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

Finding the sweet spot for Justice League

IMG_8816I love the floor display unit for the Justice League figurines. It is strong, dramatic and perfectly branded. The products did not sell. Price point was an issue. I think this is because it is licenced product and from Schleich – a premium brand.

Performance demanded we quit the range. We dropped price to $9.99 and immediately the products started selling. Customers love the characters and everything else about the Justice League range including the new price point.

The space we freed was more important than holding out to possibly make margin on the stock.

Quitting underperforming stock has to be done without emotion and at a price point that meets the needs of the business.

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Newsagency management

Making the most of Set for Life in the newsagency

While I don’t have lotteries in my newsagencies, I have been helping a few newsagents engage with Set for Life to make the most of the launch opportunity. This is important regardless of Tatts also offering it online.

Here are my tips for launching this new game in your business:

  1. Know the target demographic. All I have read suggests this game will appeal more to a younger audience than traditional lottery games in Australia. Play to this demo in your marketing.
  2. Talk about the game online, on Facebook and other platforms where you represent your business.
  3. Tell stories about what the $20,000 a month could mean.
  4. Run a competition on how would you spend $20,000 a month.
  5. Consider launching with a competition or promotion where one customer wins a $8.40 Set for Life ticket – run this for four weeks.
  6. Look for stories from the US where major prize winners have been able to take prizes monthly for many years.

It is not too late to go big and loud in promoting Set for Life as it will take some time to build interest in the new product. It is essential you do more than sell the game across the counter.

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Lotteries

Sunday newsagency challenge: get cards out of the card department

IMG_8829 (1)This is easy. Take a spare stand, fill it with a range of cards that appeal to a shopper you struggle to get into the business, put it on the lease line so passers-by can see it and watch to see if the stand attracts people. If the stand does not work, change the cards and keep doing this until you see people who would not usually shop with you stop and take a look.

Look at the photo how one of the people in my newsagency set this up. The branding at the top and bottom are key to making a strong and professional statement.

Don’t assume that having a card department is all you need to do to get people to consider purchasing cards from you.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency management tip: know your total stock holding

A retailer last week told me that they enter inventory into their shop computer system when they move it from the garage at home to the shop. They explained they purchase products at a discount by buying in bulk and don;t consider them part of the shop’s stock until it is at the shop.

Their approach means this business does not have accurate reporting on stock turn, return on investment and aged sock performance. I6 means they are ill-informed when it comes to making buying decisions.

Buying because of a special deal for bulk could be false economy. You will rarely know unless you carefully track your stock.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: use TV advertising

IMG_8738Partwork launches provide us the best opportunity to drive traffic yet many newsagents ignore this, preferring to complain about the margin rather than considering the value of the bigger picture. Most partwork launches in Australian are supported with a high rotation TV ad, often on free to in prime time. Here is how we leverage these:

  1. Placement of the launch issue so people outside the shop can see it.
  2. Talking about the launch on our business Facebook page prior to launch.
  3. Talking about the launch issue immediately it is in stock and through the two week launch on-sale.
  4. Using other social media to leverage the launch TV for our business.
  5. Emailing all customers through the Pacific Magazines nexus program or directly to promote the launch.

A comprehensive co-ordinated approach is key to enjoying the most success possible from apart works launch.

With hundreds of thousands spent on a launch it makes sense to me that we ride the back of this to drive traffic with the goal of that new traffic seeing what else we sell.

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marketing

The number of candle suppliers is a warning

Walking through some of the gift fair in Melbourne today I am surprised at the number of candle suppliers. I do not recall seeing this many. Small independent makers showing off boutique candles and importers with international ranges.

The number of candle suppliers tells me to be careful about candles, to ask questions about other retailers they stock. If I was to offer candles I am more likely to stock a range that is not available elsewhere in my catchment area.

However, given the broad availability of candles I am not like to stock them.

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Newsagency challenges

Melbourne Gift Fairs important for newsagents

The Melbourne Gift Fairs (Reed and Home & Giving) start today and Life In Style started 2 days ago. Here is some of the advice provided by newsagency marketing group newsXpress to members in advance of the fairs:

  1. Know your data. Look at your reports and be certain of what is working and what is now. Have sales data for each supplier you plan to visit. Have your card category data as this guides gift categories you can sell.
  2. Know your finances. Know how much you can spend and when through the next six months.
  3. Know your timing. There are space, cash flow and other factors to consider when agreeing dates on when to deliver.
  4. Know your competitors. Know your competitors before you go. Look for changes in their ranges. Spot strengths and weaknesses.
  5. Buy strategically. Think about suppliers who place product anywhere compared to suppliers who make sure retailers with their ranges are not too close to each other.
  6. You are not your customer. Buy for your customers and not for yourself.
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Newsagency management

A Disney pitch behind the counter

IMG_8853We have refreshed our behind the counter offer with a range of Disney art pieces by Pop Artist Romero Britto. Disney collectors love them. Britto fans love them. They are an adorable gift. Better still, they are a perfect behind the counter offer for pitching what the business stands for compared to others.

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Gifts

Resetting the magazines for the weekend

IMG_8815On a Friday we reset magazine facings to reflect the different shopper we have visiting from Friday afternoon through to Sunday afternoon. In our case they are more interested in fringe and special interest titles. Our changes reflect this, to create a magazine department different to the two Coles supermarkets in the centre.

Placing Daphne’s Diary and Vintage Made at the front with the full cover on show are two examples of moves we make to position our magazine offer differently in the centre.

While the magazine distribution model continues to frustrate, we continue to try for tasty lemonade with how we manage magazines in-store.

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magazines

Frustration with IPS

IMG_8814 (1)I like Forge magazine but I do not like that I get four copies when I only need 2 and that I have to keep it on the shelves longer than viable given the cost of the space it occupies.

It is tough and often unprofitable work being a magazine specialist.

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magazine distribution

Is the IBIS report on newsagencies based on flawed Hubbed pitch?

Reading the IBISWorld Industry Report OD5495: Newsagencies in Australia, I am left wondering how wide their research took them since they place considerable emphasis on the Hubbed Connect platform. There are nine references over 29 pages including this from page 11:

The Connect model, which is being offered to newsagencies, is anticipated to provide significant growth opportunities for outlets. The Connect portfolio is expected to offer consumers a one-stop shop for a range of products and services that they would previously have demanded from a range of alterative retailers. The Connect model is expected to reinvigorate the Newsagencies industry by proving scope for growth across a number of products.

It appears inadequate research was done when you consider this from page 6:

The Connect system enabled newsagency customers to undertake a range of tasks they would previously have done at other retailers, from bill payment to parcel shipment and photo printing.

Newsagents have had parcel shipment and photo printing for years.

The Connect related statements read like they are from Connect or their launch partner the ANF. Today, in 2015, I know of plenty of newsagents trying to ditch Connect but having trouble.

It is disappointing that the Ibis document has not covered more commercially valuable innovation being leveraged by individual and groups of newsagents. To me, the inadequate coverage means the Ibis report is not accurate, certainly not worth the $900.00+ price tag (unless you got it free).

The report was published to the ANF managed Facebook group and removed shortly after I wrote about it here.

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Hubbed

A timely reminder about retail business security

A newsagent in a small town in Victoria was hit with an armed break in earlier this week. The two criminals were clearly looking for cash following the OzLotto jackpot. After trashing this business they went on to several others.

Look at the security you have in place for your business and those who work in it. Make sure the business itself is safe and that you have in place good detection systems to assist the police in the event of a break in.

  1. If you work late, consider installing good lighting for safe visible access from your business to transport.
  2. On particularly busy days, bank during the day. Do not follow a regular pattern for banking.
  3. Use a big mother of a safe that will withstand sustained attack – as happened in the newsagency break-in earlier this week.
  4. Have an excellent LOUD alarm system.
  5. Have a height scale at the door.
  6. Have a CCTV system with cameras positioned so they cannot be tampered with and your DVR placed where it cannot be easily found.

Here are some useful resources for you to research and consider:

Newsagencies are easy targets according to police I speak with because criminals see us as less protected or organises as supermarkets and convenience stores. We can combat this with simple measures.

Take care by being prepared before anything happens.

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Newsagency management

A note on taking photos

IMG_8388 (1)With many newsagents using photos on Facebook and elsewhere to market their businesses, I encourage people to contender investing in a good light box. This small investment, not much over $100, will allow you to take better quality photos that work well on social media and lift the professional look of your business.

I took this photo of the bat in a light box in the office using the camera on my iPhone. The photo have not been edited or touched-up in any way.

Click on the image for a large version and see first-hand the value of the light box. Gone are shadows and flares you’d get with regular photography outside the light box.

I got this light box from Amazon delivered for under $100.

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marketing

Newsagents are toy lovers at heart

In my involvement with newsXpress I have seen a new range of what could be described as boys toys released through the group recently with some excellent sales success. What’s most interesting to me is that most of the male newsXpress business owners have taken one of the boys toys home for a play. The stories have been hilarious. Better still, their playing with the toys has made them better sales people and this is driving good sales.

Playing in the shoes of our target customers is a business activity that will drive sales. 

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Newsagency management

Promoting the Australian Women’s Diary 2016

IMG_8784While we have the Australian Women’s Diary 2016 edition in a couple of locations, this location above worm’s magazines is where it will work best based inputs experience.  I urge you to place at least one unit with women’s magazines ASAP to make the most of the opportunity. We achieve good sales early in the diary buying cycle.

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Diaries

Misplaced Habits: The Newsagent

Misplaced Habits: The Newsagent is a heartfelt and moving blog post by Cath Feely, a social and cultural historian of modern Britain. I encourage you to read it as it takes you on a journey of memories to the quintessential British newsagency business. At the end is this paragraph:

Proper newsagents now seem to me to be an endangered species, a misplaced habit. Some are still there, clinging on, diversifying as they always have done, in the face of competition from supermarkets opening ‘local’ shops. My local newsagent in Withington, Manchester, closed last year as it sat opposite a new Sainsbury’s Local. The place where I got my pic ‘n’ mix has been converted into a house. For me, the newsagent has become a place of nostalgia. But I imagine there are still many communities in Britain where the newsagent remains a gateway to the wider world.

These challenges faced by UK newsagents are challenges we face here. The benefit for us is that we have such a solid based in greeting cards and this for many newsagents is proving to be the foundation of a bright future.

The majority of UK newsagents years ago appear to have decided to compete in the convenience space and in doing so took on the most powerful retail business competitors. I don’t see any cost effective upside for newsagents in the convenience space as I explained in a post here recently.

Each of us in business is responsible for our situation. It is too easy to blame supermarkets or the landlord or declining print media sales. None of these is a new challenge. Smart newsagents have managed through changes necessary. It is tough and the future we pursue is very different to our past. So while the newsagency of the past is disappearing, in many cases a new business emerges that is as locally connected as the newsagency.

Please read this history piece by Cath Feely. It’s a good read.

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Newsagency

Perth newsagents for sale

READ ALL ABOUT IT is an interesting article online published by Perth Interactive Voice. It starts with a compelling opening paragraph:

DOZENS of Perth newsagents are selling up amid fierce competition from major retailers and the rise of online media.

The article goes on to respite about a proactive newsagent diversifying to attract more shoppers.

This report is more interesting and accurate in reporting good news about our channel than the story APN published in Toowoomba a few weeks ago.

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Newsagency management

A stunning newsagency success story

11800610_722882817857496_9022396491198622984_nI was thrilled to hear from a newsagent yesterday who won a $313.17 purchase of good margin product from a customer who redeemed a $10.00 discount voucher from a purchase earlier that day.

The success is an endorsement of consistency at the sales counter.

The customer was a tourist, in town for a few hours. They made a purchase and received a discount voucher for $10.00. Once the newsagency employee explained the voucher, the customer browsed … and spent $313.17.

This is a story of inspiration for the newsagency channel: a newsagency winning valuable revenue from high margin product all because of a simple voucher program that drives loyalty from some of the most valuable customers, those you will only see once.

Yes, we can grow our businesses.

The old points based programs are like you see in many other retail shops. Give some $$ off a purchase, $$ they can spend right away and you are more likely to guide valuable behaviour – as happened this time.

Of course, discount vouchers can only drive this type of outcome if you have products people are prepared to spend big on.

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marketing

Now this is what being a local newsagent is all about

IMG_8808I love this local photocopies ‘book’ for sale in a newsagency I visited in Tasmania yesterday. The placement of the title at the counter pitches local engagement better than any poster could. It shows the business living the local connection.

What other business competing with a newsagency would offer such local stories? Not the supermarket for sure. Very few businesses would take on a product like this.

I applaud newsagents who take on opportunities like The Story of Battery Point Street by Street – and plenty do. For sure you will probably not make any serious money from the item itself. However, you will win respect from those who care about the local community and that could be invaluable to your business.

I’d love to hear stories from others of local books they sell.

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marketing

Good collateral promoting the BBC Earth offer

IMG_8801I like the collateral from the folks at The Mercury provided to Tasmanian newsagents for promoting the BBC earth DVD set offered with the newspaper. In Hobart yesterday I saw this floor promotional unit. I like that it can be easily moved, enabling newsagents to combat store blindness. This is especially important for newspaper promotions.

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Newspapers

If you pay cash in hand or under the award you will get caught

A prospective newsagency purchaser recently declined to proceed with a purchase after they discovered that two full time employees were being paid under the award and were paid in cash. The annual saving to the business was in excess of $25,000, which was reflected in the profit and loss statement for the business.

The accountant for the prospective purchaser discovered the issue during due diligence. This is pretty easy really – checking hours worked from the roster with published award rates.

While this illegal behaviour by this one newsagent is rare, it can impact on all newsagents.

As the purchaser intended to run the business with all employees fully on the books they sought to discount the requested goodwill down. The vendor refused.

The prospective purchaser commented to me that the discovery of the underpaying caused them to not trust the vendor. I am sure I am not the only person involved in the newsagency channel who has been told the story.

If you underpay employees and or pay cash in hand to reduce your obligations you will get caught by the ATO, by a prospective purchaser or by some other person. It’s not worth it. Don’t damage your investment, employee relationships or the good name of the newsagency channel.

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Ethics

A cautionary tale on discounting and franchises

The 7.30 Report on ABC2 last night had a report the impact on franchises of deep discounting as introduced by Pizza Hut around a year ago.

Last year, Pizza Hit dramatically cut advertised prices to respond to price pressure from rival Dominos. Sales went up and, as some in the 7.30 Report story said, these increased sales at a deep discount considerable hurt the bottom line.

The report is a cautionary tale about franchise agreements and the amount of control you have, or do not have, over your franchised business. One former Pizza Hut franchisee mentioned they were surprised to discover how little control they had in their business.

There are several franchise systems in the newsagency channel, making this topic relevant for consideration by newsagents. It could be a good time to reach your agreement – if you have signed one.

Hop on iView and check out the 7.30 Report story.

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Ethics
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