Our school holiday promotion of the Top Model range has been working well. This promotion is being run at the counter toward the front of the shop.
We have also placed the Top Model magazine in the display with good success. Indeed, it’s good to get magazine and higher GP sales from the one brand.
Our overall Top Model product sales are also being helped by the free manicure set on offer for purchases over $50.
I love the sign one of our team members created of their own accord to go above the soft toy snakes we have in-store. The sign is different to what you often see drawing attention to products in a newsagency. The red and yellow colour choice cuts through. It also projects a bit of fun and that’s important for things like these snakes that are not a destination for our shoppers.
I am told that the ATO has around two million tax packs printed and ready for use and that they are not using newsagents to distribute these because only between 20% and 25% of those we distributed in the past were submitted as tax returns.
When challenged about the paltry $8 fee we have been paid to distribute 400 postcards, put up a sign and answer customer questions, I am told that this figure was set between the ATO and the magazine distributor, that it was allowed for in a contract between the two parties.
The decision to send out postcards and not the packs was about saving money. The result has been to push onto small business newsagents considerable cost, having us spend our money covering what should be an ATO funded service.
I’d be interested in knowing the fee the magazine distributor got for their part in the ATO tax pack mess.
Based on the questions I know are being asked in my own newsagencies it is clear there remains strong interest in easy taxpayer access to the tax packs. I’d suggest a metric of completed returns versus tax packs in circulation is not ideal since people used the tax packs for more than completing their return.
It is not too late for the ATO to change its mind and distribute the tax packs. My suggestion would be that they distribute a smaller allocation, say 50%. This would provide relief for taxpayers and newsagents. A smaller allocation could be part of a better publicised phase out of paper based tax returns.
The current situation is appalling. It shows how out of touch management at the ATO is when it comes to customer service.
Saving money for the ATO by pushing a significant customer service obligation on to newsagents without fair compensation is disgusting. I’d suggest that the ATO approach on this matter is a breach of their Taxpayers’ Charter a charter that includes:
It is fundamental to the system of self assessment that taxpayers must have sufficient confidence in the collecting authority—confidence that we will provide them with the information they need and that we will act fairly and treat taxpayers according to their individual circumstances. We believe we need to position ourselves in such a way that demonstrates to Australians that we are fair and reasonable and that we treat people according to their individual compliance behaviour.
We have the life-size Ironman cardboard cutout located at the end of our main magazine aisle attracting attention down to our men’s magazines as well as our technology related magazines. You can’t miss Ironman from part way into the store. We have him placed here not only to draw traffic to the rear of the store but also to drive sales of the expanded cardboard cutout range.
Click on the image if you’d like to see a larger version.
We are promoting the latest issue of Men’s Health magazine with this aisle end placement in our men’s section.
We have Coach located in the display because it’s a Pacific Magazines stablemate of Men’s Health and the two often sell well together in the one basket FYI.
While book retailers have their challenges, US book retailer Barnes & Noble have additional challenges as Laura Hazard Owen writes at paidContent.
Writing at Editor & Publisher, John K Hartman, professor of journalism at Central Michigan University, says that frequency reductions for daily newspapers do not work. This is interesting because of the speculation as to what is next for some Australian daily newspapers.
I am sure people in newspaper publishing companies here are looking at what has been tried in the US and elsewhere. Hartman’s assessment would be of interest to them. Some of his comments mirror those of Greg Hywood, Fairfax CEO – that they will continue to publish as long as the numbers work. Right now for most Fairfax titles, the economic model is more a function of the demographic of their typical reader than sheer circulation volume.
My view is that it’s essential for newsagents is for to control when you get out of newspapers rather than someone else deciding this for you.
We have the postcard advising taxpayers how to access the Tax Pack in the location where we would usually have the tax pack available. I am yet to decide how long we leave the postcards here since the $8 we are receiving is not paying for this space. We have to balance the disrespect for us with our desire to serve our customers. suspect it’s newsagent customer service that led to us being ripped off over the Tax Packs.
We are promoting The Block one-shot with this placement on the lease line as well as prime location with newspapers deeper in-store. This premium exposure puts the title in front of the maximum number of our shoppers. We’re competing with five other retailers in our centre.
We’re promoting the latest issue of Prevention magazine with this in-location display as well as a placement of the display unit at the counter. The counter placement will change at the end of the week to a run with weekly magazines. Prevention responds well in our store to off-location support at the counter and elsewhere.
News Limited has announced an across the board increase of 25% for it’s capital city Sunday newspapers except for The Sunday Tasmanian which will experience a 10% price increase.
The price rise takes effect from July 21.
For almost fifteen years newsagents called on News Limited to increase cover prices with no success. It’s only when sales started to seriously decline that the company acted. Now, newsagents are wondering if recent rises, including this one for Sunday titles, are too much. Several newsagents contacted me yesterday saying they expect sales to fall.
Customer responses to recent newspaper price increases suggest that there will be plenty of complaints. As for lost sales – I expect there will be some. I think we are approaching a tipping point, a price point beyond which customers will not pay for a print newspaper.
It’s disappointing that the announcement from News also heralds a decline, albeit small, in newsagent margin.
I have recently been through a Fair Work Ombudsman facilitated mediation for one of my retail businesses and the experience was a reminder of the importance of record keeping.
While I can’t go into the detail of the specific situation, the ultimate resolution of the matter was helped by having access to records not only covering the usual data such as hours worked and pay rates but also other material.
Based on this experience I’d suggest that newsagents keep notes in employee files covering:
It is worth taking the time to keep this information for the one rare time you will need it.
If you are not sure about awards or conditions, call Fair Work – I’ve found their people to be knowledgable and helpful.
Newsagents need to make sure they handle the frequency change of Picture magazine from a weekly to fortnightly properly. If care is not taken, data errors could flow. If you;re not sure, check with your software supplier.
I like the change of delivery day notice provided by Gotch for newsagents to display for partworks customers. Since many of these are regular customers, having such a heads up notice helps us provide better customer service.
We have this notice placed next to our partworks section.
Network Services is gearing up to increase split deliveries for more selected high volume titles. However, they will not provide split deliveries to newsagents identified in their XchangeIT data as servicing sub agents. Split deliveries do not work as desired where a newsagent is servicing sub agents.
Newsagents with sub agents need to ensure they are use their newsagency software property for their sub agent situation to be taken into account.
On Saturday I saw another example of how what I call our front-ending loyalty approach benefits us and helps our customers. It’s based on using the Discount Vouchers facility in our software as opposed to the old approach of a VIP, points based, card.
A teenage boy purchased the airfreight edition of Doctor Who magazine for $17.50. This was a destination purchase. From when he entered the shop to returning to the counter with the purchase took no more than 90 seconds. When I gave him the receipt I pointed out the voucher on it offering $1.75 off the next purchase within the next 28 days. As I watched him leave the shop I noticed, mum, dad and another kid waiting for him. He showed them the receipt with the voucher. There was a brief discussion followed by dad coming in with the son. They soon returned to the counter with PC Powerplay Special #2 for $9.20 – after taking off $1.75.
The dad told me they are not regular shoppers in the centre. They stopped in for some suppliers on their way through for a family holiday a couple of hours away. Our front-ending loyalty approach generated an additional purchase for us. Instead of making $4.37 GP on the first magazine, we made $5.36 across two titles. I’d rather do this and have the family talking about what they saved with us than selling just one magazine and not having them talking about us.
Whether newsagents engage with this type of promotion is up to them. I share this story as another example of how this fresh approach to loyalty is working and how it is enabling me to connect with customers in a way that a traditional points based loyalty program cannot.
Footnote: The Discount Vouchers facility is available to anyone using the Tower Systems newsagency software or any software with the same facilities.
Being in a shopping centre presents us with many opportunities during school holidays. The centre fills with kids and families passing time. We make the most of the opportunity by moving stock that will appeal to the changed traffic. One move is the placement of stickers at the front of the newsagency. They attract shoppers and are a terrific and good-value basket builder.
Moves like this help newsagencies drive an above average basket value.
We have been promoting Batman Automobilia partwork launch with this aisle end placement. It’s working well, driving traffic and sales.
What I like about this particular partwork, beyond it being about batman (my favourite superhero) is it’s cross-generational appeal. On Saturday I saw a dad and his son discussing collecting the series together.
We’d been selling the Robo Fish for a few weeks before the TV campaign kicked in. As soon as we knew it was on air we moved the display and added the sign AS SEEN ON TV. Sales took off and I’d say this is because of the TV campaign.
The red sign was to reinforce it, as if to say – yes this what you saw on TV.
We have plenty of products in our newsagencies that are promoted in TV campaigns. Rather than promoting all of them like this, we choose the products with a point of difference, products out of the ordinary that people will remember, like these Robo Fish.
The TV campaign connection works at driving new traffic as well as getting existing shoppers considering the items.
This type of engagements starts with us being aware of what is on TV. Some supplies supply us (thank you!) while for others we need to find out for ourselves.
FYI, we downloaded the AS SEEN ON TV sign from the internet. It’s a common graphic representation of this – something people recognise.
We had these touch gloves in prime position for a few weeks without success. We moved them on and cut the price 25%. If we don’t see a response this week we’ll got to 50% and place them in another location.
We are unemotional about quitting products that are not delivering a required return. We’ve worked this figure out for our business based on our own situation. The numbers guide our actions.
I write this to encourage other newsagents to do the same. Look at your data and act in your best interests.
I see to many newsagents push back on taking this approach for sale or return products. I think sale or return terms make us lazy and suppliers, especially gift and related suppliers, know this and that’s why they offer them.
Retail really is about the numbers. Products not meeting minimum requirements have no place in your shop – the longer you keep them the harder it is for you to meet your numbers. Just abut any computer system can easily identify what’s not selling quickly enough in your newsagency.
Footnote: the touch gloves are a terrific product. They’re just not right for us.
We have placed the new cake decorating cookbook from AWW next to the latest issue of the Cake Decorating partwork – directly below weekly magazines. They both appeal to the same customer – someone not shopping our cookbook aisle.
Unable to sell their newsagency, Lance and Barb Barrett decided to close their business, the only newsagency in downtown Coolum.
While not commenting on these specific circumstances, I’d note … The challenges facing newsagents in Australia are not new. All of us need to act on the challenges, as early as possible, putting our needs ahead of the demands of suppliers. The saleability of any newsagency and the price it achieves is a function of its real profitability.
OfficeMax, the US owned stationery business which is growing its presence in Australia, in part aided by some newsagents buying from them, is focusing more on small business customers with plans to open of a smaller format store in Chicago according to the Chicago Tribune.
While it may not be evident yet, the stationery category in Australia is in play in my view. Newsagents are losing more school booklist business, more newsagents are buying from US wholesalers – Staples and OfficeMax, Staples is strengthening its direct to consumer reach and the nature of stationery being sold is changing with the greater embrace of digital.
Here the latest Newsagency of the Future workshop as posted a few days ago but with better sound.
Newsagents tell me plenty of customers were disgusted with the ad stuck over the photo of one of the insulation installation victims on the front page of The Courier Mail yesterday.
Here is front page of The Courier Mail with the News Limited ad promoting home delivery subscriptions stuck over a photo.
The placement almost looks deliberate. It’s disrespectful in my view. I am surprised no one at News Limited noticed this.
Here is the front page of The Courier Mail without the News Limited ad. You can see the photo of one of the insulation installation victims.
What’s happened here illustrates how News Limited regards news versus advertising. Their action damages their brand.
As a retailer I don’t like the trash from these stuck on ads. As someone who’s been told by publishers for years that the front page of the newspaper is the best selling tool I say what gives now? As a consumer of news I say these ads make me less respect the newspapers that use them.