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

Author: Mark Fletcher

Macquarie adviser jailed for Bill Express scheme

Newton Chan, fomerly of Macquarie Equities, has been jailed after pleading guilty to eight counts of market manipulation of the share price of Bill Express.  Mark hawthorne writing at The Sydney Morning Herald has more on this story including this:

He will serve just four months after co-operating with ASIC’s investigation, including handing over a memory stick that he told the court contained a scripted story given to him by Bill Express chief executive Ian Christiansen. ”Your career is in ruins,” said Justice Terence Forrest in sentencing Chan. ”I consider that it is only by the imposition of such a sentence … that others considering manipulating the market in some way will pause to think about the potential consequences of their actions.”

And then this:

Between May 3, 2006, and March 28, 2008, Chan used trading accounts to purchase more than 34 million Bill Express shares worth $6.1 million via 904 transactions. These transactions created an artificial price for Bill Express shares, and helped company directors avoid margin calls.

During his plea hearing, Chan said he performed the transactions on the orders of Mr Christiansen, company accountant Peter Couper and employee Enzo DiDonato.

He said he met the three at a Balwyn coffee shop just weeks before the collapse of Bill Express. Asked if the meeting was ”to get your stories together so that you could each tell the same story to ASIC”, Chan replied ”yes”.

And all the while this share price manipulation was going on, newsagents were suffering still paying off loans taken out to pump tens of millions into Bill Express in 2003.

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Bill Express

Surge in gift card uptake in newsagencies

gift-cards.jpgThe latest Blackhawk gift card package being promoted to newsagents through Tower Systems is driving extraordinary results.    They make an excellent add-on to greeting card sales and the commissions make selling the cards considerably more valuable than selling bus, train or tram tickets.  While gift cards, like those from Blackhawk, have been around for some time, it is only in the last week that a professional marketing campaign has been aimed at newsagents.  Click here for the application form.

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Newsagency opportunities

Newsagents, make every day your pay day

Newsagents often consider the day the sell their business as their pay day, the day they get the return they want for all their work.   This is why there is such a focus on goodwill in setting the sale price of newsagencies.

It is unrealistic to look on a retail business as a bank accruing interest which is repaid in the form of goodwill when the business is sold. However, this is how many do view their business. So much so in fact that they lose focus on the profitability of the business on a day to day basis.

Newsagents who focus on every day as their pay day focus on driving new traffic, nurturing sales efficiency and managing for a better margin.  These newsagents are more likely to be achieving a higher profit than those who operate as if the day they sell is their pay day.

Of course, higher profit does result in a higher sale price.  More importantly however, it puts more money in your pocket from the business every day.

By looking at your business on a day by day basis you will take more notice of employee costs, sales efficiency and other more micro factors and drivers in the business.

You are more likely to make changes if you view sales and profitability data on a daily perspective rather than for a longer period such as quarterly or annually.

Did you make enough yesterday to pay for the rent, employee costs, cost of goods sold, marketing and utility costs as well as to pay yourself? If not, what can you do to change this? If so, did you make enough? By looking at your business as if every day is your pay day, you are more likely to look more closely at your business than if you are focused on the day you sell as your pay day.

If you don’t know how you are doing daily or weekly, you need to put in place manual or computer based systems which enable you to track and report on this. Good or bad, it is information you need to make better business decisions.

So, how did you do today or this week? Make enough to pay all your bills, your employees and yourself? Look on and work on every day as your pay day.

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Newsagency opportunities

Prince CD giveaway boosts Mirror sales by 334,000

The Daily Mirror in London last Saturday came with a copy of the new Prince CD, 2oTEN.  According to Roy Greenslade writing at The Guardian, sales increased by 334,000.  While the bump is huge, as Greenslade writes, it would be surprising if any of the 334,000 stick.

It will be interesting to see if newspapers are used as promotional tools here for music releases.  We have not followed the UK trend of weekly giveaways of movies, family history software and otherfreebies.

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Newspapers

Promoting Homespun with newspapers

homespun-christmas.JPGWe are promoting the Christmas issue of Homespun with newspapers this week.  This is a left-field idea since it is not a title I would usually promote with newspapers.  I figured that the Christmas theme might be enough to get intermittent purchasers of Homespun to pick up the title.  I’ll try anything to make newspaper sales more efficient.

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magazines

Tactical placement drives sales of Mandela book

mandela-book.JPGI noticed A Prisoner in the Garden, Photos, letters and notes from Nelson Mandela’s 27 years in prison,  on one of our book sale tables on Saturday and figured that it would sell better if we took it from the mass of books and placed it at the counter.  Between noon on Saturday and when we opened yesterday morning we had sold four copies of the book.  We sold the last three copies yesterday, Monday.  Given the counter placement, all of these copies would have been impulse purchases – $9.95 is an excellent extension of any basket, and even more so at the margin for this book.

I did more that place the book at the counter.  I tricked-up an old display unit, copied part of the cover promoting the Nelson Mandela Foundation and placed the display where it could be easily seen.

We are doing better with tactical placement of books and magazines at the counter than selling candy.  The keys, based on experience, are:

  • Choose the product carefully – it must be easily understood.
  • Play to your demographic.
  • Create open space around the offer.
  • Track sales and kill the offer if it is not working.
  • Change the offer at least weekly.

Our counters can be a goldmine if we clean them up and promote to our customers.  Too often, newsagency counters are cluttered, the messages confused and customers not guided to extend their baskets.  This is in part due to supplier demands.  We should stand our ground – we pay the rent after all.

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Book retailing

Using fear to sell a magazine

fear-cover.JPGGiven the sales success of Paranormal, Fortean Times, New Dawn, Uncensored and similar titles, I know that a magazine cover with a suggestion of fear sells well.  This is why I put the latest issue of Scientific American on our main newspaper stand.  While the cover story is not the  kind of story you would see in more tabloid magazines, the cover illustration taps into a fear of what may happen in the future.  Yes, it is a long shot!  I am hoping that the cover image is enough to get people picking up the title who would otherwise not have noticed it.  We have to try these things – we are magazine specialists after all.

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magazines

Promoting Home Beautiful

home-beautiful-jul2010.jpgWe are promoting the latest issue of Home Beautiful with an in-location display in a prime position close to the entrance to our busiest magazine aisle.  It is the only magazine being promoted with a poster on this side of the aisle – it stands out. We will supplement this promotion later this week with co-location with our weeklies.  Why?  Because Home Beautiful responds well to being placed in a couple of pockets above New Idea or Woman’s Day.

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magazines

New World War II Eyewitness Experience partwork

wwii-partwork.JPGWe are promoting the new World War II Eyewitness Experience partwork at the front of the store as well as with partworks and with our combat magazines.  I expect this title to do well given our customer mix – hence the space commitment we have given. As with most partworks, half our sales will be on impulse and the other half planned as a result of advertising.

2010 has been a lean year for partworks.

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partworks

Promoting Good Food and slow cooking

good-food-jul2010.JPGWe are promoting Good Food magazine at the counter.  The slow cooked comfort food covered in this issue should see it pique interest from our customers – given the tremendous success we have had with the Slow Cooker cookbook.

This display looks good if I do say so myself.  It has been designed for maximum impulse purchase impact.  This was easy for us thanks to the flexible collateral provided by ACP for the title.

While I continue be disappointed that each issue of the magazine is bagged, and therefore unable to be browsed, it looks good for shoppers who will buy based on the cover alone.

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magazines

Promoting NW magazine

nw-july122010.JPGWe are promoting NW magazine at the entrance to our women’s magazine aisle this week.  While the display is not as big as ACP would probably like from us, it is more than one would expect for NW sales in our store.

I have taken the opportunity to promote three other key ACP titles as well – to pull more eyeballs to the display.  We will adjust these titles through the week – Take 5 on Wednesday for example.

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magazines

NDD move update

The Australian this morning has an update on the NDD situation – reporting that Network Services will be taking around 80% of the NDD business.  They are also taking on 15 of the NDD staff.

Sally Jackson’s article also reports that Fairfax Media Publication Solutions is picking up between 40 and 80 magazines from NDD.  Fairfax will need to review their distribution as retail only outlets like mine are likely to not want these titles unless at least 25% margin can be achieved for the retailer.

Plenty of newsagents I have spoken with are aggressively early-returning NDD product out of fear of not getting credits.  This is unnecessary.  NDD is going through a structured winding down of its business.  I am confident that it has the capacity to process and pay for all returns sent according to the timing of the distribution of titles.

I see no reason to early-return out of fear for the cash at risk.  Why cut yourself out of a sale just because of fear?

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magazine distribution

Magazine changes at Woolworths

The Australian is reporting this morning that supermarket chain Woolworths is reducing space for magazines at the checkout counter.  It will be interesting to see if they follow the Coles trend of creating a newsagency-like store within a store.

I am glad that Woolworths is making this move.  The tougher they are on magazines the better.  This will tell publishers something about that channel versus the newsagency channel.

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magazines

Beware the Yellow Pages Scam

A couple of newsagents contacted me last week about a “Yellow Pages” scam.  They con you into thinking they are from the real Yellow Pages and that you owe money.  It soon escalates and some business people feel enough pressure to send payment to make it go away.  The scan is usually operated by people working overseas.  Spam Laws has a bit to say about the Yellow Pages Scam.  The BBC also published a report earlier this year.

Good basic advice: don’t sign anything without being sure of its authenticity, if something sounds too good to be true it probably is, the Yellow Pages operates in Australia and would never ask you to send money overseas, tell employees to be wary of scams – even from people offering to help the business for free.

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Newsagency management

Some amazing numbers for e-edition newspaper mastheads

A recent report, Million Dollar Strategies For Newspaper Companies, by the World Association of Newspapers shows some interesting numbers of electronic edition subscriptions achieved by US publishers.

wan-ereaders.png

The numbers do need to be read with some caution as some publishers bundle all editions of a masthead together.  Go to Business Insider for their helpful take on the report.

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Media disruption

Loving newsagencies on the radio

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Amanda Blair on Adelaide radio station 5AA.  It was one of the most enjoyable radio interviews I have ever experienced.

Amanda loves magazines and she loves newsagencies!  For half an hour we talked about magazines from the top selling titles to the obscure.  We discussed what is unique about our newsagencies and why people love to shop with us.

We also talked about the magazine experience versus reading on a device like the iPad. Talkback callers joined in to, talking about the magazines they love.  It was a warm and positive experience.

For half an hour yesterday on South Australian radio, newsagencies were the subject of a love in.  There should be more of this!

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magazines

Slow cooker in-store demo sells out cookbook

newsxpress-gympie.jpgWarrick Hosking at newsXpress Gympie had a slow cooker cooking Mexican slow roasted lamb shanks on Thursday as part of the Women’s Weekly Slow Cooker in-store promotion. He sold out of the slow cooker cookbooks. Now that is retail theatre working!

If you are on Facebook, and you should be, search for newsXpress Gympie and follow the other initiatives Warrick runs in his newsagency.

On the back of what I blogged here a couple of days ago about the new Women’s Weekly Moroccan cookbook, Warrick went our and bought a tagine and is planning the next in-store cooking experience.

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magazines

Promoting Money magazine at the counter

money-mag.jpgWe are pitching Money magazine in an air stand at the counter, next to our current ACP cookbook display.

This is a different approach for Money magazine, we have recently been relying on in-location displays.  On seeing the cover yesterday morning I thought it was worth trying near the counter, especially on the weekend when we have more males shopping than during the week – it seems that way at least.

The display itself is nothing really, a couple of colour copies of the cover.  The trick is the stand itself – it places the magazine at a level which can be easily reached and which will be noticed by shoppers at the counter.

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magazines

Double waterfall for Melbourne Wedding & Bride

wedding-bride.jpgWe are giving Melbourne Wedding & Bride a double waterfall space allocation in our women’s magazine aisle for the next couple of weeks.

Based on previous experience with the title, investing additional space will drive a good sales outcome for us early in the sales cycle.

We will also co-locate a flat stack of the title next to the Australian Women’s Weekly for a week or two as mums sometimes buy wedding magazines for daughters.

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magazines

Credit card scam: warning to newsagents

Newsagents need to be on their guard in Melbourne at the moment.  There is someone using credit card numbers to buy mobile phone recharge and to load prepaid debit cards.

They are very smooth and can have employees believing that what they are doing is legitimate.  Here are some tips to protect your business.

  1. Only allow credit and debit card transactions where the customer has the physical card.
  2. If you are unsure of a cardholder, ask for photo ID, say it is store policy.  This is common in the US now.
  3. Never allow a customer to enter any numbers or touch any buttons on your eftpos terminal except for entering their pin number.
  4. Do not permit the loading of credit to a prepaid debit card from a credit card.
  5. Get all your employees together and warn them, run them through the proper handling of eftpos transactions.

You could also:

  1. Place a height guide by the door so you get this right when you call the police.
  2. Use a security system and have a monitor in store, behind the counter so that all customers can see that they are being recorded.
  3. Bring in an expert to provide security training for your employees.

The most recent incident involved a male.  Another a couple of months ago involved a female.

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Newsagency management

Promoting Australian Women’s Weekly at the counter

aww-counter.JPGWe are promoting the Australian Women’s Weekly at our main counter this weekend – in what will be seen by some as an unusual move.

While sales for this issue of AWW have been okay, I want to see what we can do to drive a boost in this second week of the on-sale.  The prime counter position with a focused display should do the trick.  We kept collateral from last week for a second crack display – we always do this.

I figured that since it is the last weekend of the school holidays mums and grandmums may have time to start to think of themselves again and may like to treat themselves by buying AWW.  My reasoning may be wrong, who knows.  It’s worth a shot.

As note here with regularity, change is important in our businesses.  We should not be afraid to promote monthly magazines in their second and third week of the on-sale.  My own experience is that with the right title and the right cover you can drive good incremental business.

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magazines
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