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

What’s going on at Gordon and Gotch?

As I noted recently, PMP, the parent of magazine distributor Gordon and Gotch is doing it tough, having just announced a profit downgrade.

We know that Gotch has embarked on another round of trimming staff.

Add to this an apparent retreat from engagement with newsagents. Two years ago the company had an excellent reputation of working with newsagents in pursuit of fairer supply. Last year while some in the company maintained a façade of engagement, actions did not match the words. This year, from what I can see, even the words are in retreat.

While Network Services is investing in systems to improve service, Gotch is still using old systems which fail the company if you look at some recent events.  Network has a Sales Based Replenishment program in place, Gotch has nothing despite claiming that they would have SBR running by now.

One thing Gotch is good at is spin from the highest levels of the company. They spin to publishers and get them under a spell that comments I make here and complaints from other newsagents are wrong or a mis understanding. Hmm, no, no misunderstanding. Gotch is in trouble and this is affecting magazine sales.

From a newsagents perspective, we let Gotch get away with a sub standard service.  We complain but don’t act on the complaints. This just serves to weaken the company.

Something has to give. The current situation leaves magazine publishers and newsagents very poorly served.

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magazine distribution

Queensland Newspapers promotion frustrates some newsagents

A couple of newsagents have complained to me about the latest Queensland Newspapers promotion to lapsed home delivery customers. They are frustrated that they have not been offered the promotion to offer themselves across the counter.

I understand their frustration. Too often publishers build promotions which focus on them and the subscriber, ignoring the newsagent who is key to the transaction.

That said, this is a good offer. I like that they are rewarding shoppers with something to spend in a newsagency – a $25 voucher.

But back to the core point, I do wish that newsagents could promote this themselves across the counter.  The newsagents I have spoken with are certain they could drive terrific sales growth.

Slightly off topic, I’d also like to see publishers engage with newsagents in driving single copy retail sales. I think this is a massive missed opportunity.

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Newspapers

How newsagents should handle gross magazine oversupply

Following my post about Spearfishing Downunder, some newsagents contacted me to advise of gross oversupply. They were angry at the magazine. Something had gone wrong in the switch of the title from IPS to Gotch. Talking with the publisher and seeing their approach, it is clear to me than newsagents should go direct to the publisher in any situation of oversupply.

Gotch told one newsagent to top and trash the 28 excess copies of Spearfishing Downunder they received by mistake. Besides the waste of the small print run title, this is no way to mix an oversupply based on a genuine mistake. They should have picked up the extra stock. The publisher could sell it. Telling a newsagent to throw away 28 copies and claim a credit is, in my view, like theft against the publisher.

By telling the publisher about an oversupply situation, the newsagent could well be advising the publisher about a situation of which they were unaware. A good publisher will engage and get to the bottom of what happened. This could work for everyone. If we don’t go to the publisher then mistakes and poor behaviour may continue.

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magazine distribution

Promoting everyday food titles together

We make sure that we promote these everyday food titles together. They have common appeal, or at least I think they do, so it makes sense to us to put them together in this way.

It’s not brain surgery. Simple adjacency decisions like this can drive sales of magazines. Every extra sale we achieve from existing traffic is bonus margin dollars we get to bank.

In this type of display we try and give each title time at the front of the display where the full cover is featured. Yeah, extra work, but hey we’re magazine specialists.

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magazines

Clever Top Gear magazine display

I love the Top Gear magazine display created at one of my stores this week. The display wraps around a column which is always a challenge to embrace for the business.

What I love about the display is that it catches people as they walk near or past our business from both sides. You can’t miss it.  It represents the magazine in an exciting and unique way. This should reflect in sales growth for this issue … that is the goal of every retail display we create.

The other reason for boldly promoting this issue of Top Gear magazine is the return of the TV show. A TV show tie-in drives sales.

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magazines

Newsagency of the Future workshop series for newsagents

I have finalised plans for a Newsagency of the Future workshop series for the end of March. Anyone is welcome to attend, newsagents, newsagency employees, would be newsagents and newsagency suppliers.

Attendance is free. You can book by faxing in a booking form or registering through the online booking facility on the Tower Systems website.

At this workshop I will share the very latest retail trends based on what I saw at the National Retail Federation Retail conference in New York last month and will see at the Retail Week conference in London in under two weeks time.

I will also share my thoughts on the factors we need to consider in planning our future – migration to digital, online shopping, competition from supermarkets and others, the growing cost of labour and retail real-estate and changes in attention from core newsagency suppliers.

I will look at what is happening in the newsagency channel, the consolidation in some areas and decisions we face – not just around circulation and print products but in other areas such as stationery, lotteries and agency product.

There will also be some time devoted to recent events such as newspaper contracts, decisions by publishers on newspaper distribution, magazine distribution challenges and how we as a channel need to respond to these.

The last time I ran such a workshop was mid 2010.  So much has changed since then. Many new challenges have emerged and many new opportunities are before us.

If you want practical ideas you can implement today in pursuit of growth then you should find this session of value. If you want insights into and even guidance on the longer term challenges and opportunities then I you too will find the session valuable.

I don’t profess to have the answers. That said, I certainly see plenty of options for us.  My sense is that newsagents want to discover and understand their options.

I hope to see you at one of the sessions.

If you can’t make one of the capital city events I do plan to consider regional events if the interest is there in this series first.  I’ll keep you posted.

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Newsagency management

Promoting the new ACP pizza title

We are promoting the new ACP cookbook, Pizza Pizzazz, with this display at the main sales counter.  This high-profile display is in addition to a half waterfall display in with our main display of ACP cookbooks.  I have faith in this title. I think it should sell well on impulse … hence the promotion at the sales counter. We plan to leave this display up for two weeks.

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magazines

Promoting kitchen and bathroom magazines

We have lifted this three-pocket display of kitchen and bathroom magazines to easy to see, browse and shop eye level in our home and living magazine section.

I have no doubt we will see a sales increase as a result. Indeed, I expect people will purchase two titles given the placement – i.e. they don’t have to hunt for them.

Regulars here would know that we often feature kitchen and bathroom titles in good locations and report a sales lift as a result. I mention it today as we have just received these three titles in and they go well together.

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Uncategorized

Selling out of Frankie magazine

We sold our entire initial allocation of the latest issue of Frankie magazine in just over a week.  We got more store and expect to sell that within another week so we have a third order on the way.  This title is hot and we are masking sure that we get enough sock so we can reach our full potential.

Frankie was a major success story in the last audit. Sales growth we have seen and continue to see proves this to us. Frankie attracts new shoppers and that’s a real success story not only for the magazine but for our newsagency as well.

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magazines

Sunday marketing tip: stop looking like a newsagency

Create a shopfront look for your newsagency that looks nothing like a newsagency and see if your business attracts new traffic and comments from your traditional shopper traffic.

Seriously. Make the front of your shop look nothing like a newsagency.

Such a radical change is about several things:

  • A fresh window through which people view your business.
  • A fresh look at the stock you sell as you chase non-newsagency lines with which to promote the business.
  • A fresh approach to the look you give your business to your public.
  • A shock to you and your team which will help you embrace and enjoy change.

Newsagencies are rooted in tradition and this can work against us in many retail situations. Yes, it is nice that we honour tradition y not changing but I think we lose more customers by not changing.

How many of you have magazine posters on the front window or in wire racks at the front of the shop?  When I stopped promoting magazines in the window sales were not affected at all. I realised, years ago that I now had space to sue for more creative and profitable use.

So, my challenge to you is to go for a week or a month or more presenting the front of your business looking nothing like a newsagency. If you are not sure where to start, ask the youngest member of your team to undertake the project. Given them some time and a budget to find product with which to promote the business.

If we are to be relevant to today’s shopper we have to continue to evolve our look and appeal. This idea is about experimenting with that and breaking free from what is possibly an inhibiting tradition.

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Newsagency management

Day one of Sydney gift fair

I was at the gift fair in Sydney yesterday. Well, one of three major venues of the fair. It was excellent seeing such diverse suppliers and even more excellent seeing plenty of newsagents there. I’d expect hundreds of newsagents to have passed through the various venues by the end of day four.

It’s exciting seeing newsagents spending time on stands selling homewares, food, gifts, jewellery and children’s toys. Walls are breaking down and that’s great!

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Gifts

Newsagents – your TO DO list

The more newsagents who engage the stronger our voice:

  1. Sign up for Twitter and join the newsagent Twitter army.  We need at least 100 newsagents on Twitter now!
  2. Share your thoughts on the News Limited home delivery mess.
  3. Comment on the Fairfax plans to cut back on print.
  4. Comment on Bill Shorten’s whack against newsagents.
  5. Get cracking with your magazine relay. This one is 100% for you. You’ll increase magazine sales for sure.

Now I’m off to Sydney for the gift fair.

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Newsagency management

Gift fair opportunity for newsagents

Gift Fair and the Home and Giving fairs are on in Sydney starting today. They are an excellent opportunity for newsagents to expand their range and be real retailers – choosing product for local requirements, negotiating prices and making for themselves their own retail success.

Each year I see more and more newsagents at these fairs but it is still not enough. Many newsagents still ignore the gift and homewares opportunity and fail to expand the horizon of their businesses in pursuit of growth.

If you have time over the next four days, get to the events in Sydney and see for yourself many product opportunities that are already working in newsagencies.

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Gifts

Finally the ABC AFL magazine

We finally received the new ABC AFL magazine and have this placed with our newspapers over the last couple of days and for this weekend.  The display is not brilliant … we didn’t want to detract from the success with Better Homes and Gardens and Time Out with newspapers so we’d placed it above the papers. We also have stock on our AFL season opener aisle end display as well as with o8r sports titles. We’re covering all bases as they say.

I am often asked why we co-locate titles like this rather than just put them out.  Putting magazines out sounds like a chore done by rote. We like to think about what we do with titles, with one goal in mind – maximising sales.

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magazines

Promoting Kitchen and Bathroom magazines

We like to maintain good positioning for key kitchen and bathroom magazines. They sell.  As the photo shows, we have the latest titles placed between popular monthlies.  I do this because it’s the monthlies people often look for and then notice the kitchen and bathroom  titles and purchase on impulse. Okay, some people come in looking for kitchen and bathroom titles but not as many as, say, Better Homes and Gardens which is on the left.  We are always looking for ways go getting shoppers to purchase more than one magazine in a sale. Adjacencies area key to this.

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magazines

Promoting Virgin Mobile Broadband

We have been promoting the Virgin Mobile Broadband product in my newsagencies as part of an overall growth push for more recharge business – there is a direct correlation between recharge growth and handset sales.

We were lucky to get access to a scooter for the promotional display.  The scooter is a prize in the promotion running at the moment.  It makes for a bold in-store display, not something shoppers are used to seeing in a newsagency.

As I have noted previously, we chase opportunities presented by promotions and competitions – to reinforce the locky shopper idea and add value to the experience of shopping with us.

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newsagency marketing

Come and join the newsagent Twitter army

I am building a register of newsagents on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, please email me at mark@towersystems.com.au so I can add your email address. This will enable us to communicate about how we might use Twitter to get our message out.  Twitter is free. It is an easy way to voice your opinions. You can tag those you write about – bringing to their attention your opinion. I urge newsagents to join Twitter and then email me. The more newsagents who are part of the Twitter army the better. If you need help to get on call me on 0418 321 338.

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Newsagency management

Fairfax to reduce newspaper distribution to regional and remote communities

In with the Fairfax half year results announcement yesterday was news that the company is continuing to cut costs and pursue digital over print.

Fairfax of the Future recognises that many parts of our business were built at a time when the newspaper was king and print classified advertising was the biggest driver of our business success. Large parts of our current operating model are still geared to supporting the old business model.

ABC Online reports that Fairfax will reduce distribution of newspapers to regional and remote communities:

And regional and remote communities are set to lose access to Fairfax newspapers under the plan.

“How and where we distribute newspapers has a great impact on our costs. It does not make sense to lose money by delivering small numbers of printed newspapers to remote locations,” Mr Hywood said.

Check out the Fairfax take at the Brisbane Times on this story about itself, especially this…

The parallel pressure, however, is to manage the transition to digital in way that also reconfigures operating costs and sunk capital.

While newsagents are waiting for News and Fairfax to tell them what to do next, they should actually be making moves of their own.  Okay, some are, but not enough.  The future of newsagency distribution and retail business is up to newsagents alone. No supplier will provide your business plan for you, not any more.

A question being asked among some in the newspaper publishing game is which capital city daily will be the first to go digital only? The follow up question is when? Yesterday’s announcement by Fairfax plays to the reality of the impact of tablets and other devices for accessing news and information content and monetisation opportunities which publishers are more and more successfully leveraging.

Newsagents need to read and understand these moves in the context of marketplace demands. Fairfax is making the right decisions for its business. Yes, some customers and newsagents will suffer. Watch this space as there is more of this to come from all newspaper publishers.

I don’t see any bad news here, just opportunities.

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Newsagency opportunities

Michigan newspaper switches from seven days to three days

Check out the Feb. 3 article from WoodTV in Grand Rapids Michigan in the US:

Less newspaper home delivery begins

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – For the first time since about anybody can remember, many West Michigan residents will not have a newspaper on their doorsteps or boxes Friday.

It’s all part of some big changes for the Grand Rapids Press, Kalamazoo Gazette and Muskegon Chronicle.

To generations the news experience includes the smell of the ink and the feel of the paper.

But for another generation, it’s all about the digital delivery — mobile phones, laptops and tablets — which has brought us to today.

The three newspapers will now do home delivery just three days a week — Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

The papers are shifting their focus to the Internet.

You can still get the paper versions seven days a week but you have to find a place that sells it or at a box.

The announcement came in November 2011.

The change also brought job cuts to those papers — 223 employees lost employment — from officer managers and clerks, to press operators and technicians, to sales people and editors.

The Grand Rapids Press is moving out of its building on Michigan Street to new offices near Monroe Avenue and Pearl Street.

Be sure to click on the announcement link for details including subscription pricing.  This story has already played out in other US cities. Indeed, some capital city newspapers have shut their print editions altogether and on the back of healthy sales.

The factors feeding decisions reflected in this report are factoring into the consideration of News Limited and Fairfax and their future plans for print editions in Australia.  But this is not new. We have known about the pressures and factors for years and have discussed it here many times.  This will come. All that is in dispute is timing.

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Media disruption

Pacific Magazines launches Newsagent Premium Partnership Program

Pacific Magazines (New Idea, Who, That’s Life, Better Homes and Hardens, Women’s health, Marie Claire to name a few of their titles) announced Nexus, a new business development package for newsagents.

Pacific Magazines has launched Nexus: The Newsagent Premium Partnership Program (Nexus), a free-of-charge, invitation only business development package custom-designed to support the Newsagency channel.

Nexus provides a range of sophisticated resources and customer loyalty initiatives that help drive foot traffic into store, push sales across a variety of categories, deliver strong marketing collateral and enable cohesive retailer and supplier communication.

Mrs Vicki Rossi, Retail Sales and Circulation Director, Pacific Magazines comments: “Nexus has been developed in response to the challenges the newsagency faces in today’s retail environment.

“As the result of two year’s research and investment, the world-class Nexus program seeks to provide tangible business tools that encourage sales growth and customer loyalty, ease day-to- day operational burdens and promote a stronger relationship and partnership approach between Pacific and the newsagency.

“In doing so, we believe we can deliver a better result for all parties.”

Newsagents access the free Nexus communication platform online, with users offered access to a unique reporting suite, sales incentive details, downloadable point-of-sale collateral, key diary date reminders and title-specific positioning advice and ideas.

Disclosure: my newsagencies have been part of Nexus through the trial phase. It is working a treat at driving excellent sales growth. The marketing tools are excellent, showing that you can grow sales buy marketing to existing customers through the use of professional tools.

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magazines

Easter 2012 front and centre

Here is how we are promoting Easter cards and gifts at the front of our newsagency – facing into the shopping mall.  We have Cadbury eggs and easter treats mixed in with Beanie Kids, a colouring competition and an excellent range of Easter cards.  I like the display a lot, the team creating it has done an excellent job connecting with a bright and appealing look for what is too often a soft season.  We’re chasing double digit growth on 2011.

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Greeting Cards

How far behind are mainstream magazine publishers in exploiting the iPad moment?

Ashley Norris, CEO of  Sutro Digital and director of Anorak Publishing has written a fascinating article about the competitive situation between mainstream magazine publishers and independent and start up magazine publishers creating products for the iPad. The article is a fascinating price on how publishers are approaching the iPad moment and considers whether the opportunity is passing some by.

The nightmare scenario for publishers with big media brands is if a new wave of indie publishers emerges who offer their iPad magazines for free. Dennis Publishing already offers its iGizmo iPad magazine for nothing (and it has been very successful), which makes it less likely that mainstream publishers will be able to charge £4-£5 for users to download them.

For those interested in growth in digital content this is a must-read piece. For newsagents it is a reminder that print publishers need to maintain our interest and engagement until they see a clear magnetised road ahead.

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Media disruption

Invitation to newsagents in the Brisbane area

My newsagency software company Tower Systems has been running user meetings around Australia over the last three weeks. It’s been terrific to meet with many newsagents and talk about business and share some retail insights from my recent travels and ideas for sales growth in 2012. The last session of the current round is in Brisbane next Tuesday at 11am at the River View Hotel. I’d welcome any newsagent who would like to come along next Tuesday- regardless of whether you use the Tower newsagency software. Click here to book. Bookings are essential for catering etc. The session runs for two hours depending on questions. This is not a sales meeting.

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newsagent software
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