How many hours do you work in your newsagency
Click here and answer a one-question survey. As of this morning we have 100 responses.
Sunday marketing tip: Look for your business online
Go to Google and search on magazines and your suburb. Dopes your business come up on the first page? Do the same for: ink, greeting cards and stationery. How dod you fare in these searches?
If you are not coming up on the first page you’re not where you need to be. This can be fixed by completing entries in a number of free listing sites and maintaining these.
If you are in a marketing group get their advice on what to do, they should have pre-prepared advice for you. If you are not in a marketing group email me at mark@towersystems.com.au and I’ll privately share advice with you.
Yes, it will take a couple of hours to get your information into the listing sites – the result will be your business coming up in search results. I was at a conference recently where they said that more than 70% of in-store purchases involved at least some form of online search or engagement.
Management tip: chase the settlement discount
One way to achieve a better margin for products you sell is to take the settlement discount whenever possible. Many newsagent suppliers offer this yet the majority of newsagents do not take it.
I have heard of newsagents not taking a 20% settlement discount – preferring 30 day terms. You could pay the bill on time with your credit card, take the 20% and be better off. This doesn’t make sense to me. In one business I looked at recently, they could have added more than $6,000 in a year to their bottom line profit by taking settlement discounts. Who wouldn’t want $6,000 extra profit?
Promoting Who 20th anniversary issue
We are promoting the 20th anniversary edition of Who magazine in several locations including with newspapers this weekend. This issue has a stunning cover – it stands out in each of the locations: at the counter, with newspapers and in with our weekly magazine titles. This is a title all newsagents should be promoting this weekend!
How many hours do you work in your newsagency?
Here is a one question survey for newsagents: How many hours do you work in your newsagency? If there is more than one owner in the business, please have each respond. I’ll share the results here.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Smaller newspapers expected to rise in the US
Kind of in line with a trend I have talked about here when reporting sales growth for regional and foreign language newspapers, a report out of the US is predicting growth for small circa. newspapers. Specialisation is a good business plan for newsagents who want to remain true to the historic core of the business.
We’re creatures of habit
Newsagents like consistency if nothing else and when things do not happen as usual they (we) are thrown. The lack of a delivery from Gotch yesterday is a case in point. Several newsagents called me asking if I knew what had gone wrong. I let them know that they needed to read the Gotch website announcement.
Promoting marie claire
We are promoting the latest issue of marie claire magazine with this display facing onto the dance floor, capping the entrance to our women’s magazine aisle.
We have taken care to protect the Dermalogica product attached to the magazine – to ensure that the gift really does look like a premium gift. This display in the photo and placement in the usual location for marie claire shows off the gift.
Promoting Top Gear
We are promoting the latest issue of Top Gear magazine with this display facing into our men’s magazine reading area.
This placement along with a waterfall display give the current issue plenty of support in-store. We will also give the issue a push in an impulse display next to our photocopier for the weekend – to catch guys who don’t venture beyond half-way in.
Talking penalty rates with the Liberal Party
I was fortunate to be one of twelve at an Australian Retailers Association lunch with Senator Eric Abetz, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, yesterday. The lunch was held under the Chatham House Rule and so I can’t go into the detail of what was discussed. that said, it was terrific to have another opportunity to talk directly with a federal politician about newsagents and some of the challenges we face that those in Canberra can influence.
The hot topic was penalty rates. Plenty of the retailers around the table representing footware, music, bakery and services shared the concerns of newsagents about the cost of labour on our businesses on Sundays in this 24/7 world – a world government had helped create.
The more politicians who hear stories about challenges newsagents face the better.
Newsagent blocked from XchangeIT
Earlier this week someone commented on a post on this blog that they had been blocked from getting XchangeIT invoices by their software company because they had decided to not take up software support coverage.
It frustrates me that a newsagency software would block a newsagent from accessing business-critical magazine invoice data.
The software company involved should not block access. XchangeIT should not allow it to happen.
If a newsagent has software that meets XchangeIT standards they ought to be able to load data from any external source. If they need support from their software company to address any issue and are not covered by support then, by all means, charge them. But to charge just to get the data – this is poor behaviour that reflects badly on all software companies.
Yes I am conflicted, I own Tower Systems. I’m lucky in that our market share of 1,800 newsagents positions us to not have to rely on pressuring newsagents by blocking XchangeIT access to those who do not maintain software support. But we created our position over many years.
Newsagents have enough challenges in their businesses. They should not be forced to pay for a software support service if they don’t want it.
Software companies should rely on their customer loving their software and their support enough to keep them in business.
UK newsagents hit with a new delivery charge
I feel for UK newsagents who have been hit with a new £8.50 delivery charge by Menzies Distribution following them taking on titles previously delivered direct to newsagents by News International. The Grocer has the story.
Unfortunately, I think we can expect to see moves like this as product manufacturers who previously supplied many accounts directly move to a model of supplying fewer accounts and expecting these businesses to manage newsagent accounts. The moves in Adelaide I wrote about yesterday are an example.
Being across the moves in the UK is something those representing newsagents ought to pursue. Some aspects of T2020 can be found in the UK model. I wonder how much that was looked at over the last two and a half years we have known of T2020.
Food covers help us show off
While most magazine retailers treat their products as SKUs, we take care, moving stock around, leveraging opportunities we see as relevant to our shoppers. Food titles present this opportunity often. Take the current issues of donna hay and Cuisine. Both have terrific, delicious, covers – the best of current food titles we have in-store. We have made sure to place them at the front of the food section, at almost shoulder level – so the delicious food can be easily seen. Whereas supermarkets put titles in their design ate spot, we will place a title based on where this issue will work best for us and our customers.
Rolling Stone opportunity bagged
I was premature in calling the current issue of Rolling Stone with Pink on the cover an opportunity for us. I was surprised to notice that our stock in-store is bagged. This is nuts for music titles as browsing is important to driving purchases. You only have to stand in a newsagency and watch the browsing of music titles to notice this. When I was checking it out yesterday a customer looked at the title – we chatted about the title being bagged and he agreed and expressed frustration. I understand why it’s bagged and that the publisher expects to achieve incremental sales from the extra value. My feeling is that this is not ideal for a music magazine.
Loving That’s Life Reader Recipes
I love That’s Life Reader Recipes. It’s a simple title, connecting with readers in a personal and straightforward way. We enjoy good sales thanks to a consistent co-location strategy. We place this title with food magazines and also with weeklies – next to That’s Life. It sells well in both locations, especially on the weekend from the weeklies location. I urge newsagents to check where they have the title. If it’s not co-located with weeklies give it a shot there too.
The newsagency association conflict
I was talking with a new newsagent yesterday and they were surprised to learn that their local association owns 50% of Newspower in their state. An association representative had been providing advice to them on the selection of a marketing group. They had not declared a conflict of interest for the association with their half ownership of Newspower.
Associations need to declare their shareholding in Newspower to anyone they pitch or discuss Newspower – otherwise those receiving the advice may not have all the facts.
Whether they like it or not, associations are businesses and need to act open and ethically – as all suppliers should act.
Newsagency opportunities in Melbourne
There are several shopping centre opportunities for newsagents in Melbourne. A couple are greenfield locations. Anyone looking to take on a newsagency should call and I’d be happy to pass on the details.
Opinions sought on subscription impact on newsagents
A journalist is writing a piece on the impact of magazine subscriptions on newsagents and they would like to talk with any Victorian newsagent prepared to share their insights. Email me and I will connect you: mark@towersystems.com.au.
Herald Sun harder to get in Adelaide now
Thanks to supply changes reportedly implemented by the Herald & Weekly Times, the Herald Sun is harder for South Australian newsagents to now obtain for sale in their shops.
Some newsagents who have carried the Herald Sun in-store for many years are no longer able to source product. This is seeing customers wanting the title having to find another newsagent. The knock-on cost in lost sales could be considerable to newsagents.
I am told that the folks at the Adelaide Advertiser (part of News) blame the Herald & Weekly Times (part of News) for the change.
News Limited needs to respond with care to situations like this as it realigns the distribution of its products. Shoppers wanting an interstate or overseas newspaper are prepared to pay a premium.
Food Network Magazine subscription cost offends newsagents
We sell the Food Network Magazine in our newsagencies of $12.50 an issue. This is the price set by the importer and or distributor. Australians can subscribe direct from the publisher for three years for $100 – or $2.77 an issue.
Here’s my question: if publishers can land copies in Australian letterboxes at $2.77 and make it work financially then why is the newsagent wholesale price $9.37? The subscription figure I have quoted has not even been converted to Australian dollars.
It seems to me that I’d make more money subscribing for the two copies I get and take the risk in terms of being able to sell.
This is a screwed up situation.
New newsagency benchmark study under way
Newsagents have been invited to submit July – September sales data to me for inclusion in the latest newsagency sales benchmark study. By mid next week I hope to have data from three times this many.
I will publish the results here. The results will give newsagents a set of numbers with which to compare their own businesses. That said, our best competitor is our own business from the same period a year earlier.
Terrific Halloween product sell out
It’s nice when a product you buy sells out early in the season. This glitter Halloween pumpkin was a feature on our display and we sold all our stock in a couple of days – now we are chasing more. Shoppers will happily pay a good price for something they really want … plus they will buy early in a season. We have an excellent margin on our more unique halloween items, above average for gifts. The everyday halloween product is closer to 50% – we’re still happy with that.
Pink Rolling Stone opportunity
Pink is on the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine and her fans are on social media and raving about the cover photo and the magazine. This will be a collectors item for Pink fans. Newsagents should do something extra with this issue as you are likely to be able to grab incremental business if you get the cover in front of more people. Who doesn’t want more sales?
Network gets supply of Great Destination Weddings wrong
We received twelve copies of Great Destination Weddings on Monday. I can’t see how Network Services can justify such an allocation based on Network-supplied wedding title sales.
My review of our sales data suggests that an initial allocation of no more than six copies would have been fairer.
While I like the title and feel for the publisher and the investment they have made, I should not have been roped in as an investor in the title as has been the case because of what I consider to be over-supply. Network should hold stock and refill as needed – based on the sale data I send them daily. This is what a well-run supply chain would offer.
Magazine distributors want their bills paid on time. They demand this of us and cut off supply if we are late. It is unreasonable that they apply such a demand yet do not give us reasonable control over business levers to control our level of indebtedness.
Newsagents have no reciprocal right against distributors when they fail a reasonable business performance indicator – such as oversupply.
No new title should be sent to newsagents without them having the opportunity to set the supply quantity.
We are supporting Great Destination Weddings in-store. It will be a miracle if we come close to selling even half what they have supplied.
Freddy Krueger boosts Halloween display
Introducing the life-size Freddy Krueger cut out to our Halloween display has helped further boost attention. The photo shows less than half of our total Halloween display. Freddy is located between the two main tables.
In addition to halloween party and dress up goods, we have Freddy available for purchase as a centrepiece for an in-home or office Halloween display … yes, offices are getting into Halloween as it’s a fun season to lighten the office.