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

Author: Mark Fletcher

The hours newsagents work

Over the weekend I ran a survey here, asking newsagents how many hours they worked in their business.  The collation of the 137 responses shows, not unsurprisingly, that most work significantly more than an average working week.  Here are the numbers:

Politicians need to understand the time we all invest in our businesses and consider this as they develop polices. While some businesses owners will always work long hours others will happily transfer some of their hours to employees if the conditions are right.

Newsagent suppliers need to look at these figures and consider how they can help newsagents save time. For example XchangeIT ought to deliver on magazine statement reconciliation. magazine distributors ought to give newsagents control over supply and thereby reduce the time we spend on processing returns.

There are many areas where newsagents could save time and thereby achieve a better work / life balance than available with some of today’s archaic processes.

Thanks to the 137 newsagents who voted. Given the percentage of newsagents represented I think the results represent the industry average.

17 likes
Newsagency management

Small businesses need to do more to leverage mega brands on social media

Tic Tac Australia & New Zealand has more than 226,000 fans on Facebook. Their Facebook page is awash with coverage of the new, for a limited time only, green apple tic tacs. It’s a fun and engaging campaign – with Facebook fans having voted for this flavour to be manufactured.

TV channels are carrying plenty of advertising for green apple tic tacs.

I know from recent advertising in Convenience World magazine that year on year sales of tic tacs are up 11.2% and that 47% of shoppers want new flavours. This suggests the recently released green apple product will be a hit.

How the tic tac people are using Facebook and other platforms is a lesson on social media engagement. It is also an opportunity to leverage their leadership for our own benefit. Retailers who connect with the tic tac social media campaign can drive traffic for themselves and create their own local success.

I saw an excellent lift in one of my newsagencies when I leveraged social media coverage around One Direction … and it cost nothing. Why not do the same with tic tacs? While some newsagents will say there is no time, if you could have your message seen by 260K+ people why not invest the time?!

By leveraging I mean engaging on their Facebook page and through their Twitter feed – reaching our to existing tic tac fans. In each case you would need to engage with content that is complimentary to what they post.  This is what I did with One Direction and it worked a treat.

Whether it is tic tacs or other major social media engaged brands, there are excellent social media opportunities for newsagents beyond our own Facebook page or Twitter feed – opportunities we can turn into traffic for our businesses and sales through our registers.

8 likes
confectionary

A Keith Urban opportunity in Country Update magazine

Our sales of Country Update are patchy so we’re making them most of the Keith Urban cover shot on the latest issue by placing this with our weekly magazines. regulars here will know that this has worked for us before – placing relatively obscure titles with weeklies when they feature a cover subject with everyday appeal. Since urban’s appearance on The Voice on the Nine Network his popularity has risen – hopefully enough for us to sell this magazine to people who might otherwise not know about it. Every extra sale counts!

0 likes
magazines

Sunday marketing tip: Look for your business online

Go to Google and search on magazines and your suburb. Dopes your business come up on the first page? Do the same for: ink, greeting cards and stationery.  How dod you fare in these searches?

If you are not coming up on the first page you’re not where you need to be. This can be fixed by completing entries in a number of free listing sites and maintaining these.

If you are in a marketing group get their advice on what to do, they should have pre-prepared advice for you. If you are not in a marketing group email me at mark@towersystems.com.au and I’ll privately share advice with you.

Yes, it will take a couple of hours to get your information into the listing sites – the result will be your business coming up in search results. I was at a conference recently where they said that more than 70% of in-store purchases involved at least some form of online search or engagement.

2 likes
marketing tip

Management tip: chase the settlement discount

One way to achieve a better margin for products you sell is to take the settlement discount whenever possible. Many newsagent suppliers offer this yet the majority of newsagents do not take it.

I have heard of newsagents not taking a 20% settlement discount – preferring 30 day terms. You could pay the bill on time with your credit card, take the 20% and be better off. This doesn’t make sense to me. In one business I looked at recently, they could have added more than $6,000 in a year to their bottom line profit by taking settlement discounts. Who wouldn’t want $6,000 extra profit?

3 likes
Management tip

Promoting Who 20th anniversary issue

We are promoting the 20th anniversary edition of Who magazine in several locations including with newspapers this weekend. This issue has a stunning cover – it stands out in each of the locations: at the counter, with newspapers and in with our weekly magazine titles. This is a title all newsagents should be promoting this weekend!

0 likes
magazines

We’re creatures of habit

Newsagents like consistency if nothing else and when things do not happen as usual they (we) are thrown. The lack of a delivery from Gotch yesterday is a case in point. Several newsagents called me asking if I knew what had gone wrong. I let them know that they needed to read the Gotch website announcement.

1 likes
Newsagency management

Promoting marie claire

We are promoting the latest issue of marie claire magazine with this display facing onto the dance floor, capping the entrance to our women’s magazine aisle.

We have taken care to protect the Dermalogica product attached to the magazine – to ensure that the gift really does look like a premium gift. This display in the photo and placement in the usual location for marie claire shows off the gift.

0 likes
magazines

Promoting Top Gear

We are promoting the latest issue of Top Gear magazine with this display facing into our men’s magazine reading area.

This placement along with a waterfall display give the current issue plenty of support in-store.  We will also give the issue a push in an impulse display next to our photocopier for the weekend – to catch guys who don’t venture beyond half-way in.

1 likes
magazines

Talking penalty rates with the Liberal Party

I was fortunate to be one of twelve at an Australian Retailers Association lunch with Senator Eric Abetz, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, yesterday. The lunch was held under the Chatham House Rule and so I can’t go into the detail of what was discussed. that said, it was terrific to have another opportunity to talk directly with a federal politician about newsagents and some of the challenges we face that those in Canberra can influence.

The hot topic was penalty rates. Plenty of the retailers around the table representing footware, music, bakery and services shared the concerns of newsagents about the cost of labour on our businesses on Sundays in this 24/7 world – a world government had helped create.

The more politicians who hear stories about challenges newsagents face the better.

9 likes
Newsagent representation

Newsagent blocked from XchangeIT

Earlier this week someone commented on a post on this blog that they had been blocked from getting XchangeIT invoices by their software company because they had decided to not take up software support coverage.

It frustrates me that a newsagency software would block a newsagent from accessing business-critical magazine invoice data.

The software company involved should not block access. XchangeIT should not allow it to happen.

If a newsagent has software that meets XchangeIT standards they ought to be able to load data from any external source. If they need support from their software company to address any issue and are not covered by support then, by all means, charge them. But to charge just to get the data – this is poor behaviour that reflects badly on all software companies.

Yes I am conflicted, I own Tower Systems. I’m lucky in that our market share of 1,800 newsagents positions us to not have to rely on pressuring newsagents by blocking XchangeIT access to those who do not maintain software support. But we created our position over many years.

Newsagents have enough challenges in their businesses. They should not be forced to pay for a software support service if they don’t want it.

Software companies should rely on their customer loving their software and their support enough to keep them in business.

7 likes
newsagent software

UK newsagents hit with a new delivery charge

I feel for UK newsagents who have been hit with a new £8.50 delivery charge by Menzies Distribution following them taking on titles previously delivered direct to newsagents by News International. The Grocer has the story.

Unfortunately, I think we can expect to see moves like this as product manufacturers who previously supplied many accounts directly move to a model of supplying fewer accounts and expecting these businesses to manage newsagent accounts.  The moves in Adelaide I wrote about yesterday are an example.

Being across the moves in the UK is something those representing newsagents ought to pursue. Some aspects of T2020 can be found in the UK model. I wonder how much that was looked at over the last two and a half years we have known of T2020.

1 likes
Newspapers

Food covers help us show off

While most magazine retailers treat their products as SKUs, we take care, moving stock around, leveraging opportunities we see as relevant to our shoppers. Food titles present this opportunity often. Take the current issues of donna hay and Cuisine. Both have terrific, delicious, covers – the best of current food titles we have in-store. We have made sure to place them at the front of the food section, at almost shoulder level – so the delicious food can be easily seen. Whereas supermarkets put titles in their design ate spot, we will place a title based on where this issue will work best for us and our customers.

1 likes
magazines

Rolling Stone opportunity bagged

I was premature in calling the current issue of Rolling Stone with Pink on the cover an opportunity for us. I was surprised to notice that our stock in-store is bagged. This is nuts for music titles as browsing is important to driving purchases. You only have to stand in a newsagency and watch the browsing of music titles to notice this. When I was checking it out yesterday a customer looked at the title – we chatted about the title being bagged and he agreed and expressed frustration. I understand why it’s bagged and that the publisher expects to achieve incremental sales from the extra value. My feeling is that this is not ideal for a music magazine.

1 likes
magazines

Loving That’s Life Reader Recipes

I love That’s Life Reader Recipes. It’s a simple title, connecting with readers in a personal and straightforward way. We enjoy good sales thanks to a consistent co-location strategy. We place this title with food magazines and also with weeklies – next to That’s Life. It sells well in both locations, especially on the weekend from the weeklies location. I urge newsagents to check where they have the title. If it’s not co-located with weeklies give it a shot there too.

1 likes
magazines

The newsagency association conflict

I was talking with a new newsagent yesterday and they were surprised to learn that their local association owns 50% of Newspower in their state. An association representative had been providing advice to them on the selection of a marketing group. They had not declared a conflict of interest for the association with their half ownership of Newspower.

Associations need to declare their shareholding in Newspower to anyone they pitch or discuss Newspower – otherwise those receiving the advice may not have all the facts.

Whether they like it or not, associations are businesses and need to act open and ethically – as all suppliers should act.

2 likes
Ethics

Herald Sun harder to get in Adelaide now

Thanks to supply changes reportedly implemented by the Herald & Weekly Times, the Herald Sun is harder for South Australian newsagents to now obtain for sale in their shops.

Some newsagents who have carried the Herald Sun in-store for many years are no longer able to source product. This is seeing customers wanting the title having to find another newsagent. The knock-on cost in lost sales could be considerable to newsagents.

I am told that the folks at the Adelaide Advertiser (part of News) blame the Herald & Weekly Times (part of News) for the change.

News Limited needs to respond with care to situations like this as it realigns the distribution of its products. Shoppers wanting an interstate or overseas newspaper are prepared to pay a premium.

4 likes
Newsagency challenges

Food Network Magazine subscription cost offends newsagents

We sell the Food Network Magazine in our newsagencies of $12.50 an issue. This is the price set by the importer and or distributor. Australians can subscribe direct from the publisher for three years for $100 – or $2.77 an issue.

Here’s my question: if publishers can land copies in Australian letterboxes at $2.77 and make it work financially then why is the newsagent wholesale price $9.37? The subscription figure I have quoted has not even been converted to Australian dollars.

It seems to me that I’d make more money subscribing for the two copies I get and take the risk in terms of being able to sell.

This is a screwed up situation.

13 likes
Magazine subscriptions

New newsagency benchmark study under way

Newsagents have been invited to submit July – September sales data to me for inclusion in the latest newsagency sales benchmark study.  By mid next week I hope to have data from three times this many.

I will publish the results here.  The results will give newsagents a set of numbers with which to compare their own businesses. That said, our best competitor is our own business from the same period a year earlier.

2 likes
Newsagency benchmark

Terrific Halloween product sell out

It’s nice when a product you buy sells out early in the season. This glitter Halloween pumpkin was a feature on our display and we sold all our stock in a couple of days – now we are chasing more.  Shoppers will happily pay a good price for something they really want … plus they will buy early in a season. We have an excellent margin on our more unique halloween items, above average for gifts. The everyday halloween product is closer to 50% – we’re still happy with that.

4 likes
Gifts
Trending Articles

Fairfax changes approach to TV Guide, disrespects newsagents

Published on April 20, 2011

What do you think of the Powerball changes?

Published on February 16, 2018

IPS releases new magazine contracts

Published on June 21, 2011