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Christmas is over, let the sales begin!

For some retail newsagents today, Christmas is over. They will either be at their shops by now or heading in to be ready for the Boxing Day Sale.

For those of us in a shopping centre with major tenants embracing the Boxing Day Sale opportunity, today and the next few days could be huge. Indeed, for some I expect it will be bigger than Christmas.

We have bought stock especially for the sale starting today. We are able to offer this at a substantial (30% to 50% off retail) and still make over 50% gross profit. This is the key to making these sales work.

We’re not advertising externally except through a customer email campaign which went out yesterday. Being in a  centre, we can rely on their marketing and the marketing of the majors to bring in the shoppers. Our job is to get them into our shop and buying.

The shop floor is being reconfigured this morning to sale mode: gone are the Christmas displays. This is all about moving product so value is the key. We are using several discount points to attract shoppers – Christmas cards and wrap – 50% off; Christmas specific gifts – 50% off; other gifts – 25% off; plush (today only) – 25% off; calendars – 30% off and several super-special lines we want to move vast volumes of – 50% off.

We would not usually discount calendars yet but with sales barely the same as last year we want to quit the category as we need the floor space for faster moving lines.

Every customer will have a reason to come back thanks to the discount vouchers they will get on their receipts. We’re out to retail some of the new shoppers we will see and get more $$$ from the out of town shoppers visiting our area.

We will ensure that people walking past don’t see us as a traditional newsagency. We will be a fully engaged part of the Boxing Day sale phenomenon. While the first day is vitally important, the event will run ten days to two weeks. We have stock that will enable us to engage for the duration.

If this year is like previous years we will see benefits for non-discounted categories like magazines and everyday greeting cards.

Our sales target is to match our December 1 – December 24 year on year overall growth of 10%.

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Newsagency management

A very busy lead up to Christmas

With the last sale completed and the shop all packed up for at least one day off, many newsagents will be reflecting tonight on a strong pre-Christmas season.

Early indications are of good year on year growth for city, country, high street and shopping centre newsagencies – especially in the last two weeks.  Christmas cards have been very strong as have been gifts. Magazines have benefited too with sales up year on year in more than half the stores I have seen data from.

Several newsagents I have spoken with have declared that sales are back to the good old days. While I don’t think that will every happen – as we have moved on from what a newsagency used to be – I am more certain than ever that we make our own success as much as we make our own failure.

It’s been a thrill this Christmas to see experimental product moves succeed and an opportunity to learn from those that have not succeeded.

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Newsagency management

Customers love the Hallmark countdown

countdownI saw a kid getting their photo taken next to the Hallmark Christmas countdown we have out the front of the newsagency today. Especially in the last week the countdown works a treat at signposting cards and providing interactivity with younger shoppers.

Hallmark does this well and have done for many years.

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Greeting Cards

It’s like we’re in a foreign land sometimes

We’re seeing many out of state shoppers with people on the move for their Christmas holidays. It’s fun watching and listening to them. Often I pick up tips, especially the things they like. These non-regular customers are a delight.

On the weekend a mum and her 10+ daughter were shopping with us and asked to buy an instant scratch ticket. I said we don’t have them. What newsagency doesn’t have lottery tickets? the mum asked. I explained there was a kiosk nearby. What’s a kiosk? the mum asked. The young girl pulled away from a surprised mum and ran to a group waiting outside yelling they don’t have lottery tickets they don’t have lottery tickets. I stood there looking for the hidden camera.

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Newsagency challenges

This perfect impulse line brings out disgusting behaviour at the counter

ringplasticThese small plastic rings that light up sell easily at the counter. Kids eyes light up when they see them. They are a perfect counter line.

Two days ago a male customer in his late seventies was belittling his female companion, aged in her late thirties. I heard him snap get over here – that’s when I noticed them. At the counter while the he bought a card, she noticed the rings.

It’s what happened next that shocked me. After completing the card transaction he asked how much the plastic rings were, I told him and he bought one. The lady put a ring on her finger and beamed a wide smile. The guy turned to me over his shoulder as he walked behind his partner and said: that’ll keep her quiet as he rolled his eyes and raised his eyebrows.

You see some awful things in retail some days.

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Gifts

Shock as Network Services is guilty of magazine oversupply again!

magsnetwv8V8X Supercar magazine failed the last time we had it in 2011. Network Services responded to the failure supplying the title to us recently as a volume three times the failed 2011 supply.

This scale out by Network doesn’t many any sense.

The Bauer controlled Network expects newsagents to pay their accounts on time yet they do not provide newsagents with reasonable levers with which to control their level of indebtedness. Network misbehaves on a daily basis, lumbering our businesses with unreasonable debt and insufficient tools with which to mitigate the situation. 

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magazine distribution

A bagged magazine I don’t mind

magspfspecialI don’t mind that the latest People’s Friend special is bagged because it won’t hurt sales whatsoever. This is not a magazine that is browsed. I watch people who buy magazines and those buying this title pick it up and come to the counter.

I also like that it’s bagged with two gifts that are appropriate to the People’s Friend reader – a diary and a pen. The $11.99 price won’t hurt sales.

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Bagged magazines

Promoting AWW

magsawwjan2014We are promoting the latest issue of AWW, out yesterday, with newspapers as well as in the usual location. We are chasing as many early sales as possible to try and get above our mediocre sell through of under 50%. With a decay curve that sees 85% of sales in the first week and with this first week being disrupted, we have a lot of stock to shift in a few broken up days.

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magazines

Lucky Elephants lucky for us

lucky-elephantWe put a display unit of Lucky Elephants with Christmas gifts late last week. In 24 hours we had sold almost all of them. We expected them to sell but not so quickly. It’s a good ‘problem’ to encounter and a reminder that retail is about constantly trying new products, especially products you would not buy yourself.

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Fun

Christmas highlights a flaw in the old approach to shopper loyalty

With Christmas holiday migration under way we are seeing more shoppers from interstate. I was in a newsagency on the weekend and was delayed by an altercation between a sales person and someone from interstate arguing about getting VIP points for a $100+ purchase. The shopper argued that if the business was happy to give points they should get the discount because they would not be back in the shop.

The next customer in line, the customer before me, was given the pitch about signing up for the loyalty program and they had questions.

Efficiency in handling transactions at the counter is vital at Christmas. Treating all customers the same is also vital, this includes ensuring that all customers have access to the same deals.

The same day I shopped this other newsagency I served a customer in my newsagency who received a $3.00 discount voucher from a purchase of boxed cards. She commented that she was from Sydney and wouldn’t be back.I suggested she could spend it right away.  Ten minutes later she purchased close to $100 worth of our Christmas chocolates. You got me she said with a smile. Yes, we did.

While I understand the value of building a view of shopper loyalty, I am getting more economic value from the more immediate and more easily understood discount vouchers.

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Newsagency management

The Australian pokes at Bauer Media

Mark Day writing in The Australian recently criticised Bauer Media for repurposing overseas content and making it appear that a story which occurred in the UK actually occurred in Australia, in Redfern. Mumbrella first wrote about this. Their report is detailed and fascinating.

Bauer Media’s real life magazine Take 5 has been accused of misleading its readers after suggesting the story of a British “crooked copper” who used the police database to access information about women in order to sleep with them, actually occurred in Australia.

The magazine implies to readers the offences took place in NSW.

The German-owned publisher – which has been increasing the amount of syndicated international copy it uses – claims the change was a typographical error. Bauer claims that the location of “Redruth, Cornwall” was accidentally changed to “Redfern, NSW” because the names were similar.

While I wouldn’t regard Take 5 as a credible news title, what happened here is a new low.

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Ethics

Tapping into the fear of online security

magsanonymousWe are promoting the How to Stay Anonymous Online magbook in a couple of places to try and tap into growing anxiousness relating to online security. With more people quitting Facebook and this being covered (somewhat gleefully) by mainstream media, it’s a good time for this title – hence our shining a spotlight on it.

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magazines

Price matching demands frustrating

pricematchA customer yesterday wanted to buy the Melway street directory but they wanted us to match the K-mart price. K-Mart had sold out. Our price was $4.00 more. I explained we don’t match prices but we do have a discount voucher opportunity in place for $$ off her next purchase. She rolled her eyes.

It turns out K-Mart had sold out and this was the last Christmas gift she had to purchase. While I could have discounted, I resisted because I don;t want to get caught up in the price matching game. She bought the street directory and then two boxes of cards in a second purchase.

I think price matching marketing is lazy. It can also be deceptive. Good retailers will offer a competitive price for their product / service offering. Poor retailers will say we’ll match and then either sell product you cannot easily compare and or discount to ride off the traffic generated by the marketing of others.

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Newsagency management

Australia Post missing in action for Christmas shoppers

postagestampsGovernment owned Australia Post outlets in a couple of shopping centres I visited yesterday were closed, leaving last minute stamp customers having to go to newsagencies for stamps. In one of my stores we only had full price stamps. One customer ripped into us about this – what kind of newsagency are you where you don’t sell Christmas stamps? The kind that offers stamps as a courtesy service when the post office is closed is what I wanted to say. Instead I gave off a lame smile and a shrug of ym shoulders. The customer grumbled their way out of the shop. I was pretty happy when a customer after them looked behind them and said Grinch.

Government owned post offices should have been open yesterday.

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Australia Post

Your Garden works as an impulse opportunity

magsygxmasI put Your Garden in this impulse purchase location on the weekend and shoppers bought the title. I rate this free standing single title floor unit as the most effective I have used in a newsagency. Choose the right title, place the unit in the right location and you can achieve better sales than if you were to do a display on a power end. Being tactical can drive magazine sales.

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magazines

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: use t-shirts to promote your business & have fun

tshirt-magazineloverOne thing Australian shoppers think about Australian newsagency businesses is that we don’t change. One way to push back on this perception and to help your team enjoy the business more is to provide a refresh of staff uniforms. For a couple of weeks get people wearing a different t-shirt, for example. You could go with something fairly traditional like in the example I have created or go crazy with a t-shirt like: A grown man can never have too many soft toys.

Choose a caption that promotes part of your business in a fresh way. Your people also get to wear something different to work. Plus you are promoting your business in a fresh way – that may get it more noticed.

The keys are: be really out there with what you put on the t-shirt, everyone must be involved, have fun, target a specific business outcome, and, most important: get everyone in the business on side before you pay for the t-shirts to be printed. Remember, at its core, this is a business marketing idea.

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marketing

Sunday newsagency management advice: lead by being present

The strength of and value derived from the team working in your newsagency will depend on the leadership you provide. The best leadership you can provide in small business retail is being present with team members, working alongside them, giving them opportunities to learn from you.

Too often newsagents try and lead their businesses from the back room. Too often I see an old-school structure when a small business works better with a flat structure.

The best way to communicate how you want something done is to show it being done. The best way to share your vision is to work at implementing it alongside team members. The best way to show the level of customer service you want is for you to deliver it. The best way to show how you want your team members treated is for you to treat them this way.

Being present and working your business with your team offers excellent opportunities to good leaders.

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Management tip

A magazine store within a store

magsdeptstoreIn Manila last week I took a good look at this magazine store within a store at the Landmark department store at Makati. It offered more titles than your average newsagency – 1,000 I would say. Most were older issues, making me wonder if they purchased returns in bulk. All titles were bagged, blocking browsing.

I like how they displayed the magazine titles. Someone with a special interest could browse these racks, meaning the vendor could drive a space efficiency level far greater than Australian newsagents get with traditional and even the more recent magazine fixturing. With floorspace our largest single cost we need to be looking at all display options – including what I saw last week.

Click on the image for a large version. be sure to look at the counter at the front – it’s like the operator built a fortress for themselves.

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magazines

Retail shoppers love a more complete story

xmas-storyWe’ve received terrific feedback from shoppers this Christmas for promotions offering a range of common-themed hospitality related products – like this Christmas range with bags, mugs, placemats, serving platters and the like.

We keep common-themed products together so the complete story can be told. This drives sales. While I understand this is basic retail management, I mention it as there are many newsagents new to retail.

we do the same with brands. For example, we have all Peppa Pig product together: plush, stationery, books and magazines. Online does this well and we need to get better at it.

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visual merchandising

It’s a plush Christmas

xmaplushWe’re seeing excellent year on year sales of plush this Christmas season. While some sales have been to customers visiting to purchase cards or gifts, others have been to customers who know us as a plush destination. This is thrilling.

Achieving $750 and more in a day in plush sales is wonderful. Achieving it day in day out in the run down to Christmas is excellent. We could have achieved more had we not sold out of some lines – but that’s a good problem to have this close to Christmas.

We have created the plush results for ourselves as part of our business plan from mid 2012. Not only the sales ahead of plan, the net new traffic generated by the category is ahead of plan. It’s terrific seeing the business plan deliver these results.

The success with plush is a reason I prefer to focus on being a retailer in my businesses as opposed to being an agent. People are coming to us because of decisions we have made and actions we have taken. They are coming to us for us and not for a product or service over which we have little or no control as to where they get it, how much we make from it and or how much someone else promotes it.

The more of my business over which I have control the better for the future of my business.

Footnote: the photo reflects another reason for success with this category – our team creates displays that attract shoppers from within the shop. This line of colourful bears toward the back of the shop draws people further into the business. We’re always thinking beyond front of store displays. Attention to visual merchandising and product placement mid way through and at the rear of the store are just as important as the front window.

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Newsagency management

Connecting with the vintage craze

magsvintagemadeIn case you missed it vintage is in and this magazine we found from IPS is a welcome addition to our magazine range. Vintage Made is an excellent special-interest title. It’s perfect for magazine specialists like newsagencies. We have it in women’s interests but we could equally place it as part of a range of vintage-themed titles. It’s titles like this that can help in drive magazine sales and our relevance within niches.

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magazines

Christmas-themed tissues sell out

xmasimpulseIt took just a couple of weeks for us to sell out of our range of Christmas-themed tissues. They have proved to be another excellent impulse line in a year of excellent impulse lines. Good margin, extending margin dollars per sale,  selling through prior to having to pay – a terrific win.

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Impulse lines
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