veri.live is another special interest magazine title we have added to our range thanks to IPS. It’s a magazine for lovers of independent music. It fits well in the Melbourne music scene.

Carrying veri.live on our shelves shows our interest in and support for independent music. Without wanting to offend anyone, it’s kind of a frankie of music titles.

Taking on this title is another step in our goal of expanding our range special interest titles from IPS. I like that I can choose the titles and determine the quantity I wish to receive.

Check out the veri live page at IPS here. This is the page the publishers point people interested in the title to. Note the newsagency locator – it’s brilliant.

The latest issue of Time magazine, the Person of the Year issue, looks stunning. We have positioned the issue so the whole cover is on show, thereby giving it a better opportunity to sell.

This is an issue for the non-traditional Time magazine customer. We are chasing them with our placement. I’d note that the supply boost for this issue makes sense.

Bauer announced last week that Burke’s Backyard magazine is to close. With sales falling it was only a matter of time.

It’s interesting that garden magazines do not appear to benefit from a strong interest in gardening. Garden centres and nurseries are doing bumper trade so Australians are spending in this area, just not on magazines like they used to. That said, Better Homes and Gardens remains very strong.

I was able to pitch this magazine, How to DJ, to a shopper yesterday who was looking for a gift for his son who was into music and nothing else. He needed something extra. The guy liked the magazine as it showed he understood his son’s passion.

It’s pretty cool when we can demonstrate our relevance like this – by having a personal conversation that helps someone validate themselves. It’s a magazine specialist newsagent point of difference and reinforces the, for me at least, the value of this category  in our newsagencies for years to come.

We’re happy to have this range of Android titles in-store right now. With gadgets like mobile phones popular again this year for Christmas, magazines like these are a good add of or for other family members to give. We’re leveraging the opportunity by making sure that we have all Android titles placed together.

I talked with a couple yesterday who purchased four magazines as Christmas gifts for nieces – specifically choosing magazines with free gifts. Dolly, Girlfriend, marie claire and InStyle featured. They said they’d be back tomorrow when it’s their shopping day for nephews.

As we have done in the past, we are investing time and space to make the most of the opportunity of magazines as Christmas gifts. It’s paying off.