Author: Mark Fletcher

The new low price sticker on the cover of Paranormal which went on sale yesterday obscures a key image on the magazine cover.  While I can understand Gotch wanting to pitch ‘new low price’ I think they covered an important element of the cover artwork – is it the face of Jesus?  Now before anyone gets het up, I think it’s a bit of a laugh.  Personally, I don’t take this magazine too seriously.

While I am on about these new low price stickers though, I have seen them on several issues of imported titles in a row, indicating that the price is not so new.  Indeed, this was pointed out to me by a customer on the weekend.  They said it was false advertising.

Our Frankston store has done a terrific display promoting the two covers of Harpers Bazaar.  This issue cashes in on the confusion over the announcement of the winner of Australia’s Next Top Model.  The column covered with the display (click on the image for a larger version) is covered on all four sides – each promoting a different magazine.  The Bazaar display is what customers see as they enter the store and head to the magazine department.  It is also next to our main newspaper stand.

At my Forest Hill store, all bar one copy of Bazaar came with the Amanda cover.

Famous magazine is running a promotion in selected newsagencies whereby customers are invited to stick their face in a cut out of what looks like one of the many Lindsay Lohan mug shots.

This is a fun competition designed to get shoppers interacting with the title – different to the usual posters and display stands which publishers use.

I like that there is a pocket for stock of the magazine on the front of the stand.

We have our stand facing out into the shopping mall – I figured this should work well given that the display is eye catching and is a newsagent only promotion.

The model in the photo is Jono from our newsXpress Forest Hill store – our magazine manager.

I was disappointed to see the latest issue of Donna Hay magazine bagged.  As a food title it needs to be browsed – one only has to watch how customers interact with the title to understand this.  While the free pot holder is a nice gift, is that, the magazine cover and the masthead enough to get someone buy the title?  Infrequent shoppers will want to see what is inside and this is what the bag stops. In a supermarket or convenience store where there is less browsing, maybe.  But not a newsagency where magazine browsing is a key point of difference we offer.

We received twelve copies of Younger You magazine on Friday.  This is a new title from Independent Digital Media which is owned by IPMG, the people who own NDD.

I looked through the magazine and looked at sales of similar titles and decided to give it one pocket.  To allocate this pocket I had to reduce the space allocated to another title.  Had I not early returned some stock I would have eight copies sitting in a drawer or on a shelf.

Publishers of new titles need to take more of the risk themselves rather than sending what they think we may sell or what they hope we will sell.  With so many publishers using newsagents as their bank and warehouse it is no wonder newsagents get angry about their treatment.

Had I been given the courtesy of deciding if I wanted to try this title I would have said yes.  Had I been asked how many copies I would take I would have gone for four.  Selling out of four copies is better than being overloaded.