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

Gift HQ popular with QLD newsagents

The Gift HQ trade show in Brisbane over the weekend to yesterday afternoon was terrific. Many suppliers I spoke with were thrilled with the business they did.

The fair attracted retailers from a mix of channels: newsagents, jewellers, garden centres and gift shops. Newsagents were there in good number. There was plenty of new product on show for Queensland businesses that cannot afford to fly to Melbourne of Sydney.

I hope this trade show continues. It is easier to digest that the much bigger fairs.

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Newsagency management

Have there been changes at Hubbed that affect newsagents?

I was asked by a newsagent recently to help them exit Hubbed as they were encountering challenges in achieving this for themselves. For those not aware of Hubbed, it is a parcel service promoted to newsagents by Hubbed in partnership with and endorsement from the ANF.

Resolving any issue starts with the paperwork from the start of the relationship. I can see the newsagent has a relationship with Hubbed Pty Limited, ACN 159 190 833 and ABN 28 159 190 833.

A check of the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) website shows that a series of changes in 2014 including: October 10, 2014, Hubbed Pty Limited changes its name to A.C.N. 159 190 833 Pty Limited.

The next ASIC entry is: June 2, 2015. The ATO commences winding-up proceedings against the company that was Hubbed {Pty Limited lodging a Form 519. The ASIC website shows that matter is still pending.

This is important for newsagents wanting to exit Hubbed as it goes to the status of the entity with which you contracted and whether any interest Hubbed or related entities had in your business has been transferred or sold to any other entity. There is another entity, Hubbed Pty Limited, which was called A.C.N. 600 398 178 PTY LTD until October 8, 2014. The last activity on ASIC registers for that company are on October 17, 2014.

I am posting this here to seek help from others who may have more information that could help newsagents in relation to their Hubbed relationship.

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Hubbed

Do magazine shoppers prefer the easier to understand loyalty opportunity

IMG_7979In a newsagency I visited this week I got into a discussion with a shopper about the two different loyalty offers side by side. The customer said the $10,000 offer from Pacific was more appealing because I can see the opportunity. While there are rules and some hoops, the prize opportunity is clear whereas with the Bauer promotion headline is get rewards but then I have to get the app – placing more barriers to entry for the browser. I don’t understand that offer the customer said. This conversation was unprompted – I kept my bias for the more easily understood promotion to myself.

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magazines

Why all the posts today about Network Services?

The posts I have published today reflect data from one newsagency. The newsagent sent me the screen shots as evidence of the appalling oversupply they are suffering and have been suffering from Bauer’s Network Services.

While the company reps say one thing to the ACCC and have the ANF under their spell, the company does this month after month to small business newsagents.

No wonder newsagents continue to scream abut oversupply.

No study is needed to stop tis behaviour y Bauer. They are in control.

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Ethics

Network Services overloads newsagents with Motor magazine

photo 5Look at this evidence of Network Services increasing supply of Motor magazine to a newsagent without any justification in the sales data. Network is owned by Bauer. Bauer representatives told the ACCC recently that they want to support newsagents and help newsagents grow their businesses.  The actions from Bauer indicate something different. No wonder newsagents early return.

Shame on Bauer.

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magazine distribution

Network Services overloads newsagents with Harpers Bazzar magazine

photo 4Look at this evidence of Network Services increasing supply of Harpers Bazzar magazine to a newsagent without any justification in the sales data. Network is owned by Bauer. Bauer representatives told the ACCC recently that they want to support newsagents and help newsagents grow their businesses.  The actions from Bauer indicate something different. No wonder newsagents early return.

Shame on Bauer.

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magazine distribution

Network Services overloads newsagents with Belle magazine

photo 3Look at this evidence of Network Services increasing supply some issues back of Belle to a newsagent without any justification in the sales data. Network is owned by Bauer. Bauer representatives told the ACCC recently that they want to support newsagents and help them grow their businesses.  The actions from Bauer indicate something different. No wonder newsagents early return.

Shame on Bauer.

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magazine distribution

Network Services newsagents overloads with Empire Magazine

photo 2Look at this evidence of Network Services increasing supply of Empire magazine to a newsagent without any justification in the sales data. Network is owned by Bauer. Bauer representatives told the ACCC recently that they want to support newsagents and help newsagents grow their businesses.  The actions from Bauer indicate something different. No wonder newsagents early return.

Shame on Bauer.

10 likes
magazine distribution

Network Services overloads newsagents with Good Medicine

photo 6Look at this evidence of Network Services increasing supply of Good Medicine magazine to a newsagent without any justification in the sales data. Network is owned by Bauer. Bauer representatives told the ACCC recently that they want to support newsagents and help newsagents grow their businesses.  The actions from Bauer indicate something different. No wonder newsagents early return.

Shame on Bauer.

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magazine distribution

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: engage with your customers

Screen Shot 2015-07-04 at 10.17.11 amI posted about the cute Frizzies from ty on Facebook last week and achieved more than 600 likes and plenty of comments in a couple of days. One person commented that a Frizzie looked like a selfie of their friend Luca. Other friends joined in. I responded with an offer of a free Frizzie for Luca. The Frizzie is in the post even though he’s in another state.

This simple engagement on social media humanised the business and took us from being a business to someone having a chat with friends talking about us – kind of the way you might in the real shop except this was only and with people who have not shopped with us before. The interaction encourages those in the thread to notice us, remember us and realise we can be fun in such discussions.

We need to be as engaged and human online as we are in-store. In fact, more so as online they have even less to go on about who we are. Facebook is a terrific platform for this engagement.

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marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: be serious about your business data

In the two weeks leading up to the end of the financial year I saw more newsagents engage with their business data than for the other 50 weeks of the year. Through my newsagency software company I saw questions about stock management, stock-takes and the like all demonstrating an engagement as business owners scrambled to have accurate year-end data ready.

Sadly, for many immediately after June 30 they will leave data pretty much along for another 50 weeks.

I sad sadly as attention to data pays dividends.

  • Good data fuels accurate reports and accurate reports guide better quality business decisions.
  • Good data is essential to holding suppliers to account.
  • Good data stops you spending unnecessarily on stock.
  • Good data tells what you can’t see in your business.

I urge newsagents to be serious about data all year round. Stop being afraid of a bit of extra work caring for data. It may show you what you need to make your business worth a few more bucks.

Use your software company. Ask for their help. Seek out training. Set rules in your business and demand all who work with you to follow the rules.

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Management tip

Tons of free Women’s Weekly magazines

IMG_8002At the Gift HQ trade show that opened in Brisbane today, two large stacks of Women’s Weekly magazines were available for people to help themselves for free.

The photo shows one stack before the show opened. The other was as large.

There was no sign explaining the context of the giveaway.

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magazines

Newsagency management tip: Apps you need to use

Here are Apps I suggest newsagents try to understand competition and improve their shopper experience:

  1. Officeworks. For price comparisons, especially ink. Essential for showing you are cheaper than this giant business than spends too much money saying they are cheap.
  2. Tatts. To understand the real threat to in-store lottery purchases. As I have written here before, the experience is eye-opening.
  3. Staples. To understand the moves of your toughest stationery competitor. In the US , they own small business stationery.
  4. Google maps. To check your businesses and others nearby selling what you sell – understand how you and they are found.
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Management tip

Independence Day – one way to brighten the shop in Winter

While it is late notice, July 4 is Independence Day. If you have any American customers it could be a god day to quickly dress the shop in red, white and blue. Even without American customers it could be a bit of fun – if you have time this morning. I like the idea mainly for the bright look it can bring to a cold winter’s weekend (in some parts of Australia at least).

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marketing

Local jigsaw puzzles – a must for newsagents

Screen Shot 2015-06-16 at 8.41.22 pmAustralian city themed jigsaw puzzles featured on the front of Toy and Hobby Retailer magazine from Ventura Games should sell well. Jigsaw sales are soaring. Newsagents can do better than toy shops in this space. Toys were strong in newsagencies decades ago. As many toy shops have closed responding to pressure from majors, local toy retail opportunities have opened for us.

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Gifts

Researching parcel trends

IMG_2770In addition to the Australia Post partnership with 7-Eleven offering parcel pickup lockers and Mailman, the parcel pickup lockers within Officeworks, newsagents looking into this ought to research Amazon Prime as they offer (in the US) a similar parcel pickup service.

I met with someone from Amazon recently who said the consumer interest in the Amazon Prime lockers was far exceeding expectations.

This parcel space serves many different needs and has engaged interest from some large players – all factors newsagents need to consider when looking at any parcel option with a capital cost.

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Australia Post

Newsagency operational management advice for new newsagents and others

There is plenty to learn for the new newsagent and plenty an old hand can forget. I am often asked about important day to day operational tasks in running a newsagency so I started putting together a list. It’s an evolving work in progress, something I am happy to share with anyone – not as a definitive list of what you need to be on top of in running your newsagency business but something at least you can check against.

  1. MAGAZINES.
    1. Arrive invoices through XchangeIT – no other way.
    2. Only sell magazines by scanning. Never use department keys.
    3. Do not label all magazines. Do not label weeklies or high volume monthlies.
    4. When returning magazines, scan out returns. Do this at least weekly.
    5. Early return at least twice a month – based on what is NOT selling.
    6. If you have sub agents – only supply them through the sub agent facilities in your newsagency software.
    7. Check your magazine account as soon as it comes in to ensure you have received all credits.
    8. Pay your magazine bills on time without fail – avoid being cut off for weeks without magazines.
    9. You control where magazines are placed, it is your shop. Do not be told by publisher reps where magazines should go.
    10. You do not have to put posters in the window. I recommend against this.
    11. You do not have to do big magazine displays – it is your choice. I see no evidence of it increasing sales.
    12. I recommend against letting magazine companies set up display unless you think they will help drive sales.
  1. NEWSPAPERS.
    1. You control where newspapers are placed, it is your shop.
    2. If you are regularly undersupplied, complain to the publisher as well as the supplying newsagent (if you do not have a direct account).
    3. Scan all newspapers you sell.
    4. Scan all newspaper returns – accurate data will be your friend in the event of a dispute
    5. You do not have to put out newspaper posters or place newspapers in a certain position unless you have signed a contract with a publisher agreeing to this.
    6. Manage your exposure to promotions where you sell stock for a tiny margin.
  1. CARDS.
    1. Put out your own cards. Learn what you stock. Take ownership of this most important product category.
    2. Agree on an ordering process with your card co. account manager.
    3. Immediately report any over or under supply.
    4. Trust your data ahead of your gut.
    5. Pay on time or risk being cut off.
    6. Discount seasonal stock at the end of the season for a couple of days to p[ick up stragglers and make an extra few $$$.
  1. STAFF.
    1. Have a documented position description against which your employees are measured.
    2. Have a roster every week.
    3. Have a structured process for handling annual and sick leave.
    4. Use payroll software for record keeping.
    5. Pay always on time and preferably by electronic transfer.
    6. Pay super on time. Do not start someone working for you unless they have provided a super account number with their tax file number.
    7. Change your roster regularly for casuals.
  1. STOCK.
    1. Use your computer system to guide ordering of stock – order based on sales.
    2. Order to a budget.
    3. Scan everything you sell.
    4. Scan out personal use stock.
    5. Set your own mark-up policy for items that are not pre priced.
    6. It is easier to discount than increase prices.
    7. Do not pay for an external stock taker – do it yourself through the year.
    8. Check high theft risk items like cigarettes weekly or fortnightly.
    9. When arriving stock be sure to allocate accurately to departments and categories for accurate business reporting.
  1. SHOP LEASE.
    1. Pay on time otherwise you could be locked out.
    2. Do not agree to a new lease unless you have read the entire document and are prepared to agree to it in its entirety.
    3. Conduct discussions with your landlord in writing to maintain a paper trail.
  1. GST.
    1. Complete your BAS on time and make any necessary payment – to reduce the opportunity for you being audited.
  1. FINANCE AND OTHER MATTERS.
    1. If you borrowed to get into your business, start paying this off from the first week, make progress everyweek. This avoids you having a challenge when you come to sell the business.
    2. Pay yourself a wage or at least accrue this in the accounts.
    3. Integrate with accounting software like Xero – keep bookkeeper costs down.
    4. Ensure workcover (workers comp.) cover is up to date and maintained.
    5. Ensure you have appropriate council permits for what you sell – i.e. food.
    6. Have a structured banking process that ensures that cash is tracked at all steps and at all time.
    7. Take a data backup every day. The best approach is an automated cloud backup – ask your software company.
    8. Bank every day and bank the takings for each day separately to make reconciliation easier.
    9. Use your software to manage the end of shift process to drive consistency and accuracy.

As I said at the start, this list is evolving with time. I hope it is useful to new newsagents and would be newsagents, to understand some of the day to day tasks you cannot afford to get wrong.

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Management tip

Are you ready for an ATO audit?

An audit by the ATO can challenge any business. Are you ready? I know of a newsagent who has spend more than $5,000 on accounting fees to deal with a super audit spanning three years. The audit became problematic because of high turnover of casual employees and poor record keeping.

The newsagent told me the ATO auditor mentioned that the ATO is targeting small businesses like newsagents. While I have no evidence to support this, there is no harm whatsoever in the reminder to be ready for an ATO audit with up to date and accurate accounting records including super records.

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Newsagency management

The opportunity of a new magazine

CI3KDnyVEAAQaqkSpaces is a new title out today from the people behind the popular Frankie magazine. As we did with Smith Journal, we are launching Spaces with Frankie as well as if what will be the usual home for the title. We are also speaking about Spaces on social media to tap into interest being generated by the launch of the title. This is a title we can pitch a point of difference with.

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magazines

Terrific June quarter for the newsagency

I’m thrilled with the June quarter results, especially for greeting cards – unit sales up by 20% and revenue up by 27%. Everyday counter, the core of the department say unit sales growth of 37% and revenue growth of 39%.

This is in a store with many competitors in the centre – major retailers with good card departments, specialty card and gift shops, supermarkets with cards as well as Typo, kikki.k and discount variety stores at the cheap end of the card space.

Cards account for 25.47% of our revenue – get them right and you know the rest of the business will benefit.

I think any newsagent can grow card sales in any situation. As I have written here several times recently, key to growth is promoting the category outside the business, to people who may not have considered purchasing cards from you.

I am starting to look at June benchmark study submissions and there are plenty of newsagents growing their businesses, plenty of results that challenge the stories of doom and gloom from some.

Gary commenting via this blog a few days ago saying: We have an industry in crisis. I am seeing data indicating for many there is no crisis.

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Greeting Cards

Magazine publishers: careful what you wish for

For years there have been differences between how magazine publishers with products in newsagencies and supermarkets treat these retail channels. While newsagents have complained, they have done nothing serious about it. I think we are approaching a time when we will need to act.

The challenges now are about much more than better gifts with purchase for supermarket shoppers.

The supply model used today disadvantages newsagents as it encumbers our businesses with financial,. labour and space costs that our competitors do not have. But even that is not why I say we are approaching a tipping point.

Price is the issue. More and more I am seeing different pricing in supermarkets for titles we sell in newsagencies.  News Life Media and Bauer Media are the main publishers engaged in this. They must be doing it to drive traffic to supermarkets and away from newsagents for their products. Why else would they make their products so much cheaper in our competitors?

  • Why price Inside Out $2.00 less in Coles than the newsagency 50 metres away?
  • Why bundle weekly Bauer titles in supermarkets at a discount to nearby newsagents?
  • Why financially support supermarkets where you discount titles to preserve full price margin while not offering the same to newsagents?

The only reason can be to drive supermarket sales.

Think abut the long-term implications – either newsagencies close or they reduce their reliance on magazines. What that may not hurt many of the titles sold by Bauer and News Life Media, it will hurt them and it will hurt many other publishers.

Today, the Australian newsagency channel is still the largest single magazine retail channel in the country. But for how much longer? Those who appear hell-bent on directing shoppers away from us need to consider the bigger picture for all publishers as well as for small business newsagents and the vital and quintessentially Australian role they play in there communities.

Publishers: every action you take against us makes magazines less profitable for us and informs our own actions. Every time you facilitate supermarkets presenting your product as better value from them you harm our businesses.  You’ll blame us when we are less interested in your products or quit as you have blamed us in the past, not thinking for a moment about the role you played in us deciding as we have done.

Every benefit you give supermarkets, every time you make them more appealing than newsagents is another decision against the future of the Australian newsagency channel. Shame on you as we have served you well. It is newsagents who have been key to your success and newsagents off of whom you make more money.

21 likes
Ethics
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