Magazines are a relevant medium
Of 100 people participating in a poll around the world, including four in Australia, 71% said magazines are a relevant medium in today’s world.
The great wall
It looks like we made a mistake with our shop fit three years ago at Forest Hill when we created a boxed in window in front of our card areas.
While it was nice to have the window space for wonderful displays, sales growth of cards and related items since the wall of the window was removed two weeks ago tells us we made a mistake. We thought this might have been Christmas related but data analysis shows this is not the case.
Whereas in the past customers saw a boxed in display, now they see through to the shop. Now I am asking myself – what were you thinking?!!!
We are still feeling our way with the new space – we have spinners in the window at present to stop our customers walking into the glass … yes they have been, ouch!
The things people do
When the Hallmark merchandiser was refreshing the stock at our newsXpress Watergardens store she noticed a Nanna birthday card from another card company. Since Hallmark is the only brand in the store it was an odd discovery. Either someone stole a card from somewhere else and dumped it in our store or they purchased (or stole) from an other store and replaced it with one from our store.
Are print newspapers a relevant medium today?
Do you think print newspapers are relevant medium in today’s world? This is a question I posed through the new Ask500People website. 100 people voted from across the globe. 66% voted yes and 34% voted no. Here is a visual snapshot of the results:
My interest was in trying out the new Ask500People site. I like the idea of an instant polling facility even though the results are unscientific. It is interesting to see, visually on the Google map and in a tabular form the location and vote of each of the voters.
Years ago, in the days of more personal and fearless contact, retailers took the pulse of the community as did taxi drivers. Today, in a faster world with barriers blocking personal contact, it will take sites like Ask500People to do this.
As for the question I put, I expected that the early adopter types using Ask500People would produce a resounding No result. The Yes result is a strong vote for print newspapers, something I find encouraging – even though it may reflect more desire than thoughtful analysis.
Ask500People is like the ask the audience option on a TV quiz show. If you want a view from the masses, you may get it here. It is an interesting social media site in that beyond the questions is the opportunity for interaction with those responding and from this, who knows, maybe new friendships are formed.
So, what does this mean for newsagents? Not much except that Ask500People is another example of changes in how we interact with each other. Our businesses are personal. We have a generation fast rising which has not experienced the personal contact around which our businesses have grown. We risk irrelevance to them. We cannot run set and forget businesses. Our newsagencies need to change to maintain relevance an this means navigating a less personal world.
Special interest titles driving growth
At our Watergardens location, a greenfield location open not even two months, it is interesting to see that the growth in magazine sales is coming from special interest titles more so that the weeklies.
While we have the weeklies in prime position, visitors seek out the special interest titles which they cannot find in our part of the shopping centre. It reinforces the importance of magazine range as a point of difference and is providing us with an opportunity for promoting this new business.
Free daily blog
For people tracking the happenings of free daily newspapers, the free-daily.com is worth a look. Blogger Clyde Davis posts regularly about the growing influence of free daily newspapers in the US.
I love Cadbury singles
I love Cadbury singles … on many fronts. Yes, I love the chocolate, that is a given. I also love the way they are pitching the product – 99 calories. I also love that it is priced so that I can sell this to soak up change from a newspaper purchase. This is the perfect up-sell for a newsagency.
Would you prefer a chocolate in your hand to some silver? Chocolate of course! Good retailers will make these Cadbury Singles work beautifully for them. We hope to.
New website for Sophie Randall
We have replaced the website for our Sophie Randall business. The new design better reflects the focus and values of the business. Not all pages are up yet, it’s a work in progress.
Wellington bear found
I passed on carrying Wellington Bear when I first saw this new offer from Hallmark. We were committed to Forever Friends and didn’t see the need for another plush story from Hallmark.
Two weeks ago, I took the time to listen to the Wellington Bear story and, finally some would say, I got it. I got that this bear was different. Wellington has a back story – printed on every Wellington product except the cards. This story provides context and helps us (me) better understand those likely to purchase Wellington.
With so many new products pitched to newsagents, invited and uninvited, it is challenge to pay sufficient attention to each. Of course every supplier says this is the one, the product which will beat all others. What I am more interested in is the purpose of this product. This is why I (belatedly) like the Wellington story.
Christmas magazine display
This is the new magazine feature display at one of our register points created by our team at Forest Hill. They have brought together a good range of Christmas themed titles from a variety of categories including food, craft and home/living.
Since we do not have a shelf displaying magazines along the counter, this stand is our main magazine impulse purchase opportunity at this counter. It is proving to be valuable space for us.
By displaying this range of magazines we not only connect with Christmas shopping – which is well under way – we also demonstrate the breadth of our magazine range – something we take every opportunity to achieve.
We change this stand every 7 to 10 days – Christmas titles will get two shots.
Kudos for Handle magazine
Kudos to the folks at Handle magazine for placing their latest issue in a resealable bag. This way, browsers can browse the magazine and the accompanying DVD package and put it back into the bag.
At least the facilities are there to keep the product merchantable – as opposed to the many other magazines in sealed bags which are ripped by browsers wanting to try before they buy.
It is good to see a publisher attuned to the needs of newsagents and their customers and prepared to try alternatives.
Boxed cards all year
This photo shows a small part of the range of boxed cards we are selling from our Sophie Randall store.
Settling on the range was a challenge given that traditional card suppliers do not have the broad rang we wanted for year round giving.
Now that we have the range and sales to match, I am confident that at least some of the range would sell in newsagencies if presented appropriately and located between social stationery and greeting cards.
Boxed cards are big in Europe and the US all through the year while in Australia, in most stores, they remain a Christmas focus.
OH&S claim for newspaper delivery driver
I’ve heard that a newsagent is facing a workplace claim for shoulder injury from a newspaper delivery. driver. The newsagency is located in a state where overweight newspapers is a known problem. If the threatened claim eventuates I’d expect to see the matter quickly escalate to include an industry wide review of practices.
The challenge with this issue is accountability. While the proposed case I heard of would be against the newsagent as the employer, I’d expect the publisher to be involved somehow since they create the fat newspapers and know of the OH&S challenges these create.
Publishers make money from the advertising which drives the weight. Newsagents are on a fixed income no matter what size the paper and this is where inequity in the current arrangements start.
While the case may settle before going any further, there will be others. This is a hot issue among newsagents and people who work for newsagents.
Summer Heights High popular
Interesting to see Rolling Stone and J Mag choose Summer Heights High characters for the cover their respective latest issues.
We’re banking on Ja’mie and Jonah helping us achieve additional sales of both titles – we co-located copies outside the usual music display area.
Rove hot
Rove McManus is hot in the eyes of magazine editors with four covers this week. Judging by sales from several newsagencies I have seen I’d say the editors are right. Woman’s Day is doing especially well.
Time to review newspaper supply arrangements
With newsagents selling their newspaper home delivery businesses in unprecedented numbers, publishers and other stakeholders ought to review how they view and engage with the retail newsagent.
A common situation I see is that when a newsagent sells their home delivery round to concentrate on retail, they drop to being a second class citizen in the eyes of the publishers. This does not happen every time but I have seen it enough to record it as a problem. (I note that this has not been my experience – I am commenting of what others have told me.)
I’d like to see the retail newsagent have a robust direct publisher relationship. This is essential is maximum sales are to be achieved. Too often I have seen inadequate support to the retail newsagent for promotions such as DVDs, posters and the like. A direct relationship could avoid this and actually help the newsagent achieve higher sales.
Publishers invest heavily in subsidising home delivery subscriptions. Equal effort spent on the retail network could reap excellent sales growth. Just because I sold my home delivery round a year ago does not mean I care less about newspapers. In fact, the contrary is true – I see the importance of newspapers from a pure retail perspective. This focus is good for the publishers – if they wish to engage more deeply with retail only newsagents.
E Ink evolving
Engadget reports on some E Ink developments which were shown off at a trade show a couple of days ago. Some say E Ink could replace print newspapers. The challenges are battery power, portability and durability. Various publishers are investing in this and related technologies.
Good Food Guide goes mobile
The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald have each opened free mobile phone access to their highly successful Good Food Guide listings. Given how the Guide is used by diners, I’d expect the mobile service to attract many users.
How does this affect newsagents? Every newspaper connected franchise which moves to online distribution channels is a challenge for newsagents – I hope they (we) are taking notice.
On a technical note, the team at Fairfax may want to make sure that links on The Age page reflect that. The FAQs talk only of the SMH.
Will newspapers survive?
Jeff Jacoby writing at The Boston Globe over the weekend writes about this. It’s a thoughtful piece – in a newspaper of all mediums. Howard Owens and others have some interesting observations on the same topic at his blog.
Discussion of the future of newspapers is important yet pretty much neglected here in Australia. Either we’re in denial or the challenges playing out overseas will pass us by.
Given the importance of newspapers to newsagents, it is vital we engage in the conversation about the future of the product in its current form. Such engagement will, hopefully, guide our commercial considerations about our own future. Our retail and distribution businesses were, after all, created by publishers to serve their needs.
Cheap stationery from China
At a Hong Kong trade fair yesterday I saw stationery from many China based factories. Some items were familiar to me – they are sold in Australia under a house brand. Given the prices offered, I was left wondering why newsagent house brands can’t be more effective than they are. Surely those newsagents who want a house brand strategy can buy better, sell for less and make more than is achieved today.
Based on the prices of some items I saw in Hong Kong, current pricing for house brand stationery offered to newsagents in Australia could be off by between 25% and 50%.
Rewarding magazine browsers
Newsagents often complain about browsers who spend too long reading magazines and newspapers and leave without making a purchase. We are about to experiment with a browsers bonus using a coupon which will hand to browsers and peak times in an effort to bounce them to another category and a purchase.
Our first offer is around greeting cards. Given that most magazine browsers in our newsagency to not buy a card we figures any sale is a bonus. We will test the coupon on Thursday and Friday evenings as well as on Saturday – our peak magazine browsing times.
Foreign Christmas cards
Even though our range is small, these foreign Christmas cards sell very well.
Our view is that if we want to be a destination for cards, we need to cater to all possible niches, including foreign language cards. We do sell foreign language newspapers after all so it makes sense.
What we have not mastered is how we can locate these cards near our foreign language newspapers to maximise the up-sell opportunity – not that we need to as they sell very well.
10 amazing uses for old newspapers
Courtesy of Gomestic. Who knew?!!!
Cultish reps need a cool down
I’ve been told about a rep who visited our Forest Hill store Friday who wanted us to carry some new magazine which is to be given away free. It will change your business forever, he said. It will change your customer’s lives, he said. I think we need to get a water pistol at the counter to cool down some of the cultish reps who claim they will change our lives. We should give then 15 seconds to leave otherwise we squirt them. They will soon learn. If I want my life changed I’ll go to Mecca, Vatican City, Lourdes or Lumbini.
The Standard sets a standard
The Standard free newspaper in Hong Kong is different to the free daily newspapers I have seen elsewhere. A free newspaper like this would impact sales of paid-for newspapers is released in Australia. It has everything from serious news – a page one story on the exchange rate – through to good sports coverage – a back page story about the loss suffered by Shane Warne’s All Stars here yesterday to Sri Lanka in the Hong Kong Sixes.
While we have geographic challenges in Australia and lack the capital city population mass of, say, Hong Kong, I am sure that the free model is something Australian newspaper publishers continue to watch with keen interest. Newsagents would do well to match that interest.