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

Author: Mark Fletcher

Newsagents gather in Cairns to work on their businesses

I attended the ACP Magazines Connections Conference in Cairns yesterday along with a couple of hundred other newsagents. It was a good event with speakers appropriate to proactive newsagents and an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues.

I was especially impressed with Bernard Salt. The data he shared was fascinating about the changes in demographics and how this shift, if understood, can be useful to retailers.  He also shared some interesting stats about newsagents and newsagency staff: the 2001 census showed this pool to be 38,000.  In 2006 it had falled to 33,000.  28% of newsagents and staff are over 55.  This will mean 28% exit within the next five years or so.

The Conference presented other excellent data to drive some good business decisions. With Newsagents accounting for 57% of ACP magazine sales and with the Connections Emerald group accounting for a significant portion of growth,  the investment by ACP in the conference is sure to pay off in better engagement and sales.

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Newsagency management

Ugh! Harold Mitchell

Someone needs to tell Harold Mitchell that next time he wants a magazine he should go to a newsagency.  We are the magazine specialists.  Supermarkets are the shopper challenge Harold describes in his article in The Age today:

MAGAZINES are in the news, so I headed off to the supermarket to get the latest. It’s another world in there.

Last summer I managed a four-wheel-drive track through the Australian Alps with just a satellite navigation device.

But a supermarket! More aisles than fire trails. And all I wanted was a little reading matter to have with my traditional breakfast porridge.

Harold is an advertising guru.  He should know that advertising is about reaching consumers.  More magazines are sold in newsagencies than any other retail channel in Australia.  We also provide a better shopping experience for the magazine consumer.

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magazines

Are bag rails obsolete?

bag_rail.JPGNewsagency counters for decades featured bag rails.  They were used primarily to flat stack display popular weekly and monthly magazines. While I have not used them in any shop fit I have done in the last ten years. I wonder if they are useful in newsagency businesses.

We have a bag rail in our Frankston location (see photo) from where we sell plenty of magazines. You can see customers looking at magazines as they approach the counter or wait to be served. I am certain we get sales today which we would otherwise not get if we did not have the bag rail.

Hence my question: Are bag rails obsolete?

I can see that they look like old retail.  However, if they generate sales, why eliminate them?  I am interested to the opinions of others on bag rails.

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Newsagency challenges

Promoting Therese Rein, AWW covergirl

fhn_aww_swep09.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of Australian Women’s Weekly with Therese rein on the cover at the entrance to our women’s magazine aisle.

While AWW is not scheduled for a major in-store promotion for another week, I chose to go with a display from the on-sale day because of the news coverage for this issue. It was in yesterday’s newspapers as well as on the radio. I’d rather get the impulse sale than Coles or Woolworths.

While I will still do the scheduled in-store promotion for AWW when it falls due, I recognise that it is important to seize opportunities with magazines immediately they present – as happened yesterday with several news stories getting a run as a result of coverage in AWW.

While our display is very simple, the location and a compelling cover are what should make this a successful pitch for us.

We will leave AWW in this location for a week.

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magazines

Western Digital falls out of Macworld

mag_inserts.JPGComputer company Western Digital may find the campaign they are running in the latest issue of Macworld magazine does not result in the success they had forecast. Most of the flyers in copies of Macworld sent to us fell out when placing the issue on the shelves. While inserts often fall out, my experience with the Western Digital ads is the worst I have seen. It seems to me that the inserts were too heavy. And, no, I didn’t put the inserts back in.

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magazine distribution

Watching OzLotto grow

oz15mil.JPGI watch OzLotto jackpots more so now after the $100 million jackpot of a couple of months ago. As a result of this, OzLotto is a better known and understood game.  We are seeing earlier entry in the jackpot cycle. Whereas previously people would wait until Oz Jackpotted to $30 million or more before being encouraged to buy a ticket, now they take the upsell opportunity sooner. The key is to set the pitch right so that it is simple and compelling.

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Lotteries

Reviewing the XchangeIT EDI roll out

My newsagency software company, Tower Systems, is participating in the review of progress to-date of the new XchangeIT platform.  I requested a review to assess some customer service issues and, in particular, the timeliness of support and newsagent communication.  I am glad that XchangeIT agreed to the request.

Newsagents, magazine publishers, magazine distributors and newsagent customers all rely on the service and software provided by XchangeIT. Enough newsagents are using the new platform to make a review of this and the supporting infrastructure to be useful.

If anyone has feedback they feel would be useful, please email this to me directly at mark@towersystems….

Hopefully, the review will facilitate continued improvement of the new platform and benefit those newsagents yet to switch.

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newsagent software

Promoting That’s Life

fhn_tl_aug2609.JPGWe are enjoying good success from increased promotional investment in That’s Life.  Our goal is to build our regular customers – That’s Life responds well to these promotions.  This latest That’s Life display is at the front of our newsagency, heading toward our main lottery counter.  We have taken the opportunity to include the latest That’s Life Bumper Puzzle issue in the display.

We will leave this display up until Friday.  I was talking with a newsagent yesterday who said there is not enough time to change the displays as often as we do.  There is if you develop a system to make the displays efficient and if you track sales results and focus on displays which make you money.

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magazines

Dolly and the free Twilight magazine

fhn_dolly_sep09.JPGWe are very happy promoting Dolly magazine and The Unauthorised Twilight Fanpire magazine which comes with this issue.  With Twilight such big news and with the associated products (books, games, jewellery etc) this issue of Dolly is sure to sell well – but we need to pitch it to shoppers who would not usually venture down the aisle to our teen girl magazines.  At the counter, where we have this display, we expeect good impulse purchasing.

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magazines

Promoting Gourmet Traveller 2010 Restaurant Guide

fhn_gourmet_sep09.JPGWe are promoting Gourmet Traveller (out today) and their 2010 Restuarant Guide.  The display is situated in a premium location, facing shoppers leaving our two main magazines aisles.  This is the back of the ACP basket Builder stand – space which many do not use.

Given the publicity for this issue, it makes sense for newsagents to place it in a high traffic location.  We are hoping for reaching 50% sell through in a few days.

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magazines

What makes a great shopping experience

Wharton University in the US has published  “Discovering “WOW” – A Study of Great Retail Shopping Experiences in North America.  Click on the link for the executive summary.

Reserach results from the study were outlined in Getting to “Wow”: Consumers Describe What Makes a Great Shopping Experience published at  Knowledge@Wharton.  What is interesting in this article is their list of five major areas that contribute to a great shopping experience:

  • Engagement: being polite, genuinely caring and interested in helping, acknowledging and listening.
  • Executional excellence: patiently explaining and advising, checking stock, helping to find products, having product knowledge and providing unexpected product quality.
  • Brand Experience: exciting store design and atmosphere, consistently great product quality, making customers feel they’re special and that they always get a deal.
  • Expediting: being sensitive to customers’ time on long check-out lines, being proactive in helping speed the shopping process.
  • Problem Recovery: helping resolve and compensate for problems, upgrading quality and ensuring complete satisfaction.

Great shopping experiences are those we talk about to others.

Retailers trading under a common shingle – the various newsagency brands or just the word newsagency – need to collectively agree standards and strategies which drive great shopping experieences and commit to relentless pursuit of these standards and the implementation of the strategies.

Too many newsagencies are run by people who prefer process work over business leadership, people who have bought an income and not a business.

The strength of our future as a retail channel depends on how many of us want to provide a great shopping experience.

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retail

Prevention magazine sampler

Click here to download a copy of a sampler of Prevention magazine, the new title launching from Pacific Magazines in two weeks.

Prevention is the big magazine launch of 2009. It presents a great opportunity for us to build sales in the stong women’s health segment.  Getting in early with this launch is important for all newsagents.

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magazines

Our photcopying price list

copying.JPGClick on the image to see our pricelist for copying and related services at newsXpress Forest Hill.  I am publishing this here because of questions from other newsagents about what to charge for these services.  We review our prices every year.  Last year, we found we were too low in some areas and too high in others.  Copying is a good margin service offered by newsagents.  It is also a good traffic generator.  Getting the pricing balance right will determine the longer term viability of the business.

With copying the most common sold-alone service in newsagencies – based on recent shopping basket analysis – we need to ensure that we have offers around the copier which speak to those who use the service.

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Newsagency opportunities

Extra space for Famous magazine

fhn_famous_aug24.JPGGiven the impressive sales growth achieved by Famous magazine in the latest audit results we have increased the retail space allocation in our newsagencies.  The circulation results are useful tool for newsagents when assessing the performance in their store compared to the rest of the country.  Titles with break-out growth present us with an opportunity to change our approach and leverage growth for ourselves – if we are not supporting the growing titles already.

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magazines

Little House on the Prairie partwork out now

little_house.JPGWe are excited by the launch of  the Little House on the Prairie partwork series which launched yesterday in newsagencies.  This is a perfect fit for the traditional newsagency customer.  The TV series will be remembered by many.  We will promote Little House with a strong display in a good location, to leverage the TV campaign.

The only challenge was confusion over pricing – the product was priced at $4.95 while the distributor (Gotch) website told us the price was $7.95.

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partworks

Apple playing in the e-reader space

There are rumours flying around that Apple is working on reading devices which could be useful for reading digital books, magazines and newspapers.

The race is certainly on to release the device for print to match the iPod impact on music distribution.

Newsagents need to think twice before agreeing to a shop fit which includes inflexible newspaper and magazine displays.  We make our own luck in shopfit decisions.  Now if the time for the most flexible shopfits you can imagine.

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Media disruption

When the association does not answer the call

I have received calls from three newsagents over the last few days about different issues but with a common factor.  In each case, they contacted their newsagent association and sought guidance on dealing with the serious business issue they faced. In each case, the newsagent association had not got back to them.

These are lost opportunities for the associations involved.  The newsagents have another reason, from the lack of response, to think twice about remaining a member of an association.

Newsagents call associations every day for all sorts of matters.  The challenge is to prioritise each call and ensure that each is responded to in a timely and professional manner.  Had this happened in each of the instances I mention above I would not have received the call.

The associations involved understand the challenges yet prefer to focus their attention on other matters than the core of their operation – customer (member) service.

While I am happy to help any newsagent in need, I would prefer to see associations focused on serving their members on association matters.  The newsagency channel would be healthier for their attention.

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Newsagent representation

Free donuts and coffee with New Idea

fhn_new_idea_aug24.JPGWe are promoting New Idea and the offer of free coffee and cinnamon donuts at Donut King at the counter of each of our newsagencies this week.  With Donut Kings in our centres it makes sense to promote this bonus offer at the counter.

This offer is an excellent opportunity for us to contact the Donut King operator and see what newsagency offer they could promote at their business – since we are promoting their business.

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magazines

Moving Better Homes and Gardens

fhn_bhg_aug24.JPGFollowing a good weekend of sales, we moved Better Homes and Gardens to the front of our newspaper stand as we needed the counter space.  We will leave it here for the week and create another display for the weekend.  While this seems like a bit of work moving stock around, it delivers what we want in terms of sales.

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magazines

When do you reorder cards?

Card company representatives usually reorder cards for newsagents. Unless told otherwise by the newsagent, they set the criteria. Some reorder when a pocket has three cards left, others two and few on one. The best way to see if this works for you is to look at your card pockets and count how many have more than six cards.

If you have many card pockets with more than six cards, record the details: the number of pockets with seven, the number of pockets with eight and so on.
Next, check your card storage area – the back room, drawers and elsewhere. How much stock do you have which is not on display?  How long has it not been on display?

Some newsagents doing this will find oversupply others will find a card supply model working for them. A better approach is to treat this as a business challenge – meet with your card suppliers, agree on ground rules and become engaged in the card department.

While the card department is one of the best margin departments in a newsagency, it is often the one receiving the least attention from the newsagent.  This needs to change.  The more we engage with our greeting card suppliers, usually the better the performance off the department. This is a great turnaround opportunity.

To answer the question at the top of the post, look at your card sales. Most newsagencies I see could cope with ordering when down to one card in a pocket. Just this move alone will improve cash flow.

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Greeting Cards

Father’s Day window

fathers_day_window.JPGGlobes are the feature of our Father’s Day window display. We bought these for an excellent price and have them on offer as our hero Father’s Day gift in all of our stores. We have globes available pre-wrapped as a bonus service to make selecting them as a gift even easier. The window display fronts our Father’s Day gift table, cards and Dad’s Bags – it faces Dick Smith.

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visual merchandising

Newspaper home delivery trials

I understand that there are at least two new newspaper home delivery trials underway (or about to get underway) in Australia where flat pack delivery is being (or to be) trialled. Outside of the physical challenges of delivering newspapers flat is the challenge about who owns the bag.  The bag in which the paper is delivered is valuable in the hands of a smart business person.

Five years ago, the ownership of the bag, regardless of who paid for it, was non negotiable.  The newspaper publishers made it clear that they controlled the bag, what was printed on it and what was delivered inside the bag with the newspaper.

For entrepreneurial newsagents to make the most of the home delivery opportunity, they need to have mechanisms through which they can add value.  A flat pack bag is one such mechanism – the OH&S and time challenges of flat delivery notwithstanding.

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Newsagency challenges

Loving Freddo

fhn_freddo.JPGFor years our only confectionery offer has been Darrell Lea because we felt it offered a crucial point of difference.  Also, we had outlets nearby which offered the traditional impulse confectionery and gum products.

Several months ago we extended into gum and products from the Natural Confectionery Company.  While they have done well, the introduction of Cadbury impulse lines – Freddo and Caramello Koala – has been considerably more successful.  We currently have these located on the corner of our counter, near our busiest lottery terminal.  We know we will need to move these around so that our customers notice them.

Experts in the confectionery area tell me that the market for these bite-sized items is strong in businesses like newsagencies where the shop is located near a car park (as we are). Shoppers are more likely to buy something to snack on as they walk to their car when leaving a centre than when walking into a centre.

We still promote Darrell Lea on the stands and at our counters.  The range continues to drive destination business as well as impulse business.

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confectionary

Playstation World closes in the UK

Future Publishing just closed Playstation World magazine in the UK due to falling sales according to Magazine Death Pool.

There is no doubt that some magazine segments are challenged and that others are buoyant.  This is why we need to continuously reallocate space and focus in our newsagencies, in response to sales.   We see trends ahead of publishers if we take careful interest in our own sales data.

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magazines
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