great way to market inside your newsagency.
Click here to access free retail marketing artwork from Tower Systems – no login required, no personal details collected.
Since newsagencies are regarded by Australians as the quintessential local business, a strong local community connection is vital. Here are practical ideas for improving the community connection in your newsagency:
It takes hard work and persistence to successfully pitch and genuinely live the local message. It needs to permeate your entire business. Get it right and the locals will support you.