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

Supporting Women’s Health magazine

We have been supporting the latest issue of Women’s Health magazine and the free deck of fitness cards with the title by displaying the full cover on show – ensuring that shoppers can see the bonus offer with the magazine.

This is where the type of  fixtures we are using work well – showing off the whole cover.

We also have a pocket of the title located with our weekly magazines. We find this works well for us, delivering impulse purchases of the title by weekly title shoppers.

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magazines

Publisher of The Boat Mag attacks newsagents … again

Check out the whack against newsagents and magazine distributors from the publisher of The Boat magazine. The same publisher whacked newsagents back in 2007. In this latest editorial, online now, the publisher complains about an increase in costs and charges from their magazine distributors and then says: Unshackled by the ailing newsagency system, the online TBM is much bigger…

Their complaint is with magazine distributors and not newsagents.

The magazine distribution system is not the newsagency system.

This publisher should thank newsagents for their support over the years rather than making a cheap shot as they leave us.

Click on the image to see what has been published. You can click on their website here.

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magazine distribution

Tatts requires retailers & staff to use a customer card for lottery purchases

Tattersalls has implemented a requirement in Queensland that Golden Casket retailers and their employees make purchases and claim prizes through a registered Winners Circle Card.

For many newsagents and their employees this is an additional cost of purchasing Casket tickets.

As someone mentioned to me yesterday, the policy shift would have been more palatable had they provided membership for newsagents and their employees at no cost.

I am writing about this to give newsagents a place where they can express their concerns – as with many blog topics here.

If I were affected by this move or representing newsagents affected by this move I’d want to know why the move is being made and what evidence they have that the previous arrangements and requirements had not worked.

Click on the image to read page 9 of the Golden Casket bulletin to retailers announcing the policy change.

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Lotteries

Practical Parenting opportunity

On TV over the weekend I noticed an ad for Practical Parenting magazine and their promotion of their 2012 cover cutie competition.

This is an excellent reason to give the magazine time in the spotlight – to use the TV coverage to drive purchases and encourage shoppers to enter their babies in the competition. If I had spare floorspace or a front window I’d have made this a key feature for the school holidays … the timing is perfect.

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magazines

Profiting from Mormon interest

Our promotion of the Mormon cover story on the latest Time magazine is working. I expect we will sell more copies than usual as a result of placement where the whole cover can be seen. Of course, Mormonism is in the news thanks to the US presidential election and questions about what Mormons stand for.

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magazines

Promoting Cosmopolitan

We are promoting the latest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine with this aisle end display facing shoppers as they head to the magazine department. The team has added some nice touches to the display to connect with the colour theme of the cover of the magazine.

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magazines

Saving the masthead – how Fairfax responded to the Internet challenge

The Background Briefing program on Radio National on the weekend took us behind the scenes on how the Fairfax business responded to the challenges of the Internet some years ago.

You can listen to the program here. Indeed, I urge newsagents to listen – or read the transcript when it is loaded Tuesday.

While the program is an excellent reflection at the decisions those leading Fairfax made early in the challenge of the Internet to their business model, it is equally a challenge to newsagents today who continue to run business models that owe more to the past than the future. This program is a business lesson for us about the need to embrace the changes around us today and to pursue changes we don’t yet see in a mission critical goal focused on being in business five, ten and more years down the road.

How people shop, when they shop and where they shop is changing, faster than most of us know. Plenty of the products on which we currently rely are engaging with shoppers in mays we are yet to fully comprehend. These are some of the challenges we face … challenges somewhat similar to those faced by the leadership of fairfax years ago in the period covered by the documentary.

Newsagents are too often late to the party. Look at T2020. News has been briefing newsagent associations about this for more than two years yet it is only since mid this year that there has been any activity resembling substance.

What are the associations doing about the fundamental changes in retail? Nothing that I can see. Yet the shift occurring here is more serious, more far reaching, than T2020. I am more concerned abut how newsagents are reacting than their associations. Too many just don’t know what is happening.

I have covered some of this in the Newsagency of the Future workshop.

Listen to Background Briefing and learn what Fairfax got wrong. We need to engage so we don’t make the same mistakes.

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Media disruption

Excellent sales for digital magazines for Future

PaidContent is reporting that magazine publisher Future has achieved more than £5 million in sales of digital editions of its titles on Apple devices in the last year. This excellent result is due to Future publishing content mobile device readers want.  Kudos to them.

Not all publishers are enjoying this level of success and not all magazine categories lend themselves to the mobile platform. this is why I see magazines selling well in newsagencies for years to come – well, in newsagencies that support magazines.

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Media disruption

Making the most of the One Direction opportunity

We are making the  most of the interest in the launch issue of the five-part One Direction series from Pacific Magazines by displaying titles likely to appeal to 1D fans in this secondary promotion location in-store.

Driving basket depth by using successful, traffic-generating, products as I pointed out yesterday is vital to any retailer.

We regularly do this – place other items next to, around and near items we know are popular. It works with basket depth at an above average level.

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magazines

Confused newspaper shoppers

Newspaper shoppers in Melbourne are confused with the similarly looking offers today.

Based on shopper reaction today, that the only way they tell the difference between the two is the format. With The Sunday Age appearing to be a tabloid today – thanks to the AFL grand final wraparound – the obvious different is lost.

The key factor in them looking the same is the identical advertising from Virgin Australia – kudos to them for such blanket coverage.

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Newspapers

Retail management tip: check product sales efficiency

Good retail management software lets retailers see what sells with a product and how often a product is sold alone. This enables the retailer to gauge the basket efficiency of a product.

In a newsagency, newspapers and lottery products are the most inefficient products – the products most often sold alone. On average, newspapers are sold alone 75% of the time. Lottery-only product purchases occur, on average 70% of the time. These numbers are not good for newsagents.

The key to making products more efficient is to have data for your business. Got to your software and produce the report for the last three months. Loot at your least efficient product and develop a plan for driving their efficiency – driving the purchase of other items with them.

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Management tip

Sunday marketing tip: what’s your well-trained sales pitch?

Needing a new paid of runners I went to a well-known sports outlet on Friday, selected the style I wanted and asked to try them on in my size. The well-trained sales associated wanted to measure my feet to be sure. Next, I was asked to walk and then put on some device to assess which parts of each foot carried the most weight. The result was a recommendation for an inner sole for better support. I declined the offer.

While waiting for my size to be found in the back room, I noticed that placed in with the runners on display were displays of inner soles.  I also heard two other employees make the same recommendation of inner soles for support to other shoppers.

The cynic in me had me wondering whether the walking, measuring and weight balance device test were all about selling inner soles. I checked these products – they were a generic brand, made in China and therefore probably delivering an excellent margin. Between my realisation and completing the purchase I saw the pitch repeated several times more – in the name of excellent customer service … to make sure we get the right product for your feet and type of walk.

A glance around the shop showed several people with the promoted supports in their hands. The pitch works – it must otherwise they would not push it as they do.

While I am sure some newsagents train their staff to provide excellent customer service in recommending items to go with items already selected by shoppers, I wonder if we have down as well as this sports shoe store. The follow-up question is whether we would want to. I know newsagents are challenged getting employees to make offers across the counter.

My experience was a reminder of the importance in adding every dollar possible to a purchase and structuring the business for this to be done in a way that fits with the business and is easy. I wonder how many people have purchases these inner sole supports who did not really need them.

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marketing tip

Glasses with magazines

We moved reading glasses yesterday – down deep into our magazine department. While the glasses are selling well, we need the space at the front of the shop for Halloween and other promotions. Locating it with magazines makes sense as this is where shoppers are more likely to notice that they have an eyesight problem.

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retail

AFL supports newsagents

More than 91,000 AFL fans on Twitter received a tweet from the leag promoting newsagents in blod and ahead of other retailers for sourcing the 2012 Grand Final AFL Record. I appreciate the support by the AFL of newsagents to their Twitter followers.

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newsagency marketing

Halloween marketing suits school holidays

Promoting Halloween at the front of the newsagency through school holidays has been working well for us as it attracts plenty of new shoppers to the business.

Once attracted across the mall to our business there is plenty else for first-time to see and consider in-store … and they do.

While there is some crossover between our Halloween range and that carried by others in the centre, we have plenty of unique product, a competitive price point and a more engaging display.

We are targeting at least 25% growth this year over last for Halloween. We have set ourselves up for this with more product and changes to our promotion of the season. The photo shows just part of our Halloween range.

With a margin of between 50% and 65% and with broad shopper appeal, it makes sense to use prime retail space at this time of the year to promote Halloween.

Clicking on the image will give you a larger version.

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Gifts

The Superfan’s Guide to One Direction selling out

The Superfan’s Guide to One Direction magazine will sell out for us this morning and we are hoping to have extra stock by Wednesday. It’s been selling very well for us – like all One Direction product.

We have driven, chased, the success through tactical placement at the front of the shop as well as with teen magazines. It’s the only to go with these titles aimed at teen and pre-teen shoppers. Selling out in ten days is a good commercial outcome. We are very happy.

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magazines

Using the grand final opportunity

Plenty of newsagencies open this afternoon will be in for a quiet time with the AFL grand final in full swing. We will be open and using the opportunity to get some housekeeping done – moving displays and reconfiguring the shop. It’s always a good day for this type of work. Some cool shoppers come out too, revelling the experience a quieter shopping experience for a Saturday afternoon.

PS. I’m tipping the Swans.

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Newsagency opportunities

What’s my newsagency magazine space worth now?

I noticed WHAT’S IT WORTH NOW?, this small format magazine our shelves yesterday. We received two copies – the first time we have had the title.

Magazine distributors should not be able to send a new title (to us) without our permission. Maybe in the past but not now. The trading terms of yesterday year do not apply today … they don’t work today.

Since we carry the financial obligation, pay for the retail space, pay for the labour and pay to return stock that fail, we should not be sent any new title unless we agree.

T2020 is evidence that the newsagency channel has cha need significantly. Magazine distributors need to realise that they are now dealing with a more commercially focused newsagency channel. Abusing a system based on out of date practices does not cut it any more.

Yes, many titles will not get onto shelves because newsagents will say no. The fault for that lies with magazine distributors who even today distribute hundreds of titles that are loss-making for newsagents.

Whether I would have taken this title or not is not the point – given my investment in the title I ought to have been asked. For the record, I’d have said no: it’s too small, too expensive, on sale for too long and not something I can make enough from to take up a pocket.

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magazine distribution
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