Here’s a new video from Friday showing how you can import a complex book supplier invoice using the POS software embedded AI tools in the Tower newsagency software:
This service from Lotterywest for its retailers in Western Australia is terrific
Kick off the new financial year with potential savings.
Don’t forget, you have access to FREE information to support you in your lease negotiations, thanks to our partnership with LeaseMap. LeaseMap can help you negotiate better lease terms by benchmarking your lease conditions against similar businesses and providing you with evidence-based market data.
Lease negotiation is complex, stressful and all too often handled poorly by retailers, and there are some sharks out there who offer help, charge a lot, and achieve little. Any good professional assistance is good. This LeaseMap offer looks good to me.
This Twitter post is a reminder of suburban newsagency life years ago
There was a time, not so long ago, when an army of boys & girls from 12 years upwards set their alarm clocks for 5.30 a.m. & got dressed, mounted their bikes in all weathers & headed to their local newsagents to carry out their paper round.
It was an important introduction to… pic.twitter.com/YF5TSXaFV4
— Martin Knight (@MartinKnight_) July 10, 2025
As I note in my comment, these decades of young kids delivering papers provided generations of good experiences in teamwork, responsibility and more.
The mess with the distribution of Ty Beanie Boos in Australia created by Ty Inc when they made distribution changes three years ago than say supply stall and interest collapse is finally being cleaned up.
Ty has appointed a new distributor with good toy credentials and a plan for rebuilding interest in Beanie Boos in Australia. They have product on the way and have orders in place for new designs for our marketplace.
Beanie Boos is a beloved brand. Interest faded due to poor local management by the most recent distributor. It will be good to see it rebuild.
Hallmark has emailed customers advising that the supply chain challenges impacting the company is recent weeks have been finally resolved. The disruption happened at a less than ideal time for the company in a year with complexities.
Stop chasing fleeting social media trends and instead focus on opportunities at your doorstep.
In your shop today is likely a more sustainable path to retail success by focusing on the everyday items customers are actively searching for.
It’s a simple shift in perspective that can lead to lasting stability and growth.
I made this video early today after I was asked by a retailer about how to access Labubu for their toy / gift shop.
In our newsagency channel I see newsagents chase hot properties too late and ignore better opportunities along the way.
Software developers are trained in the importance of the user interface for ease of use, customer enjoyment and engagement focus. You can see this play out especially well at companies like Apple. At News Corp. they appear to care little for the principles of a good user interface if you look at their website this morning. It is truly awful.
Screenshot
While the Aussie newsagency channel was created in the 1800s to be agents of media outlets, today, in 2025, newsagents with growing businesses are achieving this by being retailers. There is no growth in agency business. There is a ton of growth in retail.
Given the diversity among the 2,800 newsagency businesses in the channel, it is impossible to guide a course that fits all.
The future of your newsagency business is entirely dependent on you. I appreciate that to some who bought their business because they wanted to be an agent offering easy to manage services or because they did not see themselves as a retailer this may seem daunting. Don’t be put off. I have seen plenty transition their businesses from agency-focussed to retail-focussed on the back of minimal retail skills.
The traditional model, reliant on newspapers, magazines, lotteries, convenience items, tobacco, and discount variety products, is no longer viable. Similarly, suppliers, particularly print media businesses, offer little support for the channel’s future.
Instead, newsagents must embrace a shift towards premium and unique offerings, prioritizing value over low price points and strategically managing margins. The principle of “find a need and fill it” is crucial for evolving local businesses.
I see there key pillars for success, there are others, these three are the key:
Focus on products uncommon to the newsagency channel. This includes items such as:
Your list could vary depending on location and interest. For example: pets, outdoors, haberdashery. There is no limit here.
You are looking for products not currently supplied through traditional newsagency channels. While everyday items like stationery and greeting cards will remain, their success depends on smart curation and pricing to manage inventory burden. For example, selling stationery to passionate enthusiasts offers a greater opportunity than simply catering to basic needs. The scope of what you can sell is limited only by your imagination.
Develop a compelling business story that explains the “why” of your business. This narrative, nurtured through product selection, in-store merchandising, social media presence, website content, and your personal engagement, builds trust with customers. An evolving narrative, adapting to you, the times, and your community, is essential. In today’s immersive retail environment, a strong narrative transforms a simple product into a desirable experience.
The ability to sell online is paramount. Without an online presence, businesses lack crucial insights into market dynamics and customer behavior. The future of the Australian newsagency is about individual businesses becoming smart, engaged, and creative. This will lead to a diverse, rather than cohesive, channel where each newsagency strives for local and online success.
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For newsagents unwilling to embrace change, the traditional model is unsustainable, leading to a reduction in the number of newsagency locations. However, for those ready to adapt, support is available within the channel to ensure the relevance and success of these vital local retail businesses. While the name of the shop is less important than its perceived identity, a locally relevant name is what I recommended. The future is not a single, clear prediction, but rather a collective effort of individual businesses innovating and adapting.
Change starts with you, with your decision to change your business, cliché as that sounds. Often when working with newsagents who have decided to change I have found a good place to start is by decluttering. Get rid of anything in the shop that you don’t use, don’t need or that does not add value to the business. Take a look at your stock, especially what you have not sold any of for at least six months. Why keep it?
Start by decluttering and while you’re doing this start to think about what you want the business to stand for, to be known for. A good second step to help you get focussed on change is to take every magazine off current fixtures, clean the fixtures, and place magazine back – but with careful consideration as to where to place each title. Create a magazine display that makes sense. Typically, this single action of relaying your magazines will boost sales by up to 10%. A goof third step to take is to take everything off the counter and then rebuild with products you think people will buy on impulse.
These three physical steps of decluttering, a magazine relay and a counter rebuild are good starting points to help focus your attention. In the overall process of redefining and rebuilding your business they are small steps yet vital.
Your current business data will provide insights as to moves you could make. Greeting card sales by caption along with magazine sales by category can wonderful inform of opportunities.
If I can help, please reach out: 0418 321 338 or mark@newsxpress.com.au.
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Footnote: There will be some who say the shingle should change, that news is not relevant. While it’s not relevant, what you call the shop does not matter all that much. It’s kind of like a picture versus a thousand words. What a shop shows itself as being matters more than what a shop calls itself. That said, Aussie newsagencies, being quintessentially local businesses are, in my opinions best off being called a name that is locally relevant – rather than some national name that is not locally relevant.
Second footnote: Reading back what I have written I know I have not made a clear and solid prediction. That’s because I can’t. There is no channel, no way to determine what all businesses in the channel will do.
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My name is Mark Fletcher. I own newsXpress – a marketing group helping local newsagents thrive. I also founded Tower Systems, makers of the industry standard software for newsagents. I sold Tower in November 2024, and still work with the company today. You can reach me on 0418 321 338 or mark@newsxpress.com.au.
I have been playing with AI for years, both in our Tower Systems newsagency software and outside, using AI to analyse insights curated by the software.
AI offers and edge. What if you could get an expert-level analysis of your business performance, for free, in just a few minutes? I’ve found that thanks to AI.
In this short video I walk you through how I used a free AI tool, Google Gemini, to analyse my own sales reports and get actionable insights to grow my business. It’s a process I’ve found incredibly valuable.
The process is simple. All you need is a sales report, like the Monthly Sales Comparison Report I use.
In the video, I show how I use Google Gemini to analyse a monthly sales comparison report. Here’s a breakdown of the steps I take:
I’ve found that using an AI tool like Gemini is like having a “second set of eyes” on my business. It helps me spot trends I might have missed and provides a fresh perspective on my performance. The best part? This powerful analysis can be done quickly and easily, at no cost. The version of Gemini I used in the demonstration is freely accessible.
What you do with the insights is up to you.
Within the Tower newsagency software there are awesome AI tools available:
These facilities exist today, and this list of five are only some of the AI POS software capabilities we offer our customers. You can use these, or use an external AI oil like I cover in the video. It’s easy.
It’s July 1, 2025 and the new award rate is no in force.
There is no excuse for employers missing this or the increase to the percentage of pay employers must contribute to superannuation to 12%.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has all the details at their website.
Now is a good time to check on other aspects of the award and your engagement with it such as employee classifications. Ensure your people are classified correctly. Also, if you require staff to wear a uniform, this is to be provided at your cost and there is a requirement for a weekly cost re cleaning of the uniform. It’s all there in the award.
If you are an employee and you feel you may not be being paid correctly, ask your employer. If you are unhappy with the response and consider you are being underpaid, click this link to get to advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
If you are an employee and you think the superannuation contributions from your employer are incorrect and you have been unable to resolve this, click here to go straight to the ATO website for their recommended action.
It’s never easy to talk about pay, for everyone involved. No matter how you approach it, the matter comes down to the facts. That’s the best place to start. If it’s an award discussion, start with the facts in the award. The Retail Award is straightforward. Print it, mark it upon, speak to it when raising any concern.
To employers who under rate employees via a lower than appropriate classification, look at the difference. Between 3 and 5, for example, it’s $2 an hour. A good employee with the right support from the business can easily cover this difference. The key to this is them understanding the needs of the business and how their actions can serve these while serving their own personal needs.
I have seen too many employees let underpayment slide in the hope it will be resolved. This is a mistake. If it’s wrong and it is not addressed, report it.
Whether we like it or not, all newsagents are bundled together in the collective Australian mind. If one underpays staff, does not pay penalty rates or fails to pay superannuation correctly, we are all judged to behave similarly. This is why I think if any of us is aware another is deliberately misbehaving, we should report them.
Check out this new video about the Tower newsagency software:
Newsagency software has come a long way and what Tower is delivering is the industry standard.
Plenty of newsagents would know of XL Express Group. Administrators were appointed to the business late last week. Several suppliers to our channel have been impacted, including John Sands. Sky News has a bit of detail, but not much.
FTI Consulting also noted that alternative arrangements will be made for XL Express customers who are impacted by the company entering voluntary administration.
“Where services are unable to be fulfilled, arrangements are being made for customers to collect their goods held in XL Express Group distribution centres,” it said.
It remains unclear what led to XL Express falling into administration.
John Sands has said that they have made other arrangements and have been able to get Father’s Day stock back.
I’ve seen the first issue of the new part series Racing Bikes The Collection and am confident this will be a hit. It’s a good product that targets a marketplace we already serve in our channel. This is a newsagency channel exclusive.
The launch issue, our July 7, contains the Mick Doohan Honda NSR 500 and the series will feature Australia’s greatest bikes and riders.
This new release is from the same publisher who launched “Aus Cars the Collection” last year that has generated over $6.2m in revenue at the newsagency channel in less than a year and is the 2nd largest revenue driving print product Are Direct distributes.
Allocations have been based on Aus Cars and other male collections and there is a good number of extra copies if local demand is higher than our forecast.
A heavyweight nationwide TV campaign as attached will commence from Wed 9th July that will feature at the end frame “At newsagents now”. here is an early look at the TVC.
The fortnightly series will include a replica motorbike from the Moto GP and Superbike Championships, including Aussie icons bikes, along with an accompanying magazine with detailed information.
My recommendation is: get behind this, leverage the TV commercial. Place the new title near the counter, talk about it on your social media, get customers connecting for a regular putaway use your newsagency software to manage this as customers love to see their name on a cutaway label.
I know there will be some who will feel like bagging this new part series – move on, this. post is not for you.
It’s a newsagency channel exclusive, backed by a TV campaign. The opportunity for the channel is terrific.
How does an Australian newsagency business stay competitive in an increasingly digital world? Diversify. Yes, it is as simple as that.
Play away from being a newsagent or a newsagency business. Don’t let what your shop is called define what you sell.
Sell what your customers want, love and will buy. Oh, and when you consider your customers, think beyond locals, think about anyone you can reach, anywhere, in the next town, in your country, overseas.
The world is your oyster is the cliché, and it is true today in retail, in newsagency retail. there are newsagents successfully selling overseas and plenty selling interstate within Australia. there are some selling products you’d never think of as supplied through a newsagency and others selling traditional newsagency products online to shoppers far away.
Today, in June 2025, the successful newsagents are those that diversified years ago and are now well established playing at not being a traditional newsagency business even though their shingle may mention news.
What, how and when we sell in our newsagency businesses has no boundaries. The boundaries shoppers have as to what a local newsagency sells is their boundary to navigate, not ours.
People still buy newspapers and magazines, in smaller numbers though. Whereas decades ago newspapers and magazines brought people to newsagency businesses, they were destination products, today more people purchase these print media products as the add on.
The question, How does an Australian newsagency business stay competitive in an increasingly digital world?, is interesting as it presumes that today digital has taken over. It hasn’t. There is a trend to paper and pen use in some demographics and smart newsagents leaning into these trends are doing well, growing stationery sales. Greeting card sales are good too in newsagencies that have good cards, locally made cards, cards that speak to occasions relevant in 2025.
Now, if you are a newsagent and wondering about categories outside what has been traditional for newsagents that you could explore, here’s a short list from me, based on my experience with hundreds of newsagents:
This is not a complete list. Each of the product categories I have listed are being sold in newsagencies I know of. My point here is to demonstrate how far away from the expectations of others for what a newsagency can sell the reality for some is.
How does an Australian newsagency business stay competitive in an increasingly digital world? It diversifies and does this following the core focus of any successful business: find a need and fill it.
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My name is Mark Fletcher. I own newsXpress – a marketing group helping local newsagents thrive. I also founded Tower Systems, makers of the industry standard software for newsagents. I sold Tower in November 2024, and still work with the company today. You can reach me on 0418 321 338 or mark@newsxpress.com.au.
What is a newsagency? is an interesting question. The answer in 2025 is different to the answer you may have seen a year or two ago.
Today, in 2025, a newsagency, newsagent or newsstand as some may call it, is what it needs to be for its local and online shopper communities.
The ideal newsagency today will offer a diverse range of gifts, practical stationery as well as stationery for stationery lovers and collectors, greeting cards, magazines, newspapers, lottery product (but more and more don’t sell lotteries), books, homewares, collectible products and pop culture products.
Back in the day, the local newsagent controlled the sale and distribution of newspapers and magazines in a town or region. That exclusive territory was ripped from newsagents without compensation in the late 1990s. Some newsagents are still grappling with the loss of their local monopoly today.
Losing the monopoly was embraced by plenty as they evolved their business. Plenty of newsagents moved into coffee and have done very well. others have opened bookshops in their newsagency, and done well. Some have gone deep into homewares, including furniture, and done well. Some have become firearms dealers while some have moved into garden related products.
You see, the answer to What is a newsagency? is broad, and very much dependent on the local newsagent.
As of today, June 2025, Australia has around 2,800 newsagency businesses, with each different to the others. While most still trade with the newsagency name, the majority do not look and feel like a newsagency inside, and this is a good thing.
Retail has changed, how people consume news has changed. Smart newsagents have adapted and found business relevance in new areas both in-store and online. Indeed it is online that has helped newsagents diverse more and through that to find new shoppers who might never shop a newsagency.
While some in Australia mourn the passing of the newsagency they knew as kids, from a practical business sense that old-style business is gone forever because it would not be viable today.
A typical newsagency back in the 1980s and 1990s would have seen 30% of their revenue come from print media, 30% from greeting cards, 20% from stationery and the rest from a mix of products (with lotteries not counted in this breakdown). Today, in June 2025, a typical newsagency would see no more than 20% of their revenue come from print media, 25% from greeting cards, 20% from stationery (including higher end and niche stationery), 25% from gifts and related and the rest from specialty products. A newsagency with coffee though would often find up to 50% of their revenue from coffee.
This underscores the differences between newsagencies and speaks to the complexity of answering the question of What is a newsagency?
Online really is playing a big role in the evolution of the Australian newsagency channel. For newsagents engaged online they are reaching shoppers who will never set foot in their shop and they are often doing this products they have never sold in their shop. The online experience is informing change in-store.
One newsagent decided to run a high end pet related business form the back office of the newsagency. As it grew, they decided to try the pet products in the shop and were surprised to see how well they went. They would not have made this move had it not been for the online experience.
The key to success for newsagents today is adaptability – the willingness to lean into change, indeed – to seek change out and explore how far their newsagency business could move into new territory.
The more we turn our back on the constraints of the monopoly years and play according to opportunities we see outside of the traditional, the more we will see local Australian newsagents thrive.
So, What is a newsagency? it’s a locally owned and run business serving needs that are local and afar and doing so in a way that people love and from which the stakeholders in the business benefit. A newsagency is a good local business, a thriving local business.
If you own a newsagency and would like help navigating change, I can be reached on 0418 321 338 or at mark@newsxpress.com.au.
We had people in the newsagency yesterday who had driven more than two hours to get some of these $2 coins in their change.
The are avid coin collectors and knew the only place they could get the $2 coins in their change is a newsXpress store. They bought some things and were thrilled to get some of these coins in their change.
One million of these coins are being circulated through newsXpress registers as people collect the new coloured coin. The coloured coin released from the Royal Australian Mint are their most popular coin releases each year. It is a privilege I’m grateful for that newsXpress shops are the distribution point for these coins.
The coin program was not mandatory for newsXpress members. Those who did not order have been frustrated by the many shoppers who visited seeking these coins. It’s a lesson learned.
This release reinforces interest in physical currency as well as the relevance of our fleet of shops across regional and rural Australia in serving a national release like this.
The public interest has been phenomenal because of the beloved licence and the extraordinary media coverage, which has included:
This is less than half the coverage in mainstream media. On top of this there has been excellent influencer coverage, all driving foot traffic for newsXpress shops.
Coin customers are loyal. A typical collector will spend around $1,000 a year on their collection. They will also buy other items, cards, stationery, magazines, while shopping. Many will travel hours to get to the shop they love, the shop they know will offer what they want.
I appreciate there are some in our channel who talk down coins as a category for Aussie newsagencies. To these doubters I’d say talk to the newsXpress members who engaged with the opportunity. Some of them may speak to the thousands of dollars in gross profit they have banked and the terrific add-on sales achieved.
This program has been good news for the Aussie newsagency channel and I am so grateful to have been part of it.
Oh, and on the $2 coin. If you get one in change, you can sell it for three and four times the price – it’s already that valuable.
A newsagent is a small town handed back their newspaper delivery run after decades of operation. It had been loss making for many years and the publisher offered no pathway to profitability.
The publisher appointed a new ‘distributor’ a local small business owner who was a sub-agent previously. There is history between the newsagent and their former sub-agent.
Today, more than a year after the change, the newsagent receives their newspapers last in the delivery cycle, long after they are open and long after the sub-agent nearest them receives their newspapers. It would take 60 second or less for the delivery agent to drop onn product at the very close by newsagency.
The newsagent, as you’d expect, is losing sales.
The publisher is unable, unwilling or both to resolve the issue in service of customers of the newsagency.
This is a petty dispute with some involved engaging in childish behaviour with little consideration of newspaper customers and basic commercial principles.
Everyone involved needs to grow up.
To celebrate 45 years of The AWW Children’s Birthday Cake Book, the Royal Australian Mint has partnered with The Australian Women’s Weekly for its latest coin release.#womensweekly #australianwomensweekly #birthdaycakebook #awwchildrensbirthdaycakebook #royalaustralianmint… pic.twitter.com/zRPpIA4qR9
— The Morning Show (@morningshowon7) June 12, 2025
— Mark Fletcher (@emef) June 14, 2025
From 7 News central Queensland on June 12:
The detailed April toy sales data are in and it was an awesome month for toy sales in indie retail in Austral;ia.
April 2025 experienced +7% in toy sales dollars, +1% in units. +6% in average price.
Games/Puzzles (+54%) was the top category gainer for this month, followed by Buildings Sets (+15%), Action Figures (+19%), Bicycles (+33%), Outdoor and Sports Toys (+3%), Plush (+1%) and Youth Electronics (+1%).
Jigsaw puzzles are having a moment again. I know of newsagents selling $2,000 in jigsaws a month without any marketing and discounting.
Dolls (-9%), Arts & Crafts (-10%) and Explorative and Other Toys (-8%) were the 3 largest category decliners for this month.
For YTD April 2025 vs. LY, Australia Toys was up +4% in dollars meanwhile globally toys market was up (+6%).
Top 5 Dollar licenced properties April ‘25
#1 – Pokémon#2 – Formula 1#3 – Hot Wheels
#4 – Star Wars
#5 – Barbie
Top 5 Dollar Gaining Properties April ’25 vs. April ’24
#1 – Formula 1
#2 – Pokémon
#3 – Minecraft
#4 – LEGO Speed Champions
#5 – Toniebox
This is all good news for newsagents engaged with toys beyond the cheap toy spinners offered on consignment – that end of the market is in decline. The growth is in good licences, higher end product and a toy department kids are welcome in.
Consignment spinners have no place in a modern newsagency in my view.
There are newsagency businesses doing well over $100,000 a year in toys. Anyone can do this. All it takes is for you to be a smart retailer.
Here are some reasons for toy growth:
Tap into these and you’ll win.
Wow, the prices rise announced by the McPherson Media Group for its newspapers are considerable. These take effect from June 30.
It will be interesting to see if this 25% increase impacts unit sales.
On the 25% increase: while each cost point of print newspaper production has increased, I suspect it’s the physical distribution cost that has gone up the most. certainly this is what we are seeing elsewhere in retail – the cost of physically moving products is much higher today than a year ago.
