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

Author: Mark Fletcher

NANA misstates tobacco regulation situation

NANA sent out an email Friday last week saying The Federal Government has introduced a new tobacco standard (called the Competition and Consumer (Tobacco) Information Standard 2011) which will come into effect on 1 December 2013. This statement is not accurate.

As the explanatory statement accompanying the legislation notes, The Standard commences on 1 January 2012, with full implementation from
1 December 2012. The ‘new’ standard was introduced well over a year ago.

NANA’s email agitates around what it says a “new” standard. There is no new standard. The requirement to blend in tobacco packs with new images is not new. It will occur annually.  Newsagents using a just in time approach to inventory management will find that they have the new images in time.  There is a four month cross over period of the old and new pack images.

It is time consuming to manage pack changes in line with the requirements of the legislation – but plain packaging is all part of the government / community commitment to reduce smoking in Australia.

While I understand NANA lobbying to make wholesalers responsible for package compliance, retailers are the last line in ensuring compliance, the public face. I think retailers have to suck it up. I guess that’s easy for me to say – I don’t sell tobacco products in my newsagencies.

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Tobacco sales

Data shows how the Take 5 cash promotion works

This graph shows how the Take 5 campaign cash promotion worked for from Wednesday through to Sunday. The black line shows sales for the week and the red is the average achieved for the previous three weeks.  The graph shows that for the first five days sales were ahead of average.  I am particularly interested in the sales growth achieved Friday and Saturday.

While we did promote this issue more than usual, I am certain that it is the cash promotion that drove sales.

We get hit with different promotions every week and it is hard to give each time in the spotlight. This is one reason I took the time to see the sales impact of this promotion. I plan to do it for more promotions, to build a better knowledge based about the promotions that work and those that don’t work.

I’d encourage other newsagents to do the same. Data provides us the best guidance for what we do in our businesses.

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Newsagency challenges

Terrific pitch for office milk delivery

I love the professional and enticing promotion I received by email, from The Milk Box offering milk delivery to the office. Their pitch was simple and enticing. It makes using them to get milk for the office easy.

I mention this today to show newsagents keen to win office supply business how others pursue promoting to businesses. What The Milk Box is doing is best practice in my view.  I love it.  I particularly love their headline pitch:

Let us do all the hard work.
Office Milk deliveries made easy.

They understand what’s important in organising office staff amenities. Their pitch is a lesson for newsagents chasing the same buyers.

The Milk Box is part of the same business behind the successful The Fruit Box.

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marketing

Feast marketing promotes newsagents

It’s always terrific seeing TV advertising promoting newsagents as a go to retailer for a product. I caught an ad on SBS promoting Feast. newsagents are specifically promoted as one of two retail channels offering the magazine – the other is supermarkets. The ad I saw last night was a reminder to get this latest issue of Feast out beyond food and in front of more shoppers in this first week of the on-sale.

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magazines

Travellers taking fewer of the free newspapers?

The stacks of free newspapers in Qantas Clubs used to be taken quickly with often none left by mid morning.  Over the last year I have noticed more left through the day. Then, yesterday, I noticed in Sydney that early in the evening they had a stack of newspapers placed near the escalator – as you head to your plane. This is a new move, suggesting a challenge to give away all the free newspapers they are allocated.

This is no surprise to those who have migrated to accessing news through their phone or some other mobile device. Paper based news is old and the medium redundant.

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Newspapers

It’s good that the lottery jackpots were won

The last thing newsagencies with lotteries would have wanted this week is a Powerball and / or OzLotto jackpot.

Besides concern that major lottery jackpots redirect cash from product purchases to lottery ticket purchases, there is the impact on the shop floor. Stretched newsagents direct labour to serving lottery customers and away from working the shop fllor. Suppliers, too, are impacted by being turned away as there is no time for appointment.

So, in this week vital to Mother’s Day sales, I reckon many newsagents with lotteries would be relieved that the jackpots went off last week.

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Lotteries

Who knew owls were popular?

We have a range of own related gift lines, more than in the photo. that are popular with our customers. It’s interesting tapping into opportunities like this, around interests such as owls. It’s arise but when you see something work it’s exciting and eye-opening.

We judge success on how quickly we turn a range. For gifts we have a high turn expectation, more than, for example, stationery.

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Gifts

Newsagents worse off with Optus?

Newsagents have been advised new commission rates following the elimination of jenlist as the distributor on behalf of Optus to newsaagnets. rahtre than Optus sharing the benefits of the elimination of a middleman, newsagents have been stung based on correspondence from the company.

Commission on phone sales remains the same but recharge has gone from 8% to 6% for standard recharge.

Anyone complaining to Optus was told to wait for an announcement form the company in a few weeks – curiously timed to come after we’re expected to sign up with the company.

I don’t plan on signing anything until there is clarity from Optus on margin.  Right now we have anything but clarity.

The Business development manager at Optus who is responsible for our channel is busy meeting the associations. I have suggested he would be better off working with newsagents and with marketing groups which have commercial relationships with newsagents.

Right now, Optus is on the back foot taking the business over from Jenlist. They have big shoes to fill and newsagents rightly expect to have a more lucrative arrangement with Optus cutting its costs.

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Newsagent suppliers

Great advice from a customer

One of our Mollie Makes customers suggested other titles to us from the same publisher. She assured me that if we had these as well more of her friends would get them from us.  So, we have sourced three extra titles and let the customer know. It’s small steps like this that build sales outside of the high volume titles and deliver more committed magazine shoppers.

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magazines

Nightlights at the counter break with tradition

We are promoting a cool range of nightlights in our gift department as well as at the counter. besides being a bit of fun, these lights are a point of difference in terms of what shoppers expect to see in a newsagency – especially at the counter.

Our goal is to break free from tradition when it comes to counter lines. Our experience is that people notice non traditional items more.

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Gifts

Newsagency of the Future series started

The free Newsagency of the Future workshop series has started.  Over 2 hours I’ll outline options, explain why newsagents must act today and share insights from those who are acting. The locations are:

  • TODAY: Sydney @ 11am Bonnie Doon Golf Club  (free parking)
  • May 8 Adelaide @ 11am Chifley on South Terrace
  • May 9 Melbourne @ 11am Kooyong Tennis Club  (free parking)
  • May 10 @ 10am Perth Country Comfort Inter City Hotel  (free parking)
  • May 20 @ 11am Canberra Rydges Canberra Capital Hill, Cnr Canberra Ave & National Circuit Forrest ACT 2603 Parking: Onsite parking available $10.00 flat rate
  • May 21 @ 11am Newcastle Crowne Plaza Newcastle, Cnr Merewether St & Wharf Rd Newcastle NSW 2300 Parking: Valet parking $28.00 per day subject to availability or free street parking.
  • May 22 @ 11am Albury Hotel On Olive, 579 Olive St Albury NSW 2640 Parking: Free parking
  • May 23 @ 10am Geelong Four Points By Sheraton Geelong; 10-14 Eastern Beach Rd Geelong VIC 3220 Parking: Cunningham Pier 3min walk to venue $7.00 per day
  • May 24 @ 11am Hobart Mercure Hotel Hobart, 156 Bathurst St, Hobart TAS 7000 Parking: Onsite underground parking available at a cost of $1.00 per hour.
  • May 28 @ 10am Gold Coast Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa, 158 Ferny Ave Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 Parking: Free Onsite parking available
  • May 29 @ 11am Cairns Pullman Cairns International, 17 Abbott St Cairns QLD 4870 Parking: Valet Parking $20.00 per day or free street parking
  • May 30 @ 10am Darwin Mantra Pandanas, 43 Knuckey St Darwin NT 0814 Parking: Onsite parking $15.00 Per day

Click here to book online or email bookings@towersystems.com.au. This session is open to all newsagents and suppliers.

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newsagency of the future

Disconnect between newspaper publishers and retail newsagents

The frustration among some retail only newsagents re the price rise from News Limited on Saturday could have been avoided has the company established direct communication with these retailers. Without geting in the way of the day to day distribution relationship between distribution newsagents and retail newsagents, a publisher / retailer relationship could help the newsagents and their customers.

Had I not received direct advice form News, at least one of my newsagencies would not have known about the price rise – the distribution newsagent is as appalling with such things as with allocation.

Other benefits could flow from such a direct relationship – like working together on retail customer loyalty programs that lock these customers into a more regular purchase of the newspaper.

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Newspaper distribution

Hallmark Signature range a hit for Mother’s Day

We have seen excellent sales of the Hallmark Signature range of greeting cards for Mother’s Day. This range is separately branded, thereby helping draw attention to Signature cards we have in-store as part of our everyday card range.

So far we’re on a par with Mother’s Day last year for cards and way ahead with gifts.  This is in part due to a broader range of gists for the season this year. We’re aiming for a strong finish to the season.

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Greeting Cards

One Direction versus The Wanted

We are tapping into the competition (faux or real) between One Direction an,d The Wanted with placement of magazines with the boy bands on the covers. We;re yet to see sales of any boy band related titles kick off this year to even close to the volumes of last year with One Direction.

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magazines

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: count the business cards you go through

I was in Queenstown in New Zealand recently and used taxis several times. Just abut every time, the taxi driver gave me their card and told be how much they or their partner would love to take me back to the hotel out of town. By the end of the couple of days I had a collection of cards. The experience reminded me of the importance of business cards and of asking for business.

One way to check your progress on promoting your business by handing out business cards is by counting them. Set a weekly goal and engage your whole team to have out the cards.  You could even have an offer or at least a pitch for your business on the cards. Tell people why you’d like them to shop at your shop.

The Queenstown taxi drivers hand out cards because they know it works. it could work as well for newsagencies.

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marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: compare suppliers

Use your newsagency software to compare suppliers. This is easy to create a report. I do it for my newsagencies, especially for magazines and gifts.

For magazines I compare like for like titles: Woman’s Day and New Idea, Take 5 and That’s Life etc. This quickly identifies if one title is performing differently to a direct competitor.

For gifts I compare everything from one supplier with everything from another. I look at space allocation and investment in inventory. The comparison can help me decide which supplier to focus on.

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marketing tip

Newsagent frustration at lack of price change notice

Retail only newsagents expressed frustration and anger yesterday at the lack of notice on the price change to the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph. I heard from half a dozen retail only agents who had not been told.

At one of my shops one customer said this was the last time they’s buy the Herald Sun on a Saturday because of the price rise. It won’t be. This is the same customer who complains if they have to wait behind even one customer to pay for the paper and says they’ll never be back.

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Newspapers

Better Homes the weekend promotion

This latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens is selling very well so we’re pushing even harder with it the only title between our two major daily newspapers. Usually, we’d have two titles here but we stripped it back in the hope of even better sales for BHG.

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magazines

Woolworths shows what a poor corporate citizen it is & why schools should support local independent retailers

Check out the story from the ABC two days ago about Woolworths a decision to give a local school supplies to the value of $2,700 as a reward for diving spending of $460,000 by people connected with the school community.

Woolworths was not going to reward the school because of an issue with the claim by the school.

I m shocked that Woolworths is so stingy. I am sure that had local independent retailers been delivered more $460,000 in sales by people connected with the school these businesses would have rewarded the school to a much higher value.

The newsagent who brought this to my attention is offering a reward of $1 for each $20 spent. The Woolworths reward equals $1 for each $170 spent.

This is the difference between big business and small business. To me it looks like the Woolworths campaign is a promotion for them more so than a fund raiser for the school whereas in small business, campaigns connected with local schools and community groups are usually more about them than the retailer.

Schools and community groups should support small business newsagents and other retailers and expect to do better than the paltry sum from Woolworths.

It frustrates me that we in small business do more as a percentage of revenue for our local communities than big business yet are recognised less. Do we do it for recognition? Ultimately, yes for it is this recognition that drives sales and its sales that are vital to supporting local groups.

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Ethics

Doorstops a hit for Mother’s Day

On a hunch we sourced an extensive range of doorstops, more than twenty styles / designs, for Mother’s Day and for our gift department through winter. On the shop floor for less that a week, the doorstops are selling a treat. We have traditional styles like the two in the photo as well as owls and other animals.

We’ve had success with doorstops before and, curiously, that was during the colder months too.

What I’ve found is having a broad range is key. The choice is appreciated. It can also lead to a second purchase or a word of mouth recommendation to a friend. We have also found that offering doorstops themed in other interests – cats, dogs, retro – also works.

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Gifts

Promoting Symply Too Good To Be True 7

We’re promoting Simply Too Good To be True 7, the latest cookbook and health guide from Annette Sym with this aisle end display as well as a range of all the titles in with our food titles.

The Symply brand is strong in newsagencies and it responds well to promotion like this. I’d urge newsagents to get behind issue #7 as publicity is in full swing.

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magazines

Promoting brand Britain

The Union Jack is an excellent retail brand right now and we’re embracing it with this counter located display and displays elsewhere for shoppers to discover.

By tapping into products from several suppliers based around a single brand we are able to tell a deeper story and drive a more efficient basket – more items per sale.

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Gifts

Helpful Friday magazine delivery

Here’s a reason I don’t want to lose the Friday magazine delivery. As I mentioned yesterday we experienced a surge in sales of Take 5 and That’s Life Wednesday. We ordered extra stock and this arrived today. I’m confident we will end the seven days on-sale with an excellent sales up-lift result, a result we could not have achieved had we not had a Friday magazine delivery.

We have been supporting this issue of Take 5 with an off-location display facing all shoppers as they approach our main sales counter – successfully chasing impulse purchases.

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magazines

A masculine Mother’s Day pitch from Kenny’s Cardiology

I am surprised with the Mother’s Day Promotion at Kenny’s Cardiology outlets. The poster doesn’t connect with the warmth of the season. It also puts a fictional mum in a semi crime type look whereas Mother’s Day is all about our mums and mums we know.

The Kenny’s pitch feels too masculine / butch for what is a feminine season. Has anyone else see this and if so what did you think?

In my newsagencies we are 100% focused on mums of our customers for Mother’s Day. We’re connected with fund raising. We have products we know our shoppers will want for their mums and we are using our Mother’s day cards themselves as the focus of our shop floor displays.

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Greeting Cards

Officeworks is tougher competition for newsagents

I have been in three different Officeworks stores recently and each showed that this group is on the move. They are making a personal pitch around local management, providing better in-store service and they are strongly promoting their kids club: Ollie kids’ club.

One store I went to provided we with an excellent customer service experience. In fact, it was this experience that made we take more careful note about how much the Officeworks offer had changed.

Newsagents who have not been into an Officeworks store in six months should make the trip to check out the competition. This retail chain has lifted their game, they are even tougher competition for newsagents.

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Stationery
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