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

Gotch engages in premature stress for newsagents

gotchpayNot content with running a flawed magazine supply model, magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch  today emailed newsagents reminding us to pay November accounts by today.  If only the company was as attentive to fairly supplying newsagents.

This email request from Gotch reflects disappointing double-standards. All newsagents want from the company is fair and equitable magazine supply. Gotch, on the other hand, wants on time payment for what is often unfair and inequitable supply.

While one could argue that the money is due today, there is also the consideration of gross oversupply and the other, expensive, challenges of the magazine supply model.

21 likes
magazine distribution

Newsagents: check security for customer credit card numbers

I am shocked at the news out of the US that Target stored over the counter purchases customer credit card details including name, number, expiry and CVV in their POS software – and that around 40 million records were stolen in a security breach experienced by the giant retailer.

My shock is that Target kept all this information about over the counter customers in their POS system.  If I was a Target customer with my card data now in the hands of criminals I’d be angry at the retailer for poor data management.

I know that newsagency software from Tower Systems, the company I own, does not store this information for over the counter purchases. Customers purchasing at a newsagency using, for example, the Tyro integrated EFTPOS, the newsagency software does not have any visibility of or access to customer credit card details. This arms-length approach is far more secure than the approach taken by Target.

While newsagents can turn on a facility to collect and store credit card details separately, they would need to take this action – and most don’t. Even then, however, the data is encrypted and the CVV is not stored as added protection.

Even though newsagency software offers better security over card numbers than the POS used by target, what has happened to them and their customers this week is a reminder for us to be vigilant with customer data.

8 likes
Newsagency management

Network Services magazine allocations fail again: supply of 2014 Australian Open tennis program slashed

magstennisWe have been building our sales of the tennis Australian Open program for the last four years and then this year some genius or some genius process at Network Services cut us back to our 2010 supply number.  Last year we sold 26 copies out of 28 supplied. Talk about a screw up. While I am sure the allocations experts at Network will have their excuses, we are not interested. All we want is reasonably supply based on the accurate sales data we provide. That they cannot get this simple thing right shows how useless they are at their job. Now we go on the hunt for more stock, we have to jump through their pathetic hoops in the hope that they allow us to make the money we could have made selling this title.

For the record here is the supply / return data:

  • 2010 – 3 sold out
  • 2011 – 7 returned 1
  • 2012 – 20 returned 3
  • 2013 – 28 returned 2
  • 2014 – 3….

Idiots.

15 likes
magazines

The Age and SMH hidden

smhcovercoverBoth The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald had their front and back pages covered yesterday with a four-page house ad promoting digital and print subscriptions – with print being pitched as the add-on loss-leader. So much for news selling news. The SMH hours ad itself was partially obscured by another ad for Notre Dame Uni – pushing the news further back.

1 likes
newspaper masthead desecration

Retail staff hiring advice: only hire and keep happy people

In a newsagency recently I heard a staff member complaining to a colleague behind the counter about the roster, the weather someone at home. I was several metres from the counter. Shoppers in the newsagency could hear too.

Unhappy staff are a turn off for shoppers and for the leaders of the business keen to create a happy place where people enjoy themselves.

We need to hire happy people and train them in their tasks rather than hire skilled people and hope to train them to be happy – if that is a choice you face.

Being happy in a newsagency can be a challenge some days with customers complaining about the smallest thing, some suppliers treating you appallingly, you discovering how much theft has cost you recently, your bank rejecting you banking a fake $50 note … and so on. Yes, there are many opportunities for us to be unhappy. This is another reason we need to surround ourselves with cheerful / happy people.

But there is plenty we see and hear in our newsagencies that makes us happy – if we look for it. If our natural disposition (as the owner and leader) is to be unhappy, we need to push back on that urge, we need to choose to be happy. Surrounding yourself with happy people is key to this.

We need to show unhappy people the door and encourage them to go work somewhere else.

18 likes
Customer Service

Selling balloons with a great display

I was fortunate to see a balloon outpost yesterday where there have some excellent crestings on display as Christmas items and also promoting their creativity in terms of what they can create using balloons.

balloonsantaThis amazing free-standing tall Santa is just one of many products they had on display for people to purchase and take away from the outpost. If I was doing balloon displays in a shop this Santa would make for an excellent window feature. He’s what drew me to the outpost in the first place.

xmastree This Christmas tree is another terrific Christmas-themed balloon product that I am sure would sell easily almost anywhere. It’s something I’d like to have the space and time to try next year. What I saw from the outpost has shown me that maybe this is the way to go since the margin is good.

5 likes
Fun

Placing floor display units in the newsagency

magspacificstandsWe are fair to suppliers who invest in quality floor display units by only using the unit for their stock and through placement that drives sales.

Most suppliers want their display units at the front of the shop. This time of the year it’s challenging so we look for alternatives. The location in the photo, at the end of our busiest magazine aisle, works for us. Currently we have the Pacific Magazines Christmas-themed floor display unit in this location.

The success of the Pacific Magazines unit placement is that it puts the unit under a spotlight. There is less visual competition and this means more people notice the unit and the products it is promoting.

We concentrate on the rear of the business as much as the front as this can drive a more valuable per-visit shop for us.

3 likes
magazines

Australians prefer print magazines to websites

In excellent news for magazine publishers and magazine-specialist newsagents Roy Morgan today published research results today indicating that Australians prefer engaging in print magazines in the home and garden space over websites. The release starts with:

So much for websites poaching readers from print publications: when it comes to magazines, at least, many titles are thriving. Take home and garden magazines, a category spanning publications such as Home Beautiful, House & Garden and Real Living, for example. In the last month, 16% of Australians (or more than 3 million people) read a home and garden magazine — double the 8% who visited a website from this category.

When you get a moment, read the whole release and understand more about the opportunity for us.

7 likes
magazines

Don’t forget magazines at Christmas

magwallMagazine sales spike in the week before Christmas as people purchase them as gifts. It’s important we find time to refresh the magazine offer, making sure categories are obvious and gift appropriate titles are put in their best light. Ten or fifteen minutes every day in this last week can help drive extra magazine sales. Given the surge in sales of cards and gifts it can be easy to forget magazines.

Is this store with the magazine feature wall with plenty of magazines on full face display we relayed on Friday and have seen good results since.

5 likes
magazines

Driving sales of religious Christmas cards

religiouscardsI like the collateral from Hallmark for promoting single religious-themed Christmas cards. I’m sure it’s helping drive our sales of these.

Whereas through the year religious-themed card sales are soft, at Christmas they take off – both in these single cards and in boxed cards. Indeed, with boxed cards we sold out of boxed religious-themed Christmas cards and will sell out of the additional stock.

5 likes
Greeting Cards

Abs cover shots bring Christmas joy

magsabsI suspected the two thirty-something ladies were up to go good in our men’s magazine area. They were laughing too much. Wouldn’t it be nice one said to the other looking at the abs on the guys on the covers of the three health and fitness titles. I could buy him all three and say that’s what I want the other said with a laugh. We can only dream the first lady said as she wistfully brushed the abs of the guy on the cover of Men’s Health.

When they turned to leave they saw me watching them and giggled like naughty girls.

Watching customers can be fun and occasionally creepy (if you get caught).

13 likes
Fun

Another zombie product success

zombiekeychainZombie-themed products are selling out for us this Christmas. These zombie-themed keychains are another success in this theme of products. It’s no wonder given the slew of TV shows and movies with zombie and related themes.

The success here is a reminder about offering gifts that are socially relevant. I couple of grandparents on the weekend bought zombie gifts for their grandkids because they remembered they liked The Walking Dead. They were excited that they would appear to be with it.

5 likes
Gifts

Gadgets for Christmas drive basket depth

gadgetchristmasGadgets are selling out for us this Christmas. One customer purchased six of these pocket screwdrivers at once for all the guys she buys for. Another customer bought four of the USB chargers as stocking-stuffers for her sons.  In each case the customers told me they came in to buy Christmas cards and ended up spending considerably more.

Getting sales like this starts with buying months ago, thinking of the people customers could be purchasing gifts for. While some buying is luck, much of it requires careful consideration – and for success for the next year it requires thorough tracking so you know what worked and how quickly it worked.

6 likes
Gifts

Interest in tablet computer magazines on the wane?

Check out the fascinating article at GIGAOM on the waning interest in tablet magazines – magazines published through iTunes and the like for reading on the iPad and other tablets.

The Newsstand and tablet magazine honeymoon is over. Apple knows it. The industry knows it. And consumers have made it painfully clear for far too long.

As Twitter and other social media platform use shows, story form preferences are changing. While longer format interest will continue, volume traffic today is more about more immediate shorter form and more accessible content.

4 likes
Media disruption

How to protect your newsagency business when an employee leaves

Here are some simple steps to consider taking when an employee stops working for you. These steps are designed to protect your business and the former employee.

  1. Change your locks. If you’re in a high-street situation and if the employee had keys, changing the locks is important, especially if the employee has left under a cloud.
  2. Change all your computer passwords – regardless of whether they had access to these or not.
  3. Change your supplier website access passwords.
  4. If your employee did any buying, advise your suppliers of their departure.
  5. Ensure superannuation is up to date.
  6. Have business-supplied uniforms and name badges returned.

Too often business owners don’t consider steps like these until after an incident has occurred.

9 likes
Management tip

Take 5 and That’s Life

deay-t5tlWhile I have only looked at decay data for less than twenty newsagencies, it appears that the move to a Thursday on-sale for Take 5 and That’s Life has slightly challenged sales in newsagencies. The image on the screen is a blended result of data from businesses that are open seven days, all day every day. You can see that whereas from the Wednesday delivery (the red line) we had four days of measurable sales, from the Thursday delivery (the black line) we have three. Knowing this should focus our attention on Thursday through Saturday more.

In the data I have seen, some weeks are up on last year and others are down so for me, the jury is still out on the overall impact of the shift of on-sale on these two titles.

The small bump registering on Wednesdays for the Thursday on-sale data is, I suspect, from customers yet to realise the change of day.

7 likes
magazines

Promoting Men’s Health

magsmenshdec2013We’re promoting the latest issue of Men’s Health magazine in our men’s reading area with this aisle end display. We’re also pitching the title as an ideal Christmas gift for a guy as part of a group of titles elsewhere in the store. Plus we have it in its usual location.

5 likes
magazines

Note to magazine publishers: delayed billing will NOT reduce early returns

Newsagents are being swamped with titles where billing is delayed. It feels like title range and volume has increased as a result. This is nuts. I early return a title based on its sales performance and not based on when it will be billed. Retail space has a cost. Delayed billing will not and should not remove a title from consideration for early return. Anyone saying otherwise to magazine publishers is not accurately representing newsagents – the people paying for the retail space, labour and shrinkage in newsagencies.

Publishers: Stop using us as your warehouse. If your title has an on-sale of more than  four weeks, hold the stock and send additional stock bales on our sales data. While your distributor may say that they don’t have accurate sales data, challenge them as they are probably wrong.

If the increase in delayed billing titles does not stop more newsagents will strike out by cutting magazine space and sending more titles back early.

For Christmas, newsagents want magazine distributors and some magazine publishers to treat them with more respect.

There was a time delayed billing was used by a few publishers with care. The free for all we are seeing now has ruined it for everyone.

25 likes
magazine distribution

Australiana Christmas ornaments sell out

xmasaustralianaWe have sold out of our Australiana Christmas ornaments and other Australiana-themed Christmas items faster this year and we had more stock. My could have ordered double … maybe next year. Price was not an issue because not many other retailers in our centre had Australiana themed ornaments. If only we knew we would have a point of difference.

8 likes
Gifts

Here’s one reason food magazine sales are not as strong

magscolesfoodThe food magazines made freely available at checkout counters of Coles and Woolworths are excellent publications, far superior today than was was available even a couple of years ago.

Looking at the Christmas edition of the Coles magazine custom published for Coles by Bauer.  This is a publication they proclaim is Australia’s No. 1 food magazine – I can see why people would be satisfied with this as their Christmas food magazine. For free they get access to recipes from Curtis Stone and others, baking tips, presentation ideas and plenty more. Someone on a budget wanting inspiration for Christmas food ideas will get it with this title.

That they can pick up the title for free at Coles could give shoppers reason to not visit their local newsagency to browse a broader range of food titles. There’s no point in complaining since Coles is doing what they need to do to drive sales. The magazine does that well through ads and editorial content. The consequence for newsagents, I think, is less of an appetite for the everyday food titles we sell.

7 likes
magazines
Trending Articles

Fairfax changes approach to TV Guide, disrespects newsagents

Published on April 20, 2011

What do you think of the Powerball changes?

Published on February 16, 2018

IPS releases new magazine contracts

Published on June 21, 2011