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

Author: Mark Fletcher

While News Limited failed, for the moment, at newspaper home delivery consolidation, a group of newsagents have succeeded

Long before the aborted trial of T2020 in Queensland, one distribution newsagent group was ahead when it came to consolidation. Through T2020 they continued and right now they handle the daily delivery of more than 100,000 newspapers.  You read it right – 100,000+ newspapers, every day.

There is a model here addressing management and operational challenges real time, embracing learnings that newsagents and publishers could benefit from.

While News works on the next incarnation of T2020, I hope they look at this model which has been working and growing for years. To me it seems to address their needs – if only they’d let it.

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Newspaper distribution

A broader Mother’s Day range drives sales

While Mum is the main caption focus on Mother’s Day products and cards, the top seller, we are enjoying excellent, early, success with Grandma, Gran and Nanna. I stress early in that it’s the Mother’s Day products targeted at the older mother that sell first – maybe because the gifts need to be sent a distance or maybe because we don’t have as many.

Having noticed that the older targeted captioned products sell out early, this year we ordered more – and we ordered a broader range products. In addition to Mother’s Day specific products, we brought in several ranges of all year round products that work for the older gift recipient on Mother’s Day.  They are selling out too. We’re thrilled.

Our goal is to be the go-to seasonal store outside of the discount stores in our shopping centre for premium lines – that is, lines that are not discounted, neap and nasty.  We change this for major seasons by:

  • Going out early.
  • Having a broad range of quality product.
  • Ensuring greeting cards are core to our offer.
  • Using the entire front of the store to focus on the season.
  • Changing the display at least once a week.
  • Introducing new product part way through the season.
  • Always offering a shopper prize for one of our customers.

We’re on track to beat Mother’s Day 2012 for cards and gifts by more than 20% and this is in part due to the broader range of gifts especially serving gift giving for older mums.

Footnote: There is good evidence that terrific Mother’s Day gift story drives card sales.

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Gifts

No exclusive period for AWW cookbooks from Bauer

Further to my recent post, I have this week seen another example of Bauer suppling an AWW cookbook title, sweet things, to Woolworths at the same time as newsagents.

The exclusive-to-newsagents period Bauer (then ACP) provides newsagents with was a good and much appreciated commercial advantage for us. It gave us an excellent opportunity for sales ahead of sales in supermarkets. It differentiated us.  With this exclusivity window gone it sees us treated as the same as Woolworths by Bauer.

I wish Bauer announced their change in position on this to us. This goes for all suppliers who take something – a benefit, an opportunity –  away from their customers. They should be transparent about good and bad. When they are not, trust is justifiably diminished.

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magazine distribution

Retail should close all Anzac Day

Anzac Day is like Australia Day. Aussies like to be home, at the pub or enjoying outdoors at a BBQ. Most of them don’t want to be shopping. Those of us in a major shopping centre don’t have the luxury of choosing to not open. It’s expensive and usually loss-making.  Politicians supporting families would declare these two days non-retail days … we’d all benefit.

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retail

Great way to promote your retail business

Check out the front window of a bike shop I saw in Launceston last week.  The folks at Cycle Torque and Coffee in Launceston and promoting the many benefits of owning a bike to passers-by in the street.  I think this is an excellent pitch. It certainly gets the benefits message in front of more people than they would otherwise if they only promoted this in-store.

There are products we sell in our newsagencies that we could promote this way. While window signs are expensive, there are alternatives we could use to take benefits messages from deep in our shop and promote them to shoppers in the street.

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marketing

Collingwood cards lead AFL card range sales

The Collingwood cards in the excellent Hallmark AFL card range have sold out in my stores in advance of additional stock arriving. This is an excellent result. Indeed, the entire range is selling well and generating good traffic thanks to solid word of mouth from customers.  Products like this, connecting with much passion among shoppers and those they buy for, are vital to our businesses.

These hallmark AFL licenced cards, the AFL beanie Kids – they are two excellent products supporting each other and making our newsagency a go-to place. The success is an example of the value of connecting products from multiple suppliers.

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Greeting Cards

Promoting frankie and the gift paper book

We’re promoting the bold looking latest issue of frankie magazine and the frankie gift paper book with ideal placement in our women’s magazine aisle. Both titles stand out compared to the sea of colour in the aisle. Placing them next to each other is key to driving maximum success.

frankie is growth title – promote it and you are sure to get sales growth. We are.

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magazines

An opportunity to raise funds for cancer research and support a newsagent fighting cancer

Hoopla published a moving story by Corinne Grant yesterday about newsagent Sheree McLeod and her fight with a rarer form of breast cancer and her work raising funds for breast cancer research. Sheree and her husband Adam own Tieri Newsagency – 300km west Rockhampton.

I urge you to read Corrine Grant’s excellent article. It’s a story about one of our own, a proactive and positive member of our newsagent family, someone who in the midst of serious illness is working hard to raise money for others. Sheree’s story is inspirational.

Click here to support Sheree’s fundraising through the Mother’s Day Classic Walk.

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Social responsibility

Leveraging an international brand and headlining a display makes a difference

We have to move our Scooby-Doo! display from the counter and decided on this location capping our magazine aisle. One of our team members made an average display stand out by sourcing a branding image to cap the display. This made a world of difference, it lifted the professionalism of the display and has helped drive sales from this new location.

The photo shows the value of investing a bit more time to appropriately dress a display and to leverage an international brand. What we are presenting our customers here is a point of difference in our centre of close to 300 stores. It connects with our goal of being different and delivering the unexpected.

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Gifts

Bauer shifts discount magazine pitch

Bauer has shifted its discount magazine pitch, moving from the three titles for $10 offer to two titles for $7.

The store where I noticed this promotion was running it for a specific period of time. It is timed to end in May. This is interesting in that the previous three magazines for $10 promotion seemed to never be off sale.

I hope this stays in transit locations.

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magazines

Promoting launch issue of

We are promoting the launch issue of World of Knowledge with perfect placement in among our range of science and ‘smart people’ magazines.  This is an interesting and growing category for us which is currently filled with UK titles. Our sales are up so I’m looking forward to success for this title.

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magazines

Why do we permit suppliers to photograph competitor products in our newsagencies?

Representatives from a supplier visited one of my newsagencies yesterday and while there they took photos of products from a competitor.

Too often I hear of supplier reps taking photos of competitor products in newsagencies. Suppliers should make an appointment for each visit and get owner permission before taking any photo.

We need to exert more control over our businesses.

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Ethics

Good Organic Gardening magazine stands out in a crowd

When placing magazines we look at the title word. Like garden and gardening in these three garden titles. Too often I see garden magazines, for example, placed in different places, not in a line. This blocks browsing and hinders sales in my view.

Looking at the photo, I love the look of Good Organic Gardening – it stands out in the sea of colour of a magazine department. While I am no expert, to me the masthead is the stand out … it’s a beacon not only for the title but also the section.

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magazines

Promoting magazines as Mother’s Day gifts

We’re promoting the Pacific Magazines Win a Car promoting with this placement of the floor display unit next to Mother’s Day cards. This off-location placement is easy given it takes little floor space, we can include titles relevant to the Mother’s Day shopper we’re likely to see in our centre.

This floor unit is easy to place and move – essential for temporary floor display units.

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magazines

Promoting the cheaper Cleo

We are promoting Cleo and its new cover price of $6.95 with this in-location display in prime position with women’s magazines.  This location is directly opposite our weekly magazines – meaning it will be seen by a large number of our shoppers.

I’m keen to see a sales kick for Cleo. I think the best place to achieve this is in the magazine department – i.e. and not off location in-store.

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magazines

Buying newspapers?

Ninemsn yesterday reported that the billionaire Koch brothers who have dumped millions into ultra right wing political action groups in the US are contemplating acquiring the Tribune group in the US. Tribune titles include: Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. What a tragedy for journalism if they do this. No, I don;t trust them.

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Newspapers

Queensland newsagents suffer from troubled lottery technology changeover

I feel for Queensland newsagents who have been under the pump today with what appears to be a poor switch in lottery product sales technology. Many have been without a working terminal all day. Those who can get their terminals working have had operational problems frustrating them and, more important, their customers.

Calls to Golden Casket (Tatts) for assistance are not getting through apparently because of the call volume. This is causing newsagents to call anyone who may have an answer for help.

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Lotteries

Inaccurate reporting at New York Post

News Corp’s New York Post made some serious missteps as the Boston story unfolded over the last week. The Huffington Post has an excellent report on this.

The Post said 12 people had died, when only three had; it said a Saudi man was a “suspect” in “custody”, when he wasn’t; and, perhaps most gallingly, it splashed pictures of two young men on its front page even though it admitted it did not know whether they were suspects or not. The men turned out to be completely innocent. One was 17 years old; he told the Associated Press that he was scared to go outside.

It also covers Rupert Murdoch’s lame response.  No wonder media barons don’t want tighter controls. They prefer a free press so they can get stories wrong and not be held to account for this.

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Ethics

Newspaper front page coverup pushes editorial off the front page

For decades newspaper publishers told newsagents that the front page was the most important selling tool for a newspaper. Today, with stuck on ads and wrap-around ads – like we see on The Age today – they clearly no longer believe it. It’s frustrating given the pressure they put on newsagents about displaying the front pages and their posters. I can’t see how an ad for a car will help me sell more copies of The Age today.

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newspaper masthead desecration

My Kitchen Rules cookbook opportunity

New Idea out today comes with a FREE My Kitchen Rules cookbook on the cover. The 24-page My Kitchen Rules cookbook. The success of the show should and that this cookbook is a gift with News Idea should drive sales of the magazine this week. We have decided to run this magazine at the counter today to make the most of it.

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magazines

frankie publishers promoting newsagents

The publisher of frankie magazine is promoting the availability of its new 50s inspired paper book in newsagents via twitter and a website through which retailers can be searched geographically. Given their connection with the frankie community I expect this activity to work a treat for us.

It’s targeted and engaging activity like this that newsagents should appreciate.

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magazines

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: run a fun customer survey

The local coffee shop near the office, Bar Ristretto – 89 Burwood Road Hawthorn … brilliant coffee – recently put out an item the owner found at a local market and asked shoppers to identify this and guess the weight. The right name and most accurate weight won the marron. It was a fun competition, not directly related to coffee. It showed that promotions don;t need to be a close fit with what you do. The key is helping your customers enjoy shopping with you.

Here’s the tip – what marron competition you could run?

Check out the photo and see how local and personal the entries were.  This reinforced the local nature of the business.

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marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: start here in achieving better magazine supply

The first step in exerting control over magazine supply to your newsagency is to advise the magazine distributors of the total pockets available. Putting this in writing to them provides them with information the most likely do not have today. It establishes your land mass, thereby providing them with the information necessary to not over supply you.

While the magazine distributors do not work together on equitable ranging – stupid as that is – them knowing your total number of pockets and their own knowledge of the titles their computer carries means that they should behave more fairly toward you.

Write to the distributors, let them know your pockets and send this in an express post envelope or as registered post – so you can prove the received it.

You should send this letter any time you change the amount of space you allocate to magazines.

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marketing

Here’s a reason I’d like to control my magazine supply

Here is an example of why I want to control my magazine supply.  In a newsagency in Queensland last week I saw this food title. I’d love to have this in my newsagency, it could work as part of my Keep Calm Carry On range. the current push model makes it difficult for us to use what we know to get more of what will sell in our shops.

Magazine distributors rely on flawed models that continue to supply magazines in an inefficient way. If only they wanted to sell more magazines.

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magazine distribution

Having fun promoting your business

Further to my newsagency marketing tip from two weeks ago, check out the sign I saw today outside a cafe. This is terrific, very funny – something that shows they have a sense of humour. It makes this cafe more memorable than many others I walked past.

I’m sure there are fun things we can write on signs outside our newsagencies to show off our sense of humour and promote enjoyment to those who visit with us.

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Fun
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