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

Author: Mark Fletcher

Is newsagent privacy being breached?

I have heard from several newsagents that their neighbouring newsagents have allegedly been told by publisher representatives that they have signed new newspaper home delivery contracts.  The allegation is that this information has been put in terms of well they have signed, you should too.  It has also been used to say, if you don’t sign they can take your territory and give it to them.

While I cannot verify if the allegation is true, I’d note that three separate (and unconnected) newsagents have shared their stories with me.  I cannot imagine any publisher condoning such activity.

If true, such a disclosure about someone else signing a contract would be a breach of privacy.  The challenge is how do you act on this?

The stress around the new contracts is not yet over for some newsagents.

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Newsagency challenges

Crosswords do sell with women’s magazines

lovatts_big_crossword.JPGLast month, 80% of sales of Lovatts BIG Crossword were achieved from this one pocket next to the Australian Women’s Weekly.  That’s close to 30 units sold from one pocket.  In the first two days of on-sale of the new issue of BIG Crossword, all copies sold have come from this pocket.  Newsagents who do not promote crossword titles next to AWW or their weekly magazines are not achieving their maximum potential.

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crosswords

Predicting our future

In the future you may not have to go to the newsagent any longer.

That’s Robert Penfold, US correspondent for the nine network reviewing the iPad from Apple – on Sky News a few minutes ago – and talking about the use of the device to read newspapers and magazines.

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Media disruption

Mainstream media and the iPad

Checkout the report published by the Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada by about the iPad.

But those with the most hope invested in the new iPad are newspaper and magazine publishers who are struggling to open new revenue streams as print advertising shrinks and readers seek free content on the Internet.

“It’s the best chance especially newspaper and magazine content publishers have, said Kaan Yigit, a Toronto-based new media analyst.

“A predictable, good-looking platform that’s more intimate to the consumer and is more ready to replicate some of the features of the printed paper,” he added.

Also, see the news report from CBS News in the US.

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magazines

Apple launches the iPad

The coverage within hours of the launch overnight of the Apple iPad in the US reflects the anticipation worldwide for this device.  Check out a video from a report ZDNet from the launch.

Apple has launched a book store – iBook – to sell books for the device.  The Telegraph reports that publisher of the New York Times has developed an application, for the iPad, which allows readers to view videos embedded within articles.

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Media disruption

Fat Auto Salon magazine

auto_salon_fat.JPGAuto Salon magazine is fat this month thanks to the two old (but free) back issues the publisher has bagged with the title.  The thickness of the Auto Salon package means that we cannot place in its usual location.  We had to bump a more popular title from their flat-stack location.  The publisher ought to pay for this.

The other problem with the fat Auto Salon this month is the bagging of the issue. Anyone who knows anything about car magazines knows that these titles are among the most popular browsed titles in a newsagency.  Bag it and you reduce browsing.  Some publishers tell me that bagging an old issue with a current issue drives sales.  I doubt that.

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magazines

Leveraging the shared magazine brand

kitchen_pool.JPGWe have placed the latest issues of Melbourne Kitchen & Bathroom Design and Melbourne Pool & Outdoor Design next to each other to leverage thier shared branding.  Our hope is that this makes them more noticeable to shoppers than if they were placed away from each other.

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magazines

Back to school magazine

back_to_school_magazine.JPGTurn the latest issue of Healthy Food over and newsagents have a magazine which fits well in a Back to School display.  It’s a booklet with tips about healthy back to school food options.  This is a smart move by the publisher but should have been publicised more widely to newsagents with a specific call to action to promote this in with the Back to School display.

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magazines

Publisher considers a new approach to newspaper gifts

The Herald and Weekly Times has written to newsagents today exploring options for improving the supply of gifts with newspapers.

HWT is also reviewing its approach to assessing stock quantities for future promotions. Where we have historical data to use as a basis for our ordering, we have been able to accurately predict demand. For first time promotions however, we have been less successful predicting demand than we would have hoped. Certainly the Australia Day Hat promotion falls into this latter category.

In an effort to minimize the potential for undersupply of product for future promotions, we will naturally look to increasing the amount of stock we order. We will however, also consider extending the promotion to other retail channels i.e. supermarkets, convenience chains in order to minimize the impact of customers wishing to redeem the promotional item from newsagents, having purchased their newspaper elsewhere. For particular promotions we will also consider applying a small charge per item instead of it being free.

I hope they don’t go to other retail channels.  With some work on the publisher supply and the distributing newsagent – retail newsagent connection we ought to be better off than today.  This is where I would like to see work.

I’d also welcome a small charge for each item.  This would help balance demand.

It is good to see a publisher opening a conversation like this with newsagents.

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Newsagency challenges

Promoting That’s Life at the counter

fhn_tl_jan2710.JPGWe have replaced Burke’s Backyard at the counter with That’s Life this morning. That’s Life wins this prime impulse purchase position with the free pack of Celebrity Slim being given away with this issue.  We’ll leave this display in place until Friday depending on sales.

While feel bad about bumping the Burke’s Backyard display after two days, we have to be opportunistic and do what we feel is right for our business.  We will support Burkes elsewhere in-store.

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magazines

Promoting the Australian Women’s Weekly

fhn_aww_jan2710.JPGWe are promoting the new issue of Australian Women’s Weekly (out today) at the front of the store.  This display bumps our weekly magazine display.

We find that AWW responds well to a display like this out the front of the store in the first week of on-sale. We asked ACP for additional collateral with AWW and this helps create a good looking display. This issue looks particularly good – it’s an excellent cover.

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magazines

More space for women’s health and fitness titles

womens_health_mags.JPGWe expanded the space allocation for women’s health and fitness titles at our newsXpress Forest Hill store yesterday.

To enable this, we reduced space allocated to home and living titles – this segment is next to women’s health.

The move reflects space pressure as well as sales – in both segments. The additional column allows us to better display the key titles in the women’s health segment. In home and living, we have considerable dead stock in areas of architecture, pools and kitchens – how many of these titles do we really need?

As with any good magazine layout, nothing is forever.  We are forever looking at sales and efficiency data to guide layout changes.

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magazines

Apple tablet speculation reaches fever pitch

Speculation has reached fever pitch about the launch in the next 24 hours of the new tablet device from Apple.  Particular attention will be on the publishers who partner with Apple by providing easy access to content, for a fee.  Check out coverage at the LA Times.  Also check out what Nick Summers writes at a Newsweek blog – he sees the device as a game-changer for a range of industries.

If a fraction of the speculation is accurate, the news and information distribution model is going to experience the iPod moment very soon.

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Media disruption

ASIC charges over Bill Express market manipulation

ASIC has laid charges in relation to alleged market manipulation relating to Bill Express.

Mr Newton Chan of Balwyn, Victoria, has been charged with eight counts of market manipulation following an investigation by ASIC.

The charges relate to Mr Chan’s alleged manipulation of the share price of Bill Express Ltd (BXP) (now in administration) while he was a senior client adviser at Macquarie Equities Ltd.

ASIC alleges that between 3 May 2006 and 26 March 2008, Mr Chan used a number of trading accounts held by various individuals and entities with Macquarie Equities Ltd to purchase more than 34 million BXP shares, worth over $6.1 million through hundreds of transactions. ASIC alleges these transactions created, or were likely to create, an artificial price for BXP.

Mr Chan has also been charged with falsifying order records by entering false names in Macquarie Equities’ electronic ordering system during this period and with providing false or misleading information to ASIC during an examination.

Mr Chan appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today. The matter is next listed for committal mention on 12 March 2010 in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

The question if the charges are proven will be – who was Newton Chan acting for?

Bill Express is a story whichh will not go away.  Newsagents are reminded every day when they stumble across useless equipment in their back room.  They will also be reminded if they read the list of services the ANF Chairman offers from his newsagency according to the ANF yearbook (page 83) just published by the ANF – yep, Bill Express.

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Bill Express

PBL Media in the spotlight

The Australian today has a thorough report by James Chessell about PBL Media, analysing the company’s debt situation and future options.  What caught my eye was the last paragraph.

So it will be down to the day-to-day business of producing popular programs, printing better magazines and keeping costs down to ensure that the gap between what CVC spent and it gets back is as small as possible.

This ties in with my post yesterday.   Better product delivers more sustained growth whereas price and other tricks only deliver sales spikes in my view.

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magazines

New Idea refresh travelling well

fhn_newidea_jan2510.JPGThe refreshed New Idea continues to sell well. We are helping it along with continued promotion next to our main newspaper stand – as the photo from yesterday morning shows. This is the last week we will use this display unit here – we will find a new high-traffic location for the display next week.  I see this stand being used for another month or so and then rested for a few weeks.  We dothis with all well bade merchandising unit.

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magazines

Card Making magazine cover up

making_magazine.JPGThe masthead of Card Making magazine is partially covered up by a plastic thing which comes with the latest issue. It looks kind of silly. The plastic thing is the height of the magazine so it has nowhere to go. It makes the magazine look less noticeable on the shelves.

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magazines

Magazine up-sell pitch fails

I saw a magazine up-sell offer fail at a busy airport outlet today to the bemusement of the person making the offer. The customer brought to the counter two weekly titles from publisher A and a third weekly title from publisher B. The pitch I heard was switch the one title from publisher B for another title from Publisher A and the shopper would get the three for around the same price as the two titles from publisher A.

The shopper was frustrated at having her choice challenged and purchased only the title from publisher B.

By the time the shop assistant served me he was still grumbling about the rejection of the offer. I think that he misses the point that the offer disrespects the choice made by the shopper. It’s like hey, I know better than you or, content doesn’t matter, it’s all about price.

While I am no magazine publishing expert, it seems to me that the best way to drive sales of any magazine is to deliver a better product. A price based deal may achieve a sales bump but I doubt it would be sustained unless the product itself has changed.

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magazines

Trying to promote Burke’s Backyard

fhn_burkes_jan2510.JPGWe are promoting Burke’s Backyard magazine at the counter for the next few days.  With only one poster sent, we created other collateral in-house.

Publishers need to realise that the best time to promote a title is in the first few days of on-sale.  No excuses.  While today is a day off for many, newsagencies are open and will get good traffic.  Burke’s Backyard is one title I would have liked to receive more collateral for today.

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magazines

Revised weekly magazine display

fhn_weeklies_jan2510.JPGWe have take a different approach with the weekly magazine display at the front of our shop facing shoppers as they leave the centre.  Based on recent sales, we see more value in focusing on the top four weeklies.  Hence our promotion of Famous, New Idea, Woman’s Day and NW.  You’ll see that we have filled the small space at the bottom with crossword and puzzle titles – these sell well with the weeklies.

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magazines

Pitching Melbourne Wedding & Bride

wedding_and_bride.JPGWe are pitching Melbourne Wedding & Bride next to the Australian Women’s Weekly for the next couple of weeks – we set this up last week.

This primt placement is in addition to a waterfall display in with our wedding titles.  This is a well known title so it makes sense having it in a high-traffic location to catch impulse business.

The delayed billing can mean we’re ahead of the game in cash-flow terms.  I wish other publishers would take notice of this.

We have promoted Melbourne Wedding & Bride previously with excellent success.

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magazines

iPhone version of GQ sells 12,000 ‘copies’

The January issue of the iPhone version of the US edition of GQ has sold more then 12,000 copies according to a report in AdAge.  While that is not a lot when you consider the 900,000 copies of the print edition sold at the newsstand and distributed to subscribers, it is significant when you consider this is only month two and it’s early days for a new distribution channel.

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magazines

Stocking more 2010 diaries

enviro_diaries.JPGWe have ordered more diaries to cope with demand.  The Collins Enviro and Kyoto ranges are particularly popular.  Being the only outlet in a shopping centre with diaries results in good destination purchase traffic for us.

We developed a sales projection for February – March diary sales based on October – January sales.  This is what tells me that there is an excellent opportunity for us.  The bonus is the better margin we can achieve thanks to the current buy price.

Having a good range of diaries in stock right now is a financially rewarding point of difference for newsagents.

We use this end of season approach with boxed Christmas cards and calendars for equally rewarding customer traffic and margin success.  While it won’t work for everyone, it is worth trying.  The keys we find are range, good promotion on the dance floor and daily attention to the display.

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Diaries
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