newsXpress launched this awesome homewares / outdoors / adult gift product months ago and it has been a hit for Christmas. It is an Aussie product for the Aussie marketplace. Here’s a video I made for newsxpress members to use to promote it. Be sure to watch it with the sound on:
A common question I am asked privately from people who find me through this blog is what should I ask for when looking at buying a newsagency?
The question itself, when asked, indicates how green a prospective purchaser is when it comes to purchasing a business.
Here is an updated list of data I suggest newsagency business purchasers access from the vendor or their representative. I first published this two years ago. I’ve just updated it:
This is good basic information that will enable any purchaser to undertake reasonable assessment of a business.
A good business will shine through the numbers just as a business with upside achievable by new owners will shine through.
My advice to newsagents looking to sell who are concerned about this list is: think about it now and focus on your business so the data I have listed looks good.
Every day you make decisions in your business that impact many of the data points listed.
This is why I say every day is your pay day. Run a smart, lean and profit focused business and you will have a good pay day today and a good one when you come to sell.
The most appealing businesses are those that are easier to run and are making money.
The time to focus on that is now.
Sure a purchaser can turn a business around. They should get the rewards if they are expected to do that for your business.
The price you can sell your business for will be based on what it is making now.
Getting the data ready for the sale of the business could, of itself, help you improve how you run your business.
I heard of a newsagent being ripped off recently, paying more than $12,000 for a mediocre security system for their business that is not ideal for the business.
Here is my advice on buying security cameras:
Much has changed in security camera technology over recent years. Whereas in the past best-practice advice was to install a retail specific security system connected to your POS software, that is no longer recommended.
Many domestic camera solutions are better and more cost effective for small business retailers than those pitched specifically at retail businesses.
DVR (the device that records the video) technology is changing rapidly, making it challenging for integrated systems to keep up.
The connection to your POS software is not important, especially when you consider the cost of systems that offer such a connection.
Myadvice is that you start by considering what you want. Usually, the most important need is a record of what went on in-store – so you can see who did what and when and from anywhere including outside the business.
While security will be a key need, cameras will also enable you to track shopper traffic and this this you can make product placement decisions that drive better business outcomes.
Here is what I suggest you cover with cameras:
As for cameras, don’t go cheap. Resolution o is key. Buy units that you can control remotely. Wireless is best – if you have good stable in-store Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi means you can save on wiring and easily move the cameras as the needs of the business change – but you still need power. Consider how you want night video to be handled.
When it comes to the DVR, it may be more cost effective to get two. It all depends on the prices available at the time. Two smaller units for 6 to 8 cameras may be cheaper than a bigger unit serving 8 cameras.
Install a monitor in-store to show you are recording.
If you are not sure what you want to do, start with two to four cameras in prime locations. This could cost under $1,000.
Checking out the latest free magazines from the major supermarkets and it is no wonder some food titles are finding it tough.
The free titles of years ago in supermarkets are nothing compared to the terrific content and production quality we are seeing today.
These free magazines in the major supermarkets today are tough competitors.
We received this at the office a couple of days ago. It’s a letter from a customer of newsXpress Southland. I am grateful they sent it and grateful for the team member involved.
Click on it for a larger version.
Alex Turnbull tweeted Monday about circulation numbers for News Corp. titles
Compassion is important and today I’d like to meditate on what it must be like to be @newscorp which is seeing most of its circulation implode faster than an emerging market this year. Circulation numbers below form 10k filings #auspol pic.twitter.com/s9IGBvC0e5
— Alex Turnbull (@alexbhturnbull) December 10, 2018
Here are two tables included in the thread. Turnbull says they are from the News Corp. 10K filing. They show challenging circulation numbers for the publisher. The first table shows the year on year movement in circulation for cap city dailies. the declines we are seeing here are like what we have seen over the last two years for most Fairfax titles.
This second table shows circulation for cap city dailies.
In Some respects, there is nothing new here. Through the quarterly benchmark results we have seen declines in over the counter purchase. However, for the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph, my numbers re not as bad as the numbers here.
Newsagents cannot rely in print newspapers whatsoever in their business planning and modelling. We can transition through this and have viable, growing businesses. Achieving that requires action and a focus outside what has been traditional for Australian newsagency businesses.
We place this poster pitching the 65 cent Christmas card postage price tactically in the shop to remind shoppers that cards cost less to post than usual letters.
Small reminders like this help this time of year when we have the infrequent card shopper in-store.
Better still, selling the stamps and providing a place for people to write on the cards and offering to post them helps drive an even better outcome.
Christmas card sales are strong this year. It is too early to do the year on year comparison but I am feeling good. Boxed cards have been especially strong.
This same pitch also works on social media.
We all need to do our bit to nurture card buying. Merely allocating the space in-store for card companies to stock and manage is not enough any more.
What a messy weekend for for newsagents because of the News Corp. promoted Coles Little Shop Mini campaign. The company aggressively promoted the free offer one the front of the paper, the paper sold in newsagencies.
FREE TODAY. WITH THE PAPER. The pitch on the front page of the Sunday Herald Sun is clear. However, it was not free with the paper, not in newsagencies. No, we had to tell shoppers they needed to go to Coles to buy then paper to get the free Little Shop Mini. How ridiculous. News Corp. sold newsagents out.
This is another example of the giant News Corp. siding with its mate the giant Coles Corporation, to the detriment of small business newsagents.
Customers at newsagency counters were angry yesterday and Saturday. Plenty wanted to argue about it from what I am told. This disrupted the shop and impacted negatively on the business.
Yet, newsagents we’re innocent. Telling people to the fine print inside the newspaper did not help.
Here is the detail of the offer inside the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday. The fine print is really fine and that made people angrier. Just give me my F&*$ing little shop thing you moron one customer said to the newsagency sales assistant. No one should have to put up with this anger. And, we would not have to put up with it if News Corp. did a better job executing the campaign. They did not. They failed us. They failed small business. All to benefit a big business mate in Coles.
Take a look at the fine print from yesterday’s Sunday Herald Sun…
Burying this as they did, News Corp. setup trouble for newsagents and other non Coles retailers.
What a mess.
Those responsible at News Corp. owe newsagents an apology for the harm done, the hurt caused and the disrespect shown.
Now, a note to newsagency suppliers who also supply Coles – what has happened here plays into how newsagents feel about your engagement with the supermarket giant and other giants. For here we have a long-term newsagency supplier, one we launched distribution for in this country acting in ways that hurt our businesses and our brand in our local communities. How we feel about this plays into how we feel about your involvement with Coles and similar.
One newsagent told me yesterday that this campaign will bring forward their decision to cut newspapers from their shop as they are sick of the lack of control over the impact this mediocre margin product has on their business.
The newspaper customer says they want the Little Shop Christmas Mini. When told they have to go to Coles they become frustrated. When told they have to actually buy the paper from there to be able to get it them ask: so why is advertised on the front of the paper here?
I agree.
Why is News Copy promoting a Coles exclusive offer on the front page of newspapers sold in newsagencies.
This front page cam pain by News Corp. is disruptive, disrespectful and demonstrating support for the supermarket giant over independent small business retailers.
Four new ranges of products have been launched by US company Ty in Australia over the last month. The launches have driven in-store and online shopper interest to new levels. While the launch range was exclusive to newsXpress, the other three were not.
I decided we would produce in-house shot videos as a differentiator. This morning, we published the seventh video that we have made. There are more in the can ready for release.
The videos are made solely for social media. They educate about the product and pitch the newsXpress offer in a fresh and different light to what you see from other retailers. They pitch in a may that is not traditional for newsagency businesses.
Differentiation is key in the collectible space of what are essentially mass produced items.
Here is one of the videos we released earlier this week, which has had thousands of views.
News Corp. preferences Coles over small business newspaper outlets with this deal as promoted in today’s Herald Sun:
This story about a restaurant in Boston that uses robotic tech. to prepare and cook shows how some roles w considered to be human-only forever are being replaced by technology. This is interesting in retail as labour cost is something any retailer wants to reduce.
We got an online sale Saturday night for $153.89 to someone who lives a ten minutes from the shop. They knew they were purchasing local but did not take much notice of where we were since they don’t often come to the big shopping centre.
Now that they know what we have and are so close, they have said they will come in because previously they had only bought this specific category online.
We found them through the website and the service provided helped connect them with the physical store.
Every day or so this story repeats and online sales grow and as a web presence plays a more important role in being found by shoppers looking for products we sell. Doing this through interest categories and / or brands is valuable as it puts us in front of people who would not look in a newsagency for what we sell.
We knew websites are used to guide in-store purchases from research by Telstra and others. Experiencing this first have for a product category that ends itself to repeat business is most encouraging.
Having a good website is key. It being easily found is also key. These things deliver online revenue but, better still, can drive in-store purchase.
Oh, and the product in this transaction is not a usual newsagency line … and, it has a >50% gross profit.
Reach, the UK’s largest regional newspaper publisher says the home delivery distribution model for its free newspapers is “no longer sustainable”. It is closing the Solihull News this month, a title with a circulation of 44,786, according to December 2017 audit figures.
Reach (formerly Trinity Mirror) attributed the struggle to a “continued decline in local print advertising, particularly in the key property platform”.
In Australia we have been insulted from newspaper closures with plenty of our titles delivering lower circulation numbers that US and UK titles that have closed. I suspect this is in part due to the propping up of titles by newsagents through the provision of low cost distribution.
This is an interesting thread on Twitter about the new paywall for The Brisbane Times. Newsagents get a mention. Be sure to read the full thread and comments.
So, Brisbane Times has taken the leap to the world of a paywalled site, just as Nine’s Kylie Blucher will likely become the most powerful name in Queensland’s media, when the Fairfax name disappears on December 10.
— Adrian Cutts (@LYBASkw) November 29, 2018
At the same time as passing on a modest fee increase for distribution and retail newsagents, Fairfax has signalled a change to its remuneration process. This, in a letter sent to newsagents. I bolded the part of the letter that deals with the change.
Fairfax Media Newsagent Fee Review – NSW & ACT (excluding Far North Coast NSW)
Fairfax Media has now completed a detailed review of the retail sales fees and delivery service fees currently paid to newsagents for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald and The Age newspapers.
Fairfax considers that the current annual fee review process needs to change to reflect the changing newspaper sales and distribution landscape. It is our intention to move to a fee model and review process that is performance based. This model will provide for fee increases based on specific performance metrics, and will align with our newsagency contracts which contain provisions for fee penalties for non-compliance, or failure to meet existing performance criteria. Work on this is already underway.
In the interim, Fairfax has decided to pass on an increase to its sales and service fees effective from Monday 3 December 2018.
The following fees will increase and will be reflected on your weekly newsagent statements issued after that date –
- Retail Sales Fee
- Home Delivery Service Fee
- Home Delivery Fee – 2nd or multiple copies
- Fairfax Managed Sub-Agent Delivery Fee (Supermarket/chain deliveries)
Details of each of the fee increases are shown in the Tables on the following pages of this notice. Further information can be found in the Fairfax Fee Schedule which will be available on Connect shortly.
I think this letter signals plans for a shake out of newspaper distribution and retail businesses, given the focus on compliance and the goal of aligning with provisions in the Fairfax contract.
What Fairfax management does not get is that what they pay is a pittance for a retail presence. Year on year, rent increases by 5%, wages by between 3% and 5% and overheads by 5%. Fairfax has not been keeping up and their forecast new approach will make matters worse I suspect. The result will be fewer retail newsagents selling their products.
Here are the new fees announced with the letter:
There are reports that The Daily Telegraph next Saturday will weight just under 1kg. The thin papers of recent years have seen distribution newsagents and their delivery people adjust processes, equipment and the throw.
The forecast considerable weight reminds me of the work done more than ten years ago by the then ANF into ergonomic matters relating to newspaper delivery. The Nery Report, as it was called, was the focus of distribution newsagents for many months.
According to the Nery Report, current work practices are unsafe. The report documents unsafe work practices which stem, in part, from having to handle heavy newspapers. Any newspaper above .6 kilogram in weight is considered to be heavy. Consider this quote from the Executive Summary the report:
The Results section of this report (page 10) has outlined significant ergonomic risk factors associated with the newspaper delivery tasks. These risk factors are particularly related to dimensions of the weekend papers (Advertiser and Sunday Mail) when combined with the repetition, volume and manual handling aspects of the delivery process. In particular, there are significant risks associated with the delivery/throwing of the larger dimensioned and heavier Saturday Advertiser and Sunday Mail newspapers.
David Nery, the respected author of the Nery report was clear:
The current situation, in my view, is unsafe and modifications to the weight, dimensions and volume of papers distributed per person need to be reduced to provide a safe system of work.
While I have written plenty of times here about heavy newspapers and the Nery Report, it feels odd to be writing about it in 2018 when some days papers are mere pamphlets.
If the unusually large paper does proceed this weekend, newsagents should take appropriate precautions and engage with staff to ensure reasonable occupational health and safety.
We changed the small square Facebook icon photo last week and a few minutes later we had a sale of the item featured in the photo. The photo of the Harry Potter school bag was a hit. We used the photo because we liked it, not actually expecting to make an immediate sale. The experience was a timely rem under two regularly change this photo and to do it regularly.
We have a few Donald Trump themes cards in-store and they are popular. The greater the fun they make of him the more popular they are. The squishy we had of Trump was popular too. Just as Trump mocks others, plenty of people enjoy mocking him … and we are happy to oblige with product.
Sales of celebrity / gossip titles continue to fall dramatically. They are not the traffic drivers we relied on in our newsagency businesses ten and more years ago. Back then, Monday’s were wonderful with the steady stream of shoppers coming in for their fix. Today, while day of issue sales are higher than other days, they are not even remotely close to what they were.
The consumer of these titles is well satisfied with immediate access through TMZ, social media, purpose specific apps and channels such as YouTube and Twitter, like this one, PeopleTV…
We’re breaking down the biggest celebrity news stories of the day. Watch #PeopleNow with @JeremyParsonsTV and @andreaboehlke! https://t.co/vfbt2pxOwB
— PeopleTV (@peopletv) November 26, 2018
The latest catalogue distributed by Australia Post, a Christmas catalogue, sees, in my opinion, Australia Post overstep its obligations under the Act under which it operates. My concern here is their corporate stores, their government owned stores. These stores are the federal government operating a business, competing with small family run businesses.
Take a look at some of what is in this sixteen page catalogue.
How do I see this as an overstep? Australia Post is a protected brand, a monopoly. landlords give them preferential treatment, delivering a lower occupancy cost. They land people in their shops because of their monopoly over core products and services.
Here is why I think they are in breach of the act.
Section 14 of the Act requires Australia Post to provide a postal service first and foremost:
The principal function of Australia Post is to supply postal services within Australia and between Australia and places outside Australia.
Section 15 talks about permitted subsidiary functions:
A subsidiary function of Australia Post is to carry on, outside Australia, any business or activity relating to postal services.
Section 16 talks about other permitted functions:
Functions incidental businesses and activities
(1) The functions of Australia Post include the carrying on, within or outside Australia, of any business or activity that is incidental to: (a) the supplying of postal services under section 14; or (b) the carrying on of any business or activity under section 15.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the functions of Australia Post include the carrying on, within or outside Australia, of any business or activity that is capable of being conveniently carried on: (a) by the use of resources that are not immediately required in carrying out Australia Post’s principal or subsidiary function; or (b) in the course of: (i) supplying postal services under section 14; or (ii) carrying on any business or activity under section 15.
Successive federal governments have permitted Australia Post to take millions of dollars in revenue from small businesses, from family businesses. The situation is getting worse. The behaviour of federal politicians in relation to Australia Post over-reach makes a mockery of the often repeated claims in support of small business.
The federal government deregulated newspaper and magazine distribution in 1999 saying that newsagents needed to get into the competitive world. It is a pity that they have not applied the same competition rules to the business they own.
Back to the Christmas 2018 catalogue. Almost every page contains items shoppers can purchase from their local newsagency, pharmacy, toy shop, book shop and more … local family run businesses that need to market to attract shoppers for what they sell. Australia Post, on the other hand, lands people for low cost because of their monopoly and then sell what these other small businesses sell, as the add on, as the cream … dining revue from the independent small businesses.
It is time for Aussie politicians to walk the walk when it comes to small business retail.
Finally, to be clear, I have no concern with what LPOs do in that they are locally owned businesses. My concern here is the corporate stores.
The Small Business Ombudsman has launched a survey seeking data on payment times being experienecedc by small businesses. This survey will help develop understanding of the current payment times being experienced by small businesses.
Partial and late payments, seeking discounts to pay in 30 days, offering loans to cover extended terms, forces the business to find ways to finance the short fall in their working capital.
ASBFEO’s 2017 Payment Times and Practices Inquiry found Australian corporations paid invoices on average 26.4 days late – the worst in the world. Our more recent research, involving 1600 businesses, identified the biggest cause of dispute remains payments (44%); either the full amount not being paid (26%) or not being paid on time (18%). The ASBFEO is seeking feedback from small and family businesses on this issue.
If you run accounts in your business, this quick survey is a good way of ensuring your experiences in getting paid are represented at an important level of government.
The announcement this week by the NSW state government that people will be able to use their credit / debit card to travel on trains is another indicator that newsagents should not rely on agency business.
Sydney commuters and tourists can now pay for their train rides by tapping on with a credit or debit card, instead of an Opal.
The NSW Government announced the system has been rolled out across the city’s entire train network, after trials on ferries and light rail.
The changes bring Sydney in line with other contactless payment methods in other international cities, such as London.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the new system would not replace Opal cards.
Government and privately owned businesses that rely on newsagents and other retailers to act as agents for collecting money are focussed on cutting costs. A retail network is expensive, despite agency fees being fractional. This move in NSW makes sense.
From a traveller perspective, not having to go to a shop to load money on a card to use on a train is a good thing. However, it increases the risk of minor card fraud.
From the transport operator perspective, it more directly connects them with their customer.
Sure, there are restrictions on card use, such as the handling of concession pricing. However, over time they will resolve this. People want fewer cards. Companies like Apple want people to replace all their cards with their phone.
Thinking more broadly on the topic of agency related business, my advice has been and continues to be that I see no upside whatsoever in agency lines for small business retailers. They are inefficient in terms of basket depth and often come with compliance requirements that can play against what is best for the long term health of the business.
Further to my posts here, here and elsewhere on the cashless trend, the ABN yesterday reported on comments by the Governor of the Reserve Bank on this topic.
Regulators are pushing us into a cashless world as RBA declares ‘a turning point has been reached’
By business reporter Nassim KhademCash will become a niche payment sooner than we think and cheques will be phased out, says Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe, as the Federal Government considers imposing tougher penalties on cash economy activity.
On Monday Mr Lowe told the Australian Payments Summit in Sydney that for some decades people have been speculating that we might one day go cashless, and now it could become a reality.
“It looks like a turning point has been reached. It is now easier than it has been to conceive of a world in which banknotes are used for relatively few payments; that cash becomes a niche payment instrument,” Mr Lowe said.
Non cash payment in retail is certainly growing as all of us with shops are seeing. This is being facilitated by multiple payment options as well as new sources of finance for sending such as the buy now pay later providers.
It is important we engage with a variety of options so how we receive payment is not a barrier to getting the sale.
Whether we like it or not, cashless business is growing. Governments, especially, will like this as it better serves their revenue need.
The ABC article references a Treasury discussion paper on the digital economy. Click here to access that discussion paper.