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

Campbell Newman changes blamed for Brisbane newsagents doing it tough

Talking with a couple of newsagents in Brisbane yesterday I was surprised to hear about the emptying offices in the CBD and the impact on newsagents and other nearby small business retailers.

While Campbell Newman was elected on a platform of fiscal responsibility, there are newsagents and other retailers in the CBD wondering if his public service cuts are going too far.  With three CBD newsagencies recently closed and some other retailers closed too, I wondered if there were other forces at work.

A couple of examples were shared where the businesses were directly opposite now-shrinking government departments. These were small businesses serving local office workers Monday to Friday. While they were not the biggest retail businesses in town but they were making a living.  The state government redundancies have reportedly made the businesses unviable.

I have written here many times that we, all of us, need to pursue traffic from several sources. Even very local businesses need to attract shoppers for more than convenience or being local. The more viable reasons we give shoppers to walk through our doors the stronger we are. We need to be strong in several categories of products, preferably products people seek out and preferably geographically unique to us.

While I accept that the Campbell Newman shrinking of the public service will have been a factor, good retailers would have built businesses that could better withstand the government downsizing.

In the meantime, the Newman government needs to consider the economic impact of emptying the Brisbane CBD.

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Newsagency management

ACP campaign dominates airports

I am at Sydney airport right now and am surprised at how widely the ACP $5 off a magazine deal is being promoted – the deal I wrote about last week.

Last week I saw it promoted on a lightbox display.  Not it’s on screen and at counters with participating retailers promoting it too.  On the way into the terminal I saw the ad several times.  there is no missing it.  It’s the same in Melbourne. On Saturday I saw it four times in Melbourne airport.

This $5 off deal and the ACP three magazines for $10 deal pitches ACP ahead of other publishers at these airports. The campaigns make the purchase about price.  I’m not sure that is a good thing for products so defined by content.  I don;t want consumers to become educated about this.

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magazines

Father’s Day card sales up 23.5%

What a terrific Father’s Day season for card sales.  Achieving 22.5% growth year on year comparing the same days in the lead up to the day in 2012 with 2011 is an excellent result.

Plenty of the growth came earlier in the season. While the last week of sales is important for Father’s Day, two and three weeks out are now strong for us.  I put this down to high-profile displays and our promotion of an excellent prize for one lucky shopper.

Gift sales were up too. Magazines, too.  In fact, magazine sales for the season – three weeks to the day – are up double digits. I’d say around a third of this growth is Father’s Day purchases.  more publishers need to embrace the Father’s Day opportunity … people do give magazines as gifts – not just subscriptions but single copies!

Newsagents can use their software to compare the years easily. Go and see how good Father’s Day was for you this year.

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Gifts

Target selling the Dora partwork

Check out the photo sent to me over the weekend by a newsagent showing the new Dora partwork on display in their local target store.

Shame on whoever allowed this to happen. Newsagents have been the go-to retailers for partworks in Australia. We have served the category well with prime placement, strong VM support and after sales service unlike any other retailer could deliver.

Those involved owe newsagents an explanation.  If they care.

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Newsagency challenges

Launching the new DC Chess Collection

We are promoting the launch of the DC Chess Collection partwork with this display facing the shopping mall for all passers-by to see.

While not expected to be a massive seller – given the specialist interest in chess – we are giving it the usual treatment. we are not our customers after all.

Partworks continue to do well for us, bringing in new shoppers to get to know us.

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partworks

Opportunity for newsagents in Darrell Lea sale

With all Darrell Lea outlets being closed as part of the sale of the Darrell Lea business, maybe licenced retailers, like many newsagents, will benefit. It all depends on the direction the new owners take the business – to mass or specialist.  The press reports indicate they will use the current licenced network.  If they stick with newsagents will be among the winners.

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Newsagency management

American Greetings promotes iPhone greeting card app

American greetings, the parent of John Sands cards in Australia, is promoting an iPhone app for the sending of ecard greetings.

More and more suppliers to the newsagency channel are pursuing direct to consumer routes. I’d do the same if I were them. We need to be aware and take these changes into account for our own business planning.

While this American Greetings app is not available in Australia, I am certain it or something like it will come.

Our challenge is to be building retail businesses that encourage shoppers back, often.

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Greeting Cards

Beware the offer of a supplier discount – make sure it’s real

I was talking to a retailer last week about a considerable discount they were receiving form a supplier. They were pleased with what they had negotiated. On checking their invoices and comparing them with others it turned out that the base price off of which their discount was calculated was higher than what appeared to be usual.

The extraordinary discount negotiated disappeared once you took into account the inflated base price.

If you are offered a discount, make sure it is off the standard wholesale price quoted to all other customers.

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Newsagency management

Women’s Fitness launch in the news

Newsagents should check out the media section of The Australian today. There are several items sure to be of interest including a story about the launch of Women’s Fitness by ACP. This is a new title in an already strong category. While you’re in the Media section check out the report on the sale of ACP.

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magazines

Australian Traveller in the food section

We have been pitching the latest issue of Australian Traveller magazine in the food section of the magazine department – because it’s the food issue of course.

The cover features of this magazine give us opportunities for co-location with just about every issue. yes, we have to check the cover and find space but, hey, we’re retailers after all and chasing sales in our job.

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magazines

Great Father’s Day for magazine sales

We experienced a terrific boost in magazine sales in the week leading up to Father’s Day. The boost this year was up on the Father’s Day boost last year.  As I have noted here over the last few weeks, we pursued this growth by promoting magazines as part of the Father’s Day offer – including displaying magazines on one of the tables at the front of the business as shown in the photo.

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magazines

Fans using Twitter to pitch magazine cover stories

This is interesting. @JonasAUS, a Twitter account for fans of a US group called the Jonas Brothers, tweeted to 27,769 fans that they wanted to see the boys on the cover of Dolly and Girlfriend. The tweet went to Dolly and Girlfriend Twitter followers, 18,886 and 25,004 followers respectively. It was also retweeted by 39 followers, getting it in front of many thousands more.

This interests me on two fronts: 1. Fans going to Twitter to request magazine content.  This is fascinating. I’d love it if I were a publisher.  It also shows us what great chunks of shoppers want and their passion for this.  2.  The opportunity to tap into viral conversations like this as a voyeur and possible contributor to the conversation when there is something to add.

Our sales of teen and tween magazines are up thanks to our better understanding of what these shoppers look for.

I appreciate this is challenging stuff for some of us to get our heads around. It’s the world we are in now. Online is more important to our businesses than we can imagine.

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Media disruption

Sunday management tip: Why are some newsagents more successful than others?

Following on from the discussion yesterday about the article by Stuart Binnie saying the sky is falling for newsagents, I figured this was a timely question to ponder.

Why are some newsagents more successful than others?

The answer is easy. Because they choose to be successful.  They plan for success, manage for success and pursue success in every business decision.

I see this every day in my contact with newsagents.

The most successful newsagency businesses I see are those with a point of difference in their community, an offer – product, service of both – that sets their business apart.  They are not necessarily big.  No, some of the most successful newsagencies I see are the smaller in an area.

Having a successful point of difference starts with understanding your customers and would-be customers.

These are the actions of retailers.  This is what we need to be – retailers.

An average newsagency business from yesteryear selling products others select for the business has a tough future ahead.  A growing newsagency business will have more products sought out by owners and  management, presented professionally and marketed outside the four walls of the business.

Successful newsagents are choosing to be successful and pursuing this relentlessly in their decisions and actions.

This is what we must do.  We must be retailers and not agents.

T2020, the News Limited changes, is a wake-up call to all newsagents – even though there have been many wake-up calls in past years.

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marketing tip

Good GNS Market Fair in Brisbane

I was at the GNS Market Fair in Brisbane yesterday and got to catch up with plenty of newsagents. Most I spoke with were happy with business, reporting growth.  I also go to speak to several people buying their first newsagency business.  They were excited for the opportunities.  Suppliers I spoke with too were happy with sales at the fair.  The trade show floor itself was buzzing with good deals from professional looking stands. Industry suppliers were putting on a good show. Maybe those who talk the channel down should get out more and talk to proactive newsagents.

 

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Newsagency management

Ignorant commentary on newsagents at Inside Retail

Stuart Bennie has penned an ignorantly incomplete article at Inside Retail about newsagency businesses.

Rather than write about newsagents who have reinvented their businesses and others who are reinventing their businesses, Bennie paints a picture of an old-style newsagency business, the kind that time forgot.  Yes, these businesses will die.  The thing is, many newsagents have moved on from this death wish model.

Bennie is not the first, nor will he be the last, to tell us that the sky is falling. It’s old news, news that many newsagents have responded to. I suspect articles like this are written reflecting research of some newsagents who have not seen or embraced change.

Bennie’s article misses other points:

  • Many of us are growing magazine sales by focussing on special interest titles.  And, we are exerting control over supply in a way bennie says we cannot.
  • Our margin on phone cards is usually 40% or more and not cents like he suggests.
  • Gift sales are skyrocketing, some newsagents are doing $300K a year and more – okay not everyone BUT those working on gifts are growing.
  • Card sales, excellent margin, are growing to almost double-digit levels in many newsagencies.
  • Toy sales are coming back to us. Some are at $60K and more
  • Lottery products are financially rewarding if managed well.

There are many steps newsagents can take to build stronger and more valuable businesses. Many of these have been documented at this blog over the years. They all come down to us, each newsagent, being accountable for our situation and running our businesses with authority and in pursuit of profit.

It does not help when commentators go off half-cocked and tell us the sky is falling. Yes, it’s tough but there is good news there for those who look.

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Newsagency management

The Father’s Day magazine, gift and card pitch

The photo shows part of the Father’s Day pitch at the front of one of my newsagencies.  This is a carefully considered and co-ordinated pitch at this side of the entrance to the business.

We have part of our Hallmark Father’s Day card range on show on the left, MANSPACE magazine in the middle and The Blob iPhone stand on the right.

We are using the two unique products on the right to show Father’s Day products unique to our business. Being different is important as people like to buy items not available in mass.  Being different also means little or no price pressure.

We have a double display of Father’s Day gifts on offer facing into the mall.

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Gifts

Your Garden tactic pays off

Our placement of Your Garden magazine with newspapers has achieved a sell-through of 72% in the two weeks since we placed it with newspapers.  This simple move has achieved excellent sales growth for us in this two-week period.  All we did was move the title from garden magazines to next to newspapers. It cost us a minute or two of time and the pay-off is sales we would otherwise not have achieved. Yes, we can grow magazine sales.

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magazines

Promoting AWW

We are promoting the latest issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly with this aisle-end display for the first week of the on-sale.  We also have the magazine in a waterfall display in the usual location.

It is good to see ACP supporting the title with reasonable collateral in the on-sale week for a change – most welcome.

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magazines

Promoting Girlfriend

We are promoting the latest issue of Girlfriend magazine with this aisle end display capping our women’s magazine aisle.  The display also faces our dance floor – it is easily seen by all shoppers entering our store.

This issue has received excellent social media coverage because of excellent reader-focused content and we are trying to tap into that.

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magazines

Nick Xenophon writes about support for small business retailers on penalty rates

Nick Xenophon has responded to my email (and I am sure emails from others) supporting his private member’s bill on the issue of penalty rates:

Dear Mark

Thank you for your email to me regarding my proposed penalty rates Bill. I appreciate your support on this issue.

In recent months I have spoken to a number of small businesses and, importantly, employees about hours being reduced and jobs lost because of changes to penalty rates.

It is estimated penalty rates have already cost almost 3000 jobs in the hospitality industry. The recent Restaurant & Catering Australia Benchmarking Report also showed 18.2 per cent of businesses were closed on weekends due to penalty rates. More than two-thirds said they would cut the number of staff further if labour costs rose in the next 12 months.

My Bill will only apply to small businesses – those with fewer than 20 full-time equivalent employees in the hospitality and retail industries. Under my Bill, employees will earn penalty rates when they work more than 10 hours in a day or 38 hours in a week.

That way, employees will still be recognised for work they do above and beyond a usual week and small businesses will be able to stay open and keep employing staff for weekend shifts.

My Bill has been referred to the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committees for an Inquiry.

The purpose of a Committee Inquiry is to critically analyse ideas from all sides of the debate and I would welcome your input into this. You can find out more information about the Committee inquiry here.

Even though both the Government and the Opposition have indicated they don’t support this proposal, I strongly believe this is an issue that needs to be publicly debated because of the thousands of jobs that have already been lost in small businesses.

Thank you for taking the time to write to me on this issue.

We need more newsagents supporting this private member’s bill. We can do it by telling our local members to support the bill. We can also do it by making a submission to the committee.

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Newsagency management

WHO discounted 60%

I am disheartened to see WHO being discounted by 60% off the cover price to $99 for 51 issues delivered to your home or office for just $99.

While I understand subscriptions play a role in the magazine distribution model, I see no reason to make one channel so much cheaper than another, especially a channel that invests time, real estate and opportunity in promoting brands so ready to launch steep discounts.

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magazine subscriptions

Great to catch up with Tasmanian newsagents

I have been fortunate to spend the last two days in Tasmania, in Launceston and Hobart, presenting at the ANF mini conference and participating in the GNS organised trade displays.

The photo does not do the trade display justice. There were many more suppliers in attendance, bringing to Tasmania a flavour of the mainland Market Fairs.

Our channel has some strong newsagents in Tasmania, people embracing change. It also has some old school newsagents who need to create their own future.  The day in Hobart and Thursday in Launceston brought together some excellent product opportunities, business management opportunities and some good networking.

I am grateful to GNS and the ANF for being included in the events.

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Newsagency management

The same magazine – different titles and prices

Newsagents are understandably confused about Inside Fitness magazine and Inside Fitness Australia magazines. Despite the different names, prices and distributors, they are essentially the same magazine.

Click on the photo and see a page from each of the magazines next to each other.

Inside Fitness Australia is distributed by Network Services and sells for $7.95.  Inside Fitness (a US publication) is distributed by Gordon & Gotch and sells for $14.95.  But the content is more or less the same. It looks like an Australian publisher has purchased the content from the US publisher.  In such a case the distribution of the US title needs to be sorted out to avoid shoppers complaining to newsagents that they are ripping them off with the more expensive title.

I am grateful to a colleague newsagent for drawing this to my attention.

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magazines
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