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

Who wants to be lumped in with this shop in the minds of shoppers?

messyshopA customer recently asked if we had something they could not find in the other newsagency. This surprised me as the centre in which we were in at the time only has one newsagency, mine. It turns out they see a Tatts shop which sells papers, greeting cards and a ton of junk poorly displayed as a newsagency.

I don’t want to be considered as having a business like this one.  In fact, my shop is very different to theirs. It’s neat, appealing in layout, professional and carrying premium gifts and no cheap imports like this shop in the photo focusses on. That said, the comparison makes me want to make it even more different.

We can’t control the businesses shoppers compare us with but we can control how our own businesses look.

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Newsagency challenges

Vintage Caravan with Frankie

magsvcWe decided to give Vintage Caravan magazine a shot next to Frankie thinking the titles appeal to a similar shopper and their covers have a similar look – to my eye at least. This is the type of thoughtful move to differentiate us from our competitors.

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magazines

Canadian publishers closes 11 newspapers

Canadian publisher Transcontinental Inc announced earlier this week that they would close 20 newspapers.

In the wake of this announcement, Transcontinental Inc. is also announcing that it is reorganizing its weekly newspaper portfolio and effective today will stop publishing 20 of its titles, which for the most part will be integrated with other publications it holds in the same regions.

This is what happens when newspapers don’t make a profit from their product.

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Media disruption

Network Services fails newsagents again

netonlineMagazine distributor Network Services is shutting its help desk at 1pm today because its Netonline website is closed for maintenance from 1pm.

I don’t see any connection between Netonline availability and the ability of Network Services people to provide service.

Through my newsagency software company I have oversight of a help desk and it runs rain hail or shine – regardless of whether technology is online or not.

Customer services businesses are about serving your customer. Shutting your doors for half a day does not make sense. Newsagents are being let down here.

I can’t recall this happening prior to Bauer taking over the business.

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Customer Service

Fairfax plays hardball with small business newsagents on Trader Tag

Further my post last week, Fairfax owned IPS has confirmed it will play hard ball with newsagents in clawing back commission incorrectly credited to newsagents.

It’s a bit rich of the company to force a mistake two years in the making to expect newsagents to resolve it and pay Fairfax in one hit.

Attempts by newsagents to engage with the company on the matter are ignored. This is appalling service from the company.

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Ethics

Thoughtful product adjacencies drive newsagency sales

hammeradjThe moment we placed the fish and hammer BBQ lighters on either side of the Poo Pourri people started looking at the toilet spray as a Father’s Day gift. Indeed, we sold a bottle of Poo Pourri within minutes of making the change yesterday.

the hammer and fish BBQ lighters act as indicators for the target of the items in this display. The result is a reminder of the need to think carefully about product placement – sometimes it is what you place next to a product that gets that product selling.

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Newsagency management

Using the wedding to attract shoppers

wed1Our second placement of the New Idea wedding exclusive is this floor display unit next to our sand at the front of the shop facing into the mall.

My thinking behind this move is that the New Idea cover will attract shoppers by itself and others will notice it when watching their kids play with the sand. As soon as I moved the magazine display unit here we sold a copy of the magazine. Notice the placement to have the full cover on show.

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magazines

Leveraging the exclusive wedding photos to drive sales

wed2We have given additional space to New Idea to leverage the exclusive photos of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie wedding. This additional space will run through the weekend.  We did not move any title out of the weekly section to create this.

We also have a pocket of New Idea at the counter. We’re not missing any opportunity for impulse purchases.

Sales of the special issue have been strong. This looks like a winner for Pacific Magazines.

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magazines

Selling three word search magazines when the customer wants one

cross-sellA customer who could not walk far asked me to choose the best large print word search yesterday. Not sure which was the best,  I showed her these three.  She bought them all. While this was not a deliberate move on my part I am thrilled with the result. It was helped by me genuinely being unsure which title would best suit her specific requirements on font size.

The experience is a reminder of how good service can help us drive sales.

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magazines

Newsagents respond to survey on magazine oversupply

I recently asked newsagents to provide specific examples of what they consider to be magazine oversupply.  Here’s what I asked for: Please list details of what you consider to be magazine oversupply: Title name, most recent supply, average net sales. Please use a separate line of text for each title. This data will be published on the newsagency blog as part of a series about the broken magazine distribution model that disadvantages Australian newsagents.

  1. Your Stars Magazine Supply since Autumn 2013 2 (jumped to 3 for Winter) TOTAL Sales since April 2013 Autumn 14 increased to 5
  2. British Football Weekly Supply 21/8 = 2 Never sold a copy in 5 years Have cancelled supply but it keeps re-appearing….
  3. Mustang Monthly Supply 21/8 = 3 Normal supply = 2 No sales in last 12 mths
  4. Tamiya Model Magazine Int. Supply 21/8 = 3 Normal supply = 2 No sales in last 12 mths
  5. Just to balance the ledger here’s G & G titles EWW 4 2 INSIDE OUT 5 3 DELICIOUS 6 3 MR WISDOMS SUDOKU 6 3 TATTOOS DOWNUNDER REISSUE 5 0 TRAIL ZONE 2 0 TATTOO CANDY REISSUE 15 0 SATAC UNIVERSITY GUIDE 3 0 FEAST (N/A) 7 3 JUST BIKES 21 11 MARIE CLAIRE (N/A) 8 4 IT GIRL 14 6 ANH PRES DETOX 6 0 CLASSIC ROCK 6 3 FUN TO LEARN BAG O FUN 12 6 VIC FISHING MONTHLY 4 0 BETTER HOMES & GARDENS (N/A) 34 25
  6. BetterGolferRedist 13 0 Dolly 20 5 Extreme Action 6 0 FourFour2 4 1 INKED GIRLS REDIST 3 0 INSIDE SPORT 3 1 SCOOBY DOO MYSTERY MAYHEM 3 0 SCOOBY HIGH SCHOOL 4 0 SIMPSONS WINTER WINGDING 6 0 TMNT-TURTLES MUTANT MISSIONS 4 0 INKED GIRLS 7 2 CLEO MINI 6 0
  7. Oversupply is more than I request. Womans Weekly 46, average 8 per week Thats Life 32, average sales 13 per week The issue we have is that we have to pay freight costs for any over-supply without any chance of recovering this cost on any unsold magazines
  8. weekly telegraph 17 and our average is 5 sales and it has been going on like this for 5 years
  9. Power Torque, 7, 0 Delivery Magazine 5, 0
  10. LIMELIGHT 14 COPIES AV SALE 7 COPIES BELLE 38 COPIES AV SALE 20 COPIES FRANKIE 44 COPIES AV SQLE 25 COPIES
  11. Symply Too Good No 1 – 9, sold 4 in last year Symply Too Good No 2 – 9, sold 3 in last year Symply Too Good No 3 – 9, sold 3 in last year Symply Too Good No 4 9, sold 2 in last year Cosmo Brides – 12, sell av. of 4
  12. GOT 12 NW magazines last week and selling 5-7 last 10 weeks, this week we get 21
  13. GOT 12 NW magazines last week and selling 5-7 last 10 weeks, this week we get 21
  14. Monocle, 5, 0.6 Aust Ironman, 5, 0 Aust Horse Performance, 15, 0.4
  15. lol
  16. GO CAMPING
  17. Reader’s Digest Last Issue received 12 Sell 1 every 3 months
  18. Catalogue, rec’d 6, av 1, usually receive 3 Select AFLK Albums, usually rec 2 or 3 at a time, just received 6 when we have 7 on hand, assume end of season trying to clear warehouse. Very angry as I have to pay to post back from remote area, costs a fortune, wipes a good part of profit on any sales, grrrrrrrrr
  19. mens health magazine, the last three issues getting 8-9, selling 3 max. latest issue we get 21
  20. Cleveland western, 60, 0 Commando Library, 2 every week, 0 lovatts Mega, 6, 1.4 bristle busters, 8, 2.3 mens fitness, 6, 1.4 Just Cars, 16, 4.6 AWW, 40, 17.6 Country Homes, 7,3.6 Grass Roots, 13. 5.6 Kit Homes, 6, 2.2 Watch, 8,2 New Internationalist, 10,0 Performance Horse, 9,1 Family Tree, 12,2 Rhythms, 8, 0.6 Delivery, 11, 0.6 Power Torque, 11, 0.2 4wd Touring, 18, 0.4
  21. AUST FLYING SUPPLY 4 SALES 0 FLIGHTPATH SUPPLY 6 SALES 2
  22. GETTER GOLFER SUPPLY 2 RETURN 2 SUPPLY 2 RETURN 2 SUPPLY 3 RETURN 3 THIS TIME ROUND SUPPLY 9 AND NO SALES YET ……

This is all the responses received without any editing by me.

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magazine distribution

How I know the New Idea Brad & Angelina special will be hot

Overnight I ran a Facebook campaign promoting the release today of a special edition of New Idea with wedding photos of the Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie nuptials. The interaction tells me this will be a good seller. Thousands of interactions with the Facebook post, 200+ new likes a ton of shares. So before we’re even open we know the interest is massive. Social media can help us engage even while we are closed.

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magazines

Coles carefully selects words to guide how you view the experience

If you have used a self service checkout at a Coles supermarket recently you would have heard the voice from the machine welcome you to Coles assisted checkout and at the end say Thank you for using Coles assisted checkout.

The only assistance I have seen is if something goes wrong. You then wait, and other wait, for a Coles staffer to fix the problem. No, you scan your own items, bag them, feed in your payment and collect your change. These self service check outs are about Coles offering less service, less assistance rather than more.

The only explanation I can come up with for Coles using the term assisted checkout is that they want you to think of it that way – that they are assisting you. They are trying to tell you that this is them helping you when the actual experience is you helping them reduce labour costs.

Calling it a Coles assisted checkout is nonsense.

A Coles I visit regularly to check magazines has replaced six full service lanes with these self service check outs, leaving them with two full service lanes. While some customers happily use the self serve checkouts, many do have problems. You can see the look of frustration on their faces.

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Competition

Newsagents need to be wary on e-cigarettes

E-cigraettes are being regularly pitched to newsagents so I thought I check in with the current situation regarding the regulation and sale of the products. The sale of nicotine containing e-cigarettes is banned in Australia which is kind of odd since nicotine contained cigarettes are still legal.

While the sale of all e-cigarettes, including non-nicotine containing product, is banned in Western Australia, it’s not the case elsewhere from what I can see.

This is a category of product to approach with caution given that it’s possible you might not know what you are stocking. I was approached yesterday by a start up importer and they were not sure about the nicotine content of their product. Ignorance is no defence.

Quit South Australia has published a useful fact sheet. The Therapeutic Goods Administration of the federal government also has useful information available online. The Conversation last month published a report worth reading on this topic.

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Ethics

On Bitcoin

The Conversation published a discussion about Bitcoin from Professor Yermack from Stern School of Business at New York University. While Bitcoin is not on the radar of most newsagents, it has been raised here a few times in comments. Here’s the video – well worth a look:

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Newsagency management

Another example of why time of day pricing for newspapers should be considered

timebasedsalesI took this photo at 3pm Monday this week in Sydney. The sign, on the lease line of the cafe facing into George Street, pitches their fresh sandwiches at a deep discount. I mention it today to connect back with my June post about time of day pricing for newspapers.

Publishers and newsagents need to consider this as I think we could sell more newspapers as a result and without educating shoppers to wait until the end of the day to save a few cents.

A check of the sales decay curve for newspapers in any newsagency will show where such a move makes sense. I’d suggest publishers work with newsagents to find ideal locations where sales are all but over by, say, 2pm or beyond and then trial time of day pricing. I think it needs to be 50% off to be of any interest. The goal has to be to sell newspapers you;d otherwise have to return.

This is a project best run by publishers and newsagents together, a project that is data driven and tested on different days as it could be something run only on certain days and in very carefully selected locations.

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Newspapers

Amazing deal: $20 for 24 weekend newspapers from News Corp

dtsubsofferThis offer in The Daily Telegraph is stunning: 12 weeks of Saturday and Sunday newspapers home delivered for $40 plus you get a $20 gift voucher, access to all News digital sites, foxsports.com.au access and +Rewards benefits program access.

It’s hard to see what the hero product here and the loss leader being used to support the hero. While I am no marketing expert it looks at first glance like a confused offer. However, knowing News I am sure that each item is in the package for good reason. The gift card is the lure, foxsports.com.au is the bait, digital access to News sites is the hero and the weekend delivery is there because the company has to have this as it transitions.

Given the production and distributor cost, I’d say the twenty four copies of home delivered weekend newspapers for $20.00 are the loss leader as many dads would like the Fox Sports access as well as digital access from their phones and devices for everyday news.

I don’t begrudge News making this offer, it’s what they need to do for their business. The ad is something newsagents need to consider as they themselves plan for their future.

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Media disruption

Covering the Brad and Angelina wedding

image002New Idea has the exclusive photos of the wedding of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and to make the most of this next week’s issue is coming out tomorrow. Our plan for tomorrow is a front of store lease line floor display unit, placement at the counter and usual placement with the weeklies. We will keep this week’s issue on sale and bookmark it as different to next week’s.

While the wedding and the couple are off my radar, I’m not my customer so the commitment in-store will be big and tactical. We;ll do it better than the supermarkets that are our main competitors.

Footnote: AWW editor Helen McCabe was on The Project on Ten last night and discussed the photos but churlishly said she would not name the title with the rights as it was not hers.

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magazines

Leveraging Mary Berry in Australia

masgmaryberryMary Berry is an icon in british baking and Australians who have UKTV access will know who she is. Mary’s popularity is reason enough to plate this issue of English Women’s Weekly in a second location. I’d suggest with food titles given her speciality. Our usual EWW location is with British weeklies and monthlies. We can use magazine covers to drive sales.

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magazines

Dividend imminent for creditors of Bill Express parent On Q

The liquidator of OnQ, the parent of the failed Bill Express bill payments platform that cost newsagents tens of millions of dollars, has announced they are set to make a first and final dividend to creditors. You have until September 9 to lodge your proof of debt.

I am a creditor of OnQ as are most newsagents.  The Agreement I signed commits the company to paying rebates as outlined in Schedule D attached to the Agreement.

Update: The ANF responded to this post today not to me but on a forum of their own. While they say newsagents are not creditors, I know of newsagents whop were accepted as creditors at the time the company went down. hence my advice here. Through the links to this post you can see the relationship between Bill Express and OnQ.

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Bill Express

Newsagents abused by the Queensland Country Women’s Association

dbcookLike plenty of newsagents I am sure we received stock of The Queensland Country Women’s Association Cookery Book yesterday.

Network crows that delayed billing is to assist in maximising your sales. It’s delay billed to try and stop us early returning.

Here are my specific issues with issues with the scale of of The Queensland Country Women’s Association Cookery Book to newsagents:

  1. This is a book and not a magazine. We should be getting a book margin.
  2. I have this title in other forms. I have country favourite Aussie cookbooks –  from which I make boot margins.
  3. My food section is full. There is no room for a new title.
  4. It’s full copy return. I am fined if I send this back!
  5. I had no say in supply. This is my money at risk yet Network spends without a care in the world and then comes chasing if I am late. All care and no responsibility.

The newsagent magazine distribution model makes it too easy for a new title to be scaled out with us taking the risk of time and space so a publisher can test a title and the distributor can gets their fee.

Given I have to allocate a new pocket, I should be paid $2.00 a week whether I sell a copy or not.

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Uncategorized
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