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ACP Magshop outpost in a shopping centre competes with newsagencies

The ACP Magazines owned Magshop operation has setup an outpost in the shopping mall in which I have one of my newsagencies.

The very professional looking outpost has been in place for several days now leveraging Christmas shopper traffic to drive subscription customers for ACP titles. If you sign up you get a free Women’s Weekly cookbook valued at $29.95 and an entry in a competition to win one of ten Hawaiian holidays valued at $12,000 each.

While I understand and support the role subscriptions play in the overall circulation model for magazine publishers, I do not understand why a publisher would so directly and aggressively pursue customers in my backyard.

This outpost is leveraging shoppers which I help to bring to this centre through considerable external marketing as well as through thousands of dollars paid to the landlord for centre marketing.  These shoppers which I and my fellow tenants attract to the centre are being offered a service which is fulfilled outside of the retail channel, outside of our centre. This type of outpost which does not add value to the businesses in and facilitate the overall health of the shopping centre should not be permitted in my view.

One could argue that if successful, this outpost could reduce traffic to our newsagency and thereby financially harm our business in this centre. Unfortunately, I will not have access to the data which would be needed to thoroughly research this.

ACP could argue that subscriptions are often purchased as gifts and that their outpost will therefore have little impact on my newsagency. I don’t have that data and so cannot comment.  All I can go off is the fact that this outpost is a short stroll from my front door, it’s competing with me and turning some of my magazine readers away from getting their fix at my newsagency.

As for the decision by ACP to so directly and aggressively compete with me in this way, all I can say is that I am disappointed.  We work hard on magazines as anyone reading this blog would know.  Our hard work is paying off with good sales growth … considerably above industry average sales growth. Comparing December 2011 with December 2012 our magazine sales are up more than 30%. Some of that growth is being achieved for ACP titles.

Irrational as it may sound, it feels as if ACP is rewarding our success in growing magazine sales by trying to convert some of our shoppers, or their interest in magazines at least, into subscription sales.

Other aspects of this outpost frustrate me – like the amazing subscription deals, the free gift and the Hawaiian holidays. I’d love to see a similar amount invested in the newsagency channel in a practical consumer promotion.  To me, the ideal investment would be a margin bonus for growth.

ACP representatives regularly tell newsagents how important they (we) are to ACP and how much they support the newsagency channel. Today I am not feeling that.

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magazines

Disney Britto keyrings a hit at the counter

These Disney key rings designed by pop artist Romero Britto have been selling very well for us.  In less than two weeks we have achieved more than 50% sell through and could well sell out by Christmas.

We put the slim display unit at the counter as we didn’t want it to get lost with all the Christmas noise elsewhere in-store at the moment.  This turned out to be an excellent move with shoppers adding Britto key rings to purchases they bring to the counter.  One customer I served on the weekend purchased two on impulse, that’s almost $20 in incremental business.

The success here reinforces my love of brands. Both the Disney and Britto brands are well known to make the impulse decision quite safe.  This is vital, especially for counter based purchase decisions.

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Gifts

Promoting weekly magazines in the run up to Christmas

We are making the most of the opportunities with weekly magazines this wee in the run up Christmas.  Our approach is somewhat counter-intuitive. We only have these titles in this one location in-store.  Yes, no counter display, no impulse unit display.  Indeed, we have been doing this since our magazine relay in September.  Sales of weeklies are up 13% on a year on year basis.

So, by saying that we are making the most of Christmas opportunities, we are ensuring that all products in-store are segmented by department in clearly defined and easy to shop locations – like with this display of weeklies.  I think that this approach gets people shopping the shop.  Certainly our numbers indicate that something is working for us.  A 13% increase in weeklies sold is excellent when you consider that the average is a 5% decline for the newsagency channel.

So far this month, we are tracking an uncross of 54% more magazines sold than for the same period last year … off a healthy base.  We are very proud of this as it means we are banking solid results from our obsession with magazines.

I was prompted to write this blog post by a newsagent who was swing that this is the week for us to forget the traditional newsagency lines as we will be too busy with christmas.  I disagree.  This is the week for our core newsagency offer to be right as it’s the week we could provide an experience that brings first time visitors back.

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magazines

Promoting Men’s Health magazine

Check out the display promoting Men’s Health developed by the creative team at one of my newsagencies.

Facing into the mall, this display is designed to draw shoppers in as they pass by our business. It taps into the usual end of christmas season thoughts of getting fit for summer.

Men’s Health is a popular title for us, delivering good sales and growing.

We don’t use supplier visual merchandisers in this store so everything I post is by our own team, usually Renee the day to day manager of the business as well as gifted merchandiser.

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magazines

XchangeIT help desk closed next week

I am disappointed that the XchangeIT help desk will be closed next week.  This speaks to their care for newsagents and their seriousness about providing good customer service.  For newsagents, next week is a regular week with magazine deliveries, challenges over getting invoice files and questions on sending sales and returns data back. With the XchangeIT help desk closed the newsagency software companies will, again, provide cover.

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Customer Service

Confusion from Golden Casket software change

Until recently, when a staff member scanned a non winning lottery ticket on the Golden Casket terminal, no wins, customer to retain ticket for future draws, came up. Now, the message in this circumstance is current dividends not available, customer to retain ticket.  Employees and customers are confused by the different message.  I can understand why.

A newsagent who contacted Golden Casket to explain the confusion was only told that the comments would be passed on to senior management.

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Lotteries

Women’s Health & Fitness promotes newsagents

The publisher of Women’s Health & Fitness magazine is promoting newsagents as the go to place to purchase the title in their latest email newsletter to people interested in the magazine.  This kind of support by publishers direct to people who have registered an interest in their title is terrific for newsagents.

I’d urge more publishers to use their databases, social media connections and other free marketing platforms to promote newsagents as the go-to retailers for their titles.  I’d urge newsagents to support titles promoted in this way in return.

We are supporting Women’s Health & Fitness with a half waterfall display in-store – at an ideal shopper eight … to make it noticeable to those visiting our women’s magazine aisle.  wee wanted to show off the free bar which is bagged with the magazine.  Also, we have placed it between two popular titles to further support the magazine.

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magazines

Promoting the popular Frankie magazine

We have been promoting the latest issue of Frankie magazine with this artistic aisle-end display which faces the dance floor and toward the front of the shop.  I love that our team has again kept the display in line with the style of the magazine.

We also have Frankie in a half waterfall display in the usual location for the title.

Early indications are that this issue will continue to growth trend for the magazine.  We have shoppers who come to our shop specifically to purchase Frankie – they like that we always carry the title and respect it as we do.  There is a connection with the Frankie reader which we nurture in the way we work with the title. I think they appreciate it.

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magazines

Promoting Diabetic Living magazine drives sales

We have been successfully promoting the latest issue of Diabetic Living magazine with tactical placement next to newspapers, with weekly magazines and, for a few days, at the counter. Diabetic Living responds well to this attention, delivering sales from these high-traffic locations.  I even saw one shopper purchase a copy as a Christmas gift.

I’d urge newsagents to check where they have Diabetic Living.  If it is with health titles, consider co-locating in a high-traffic location as we do.  Count how many you put there so you can see if the location works.  I am confident that this small about of attention will deliver incremental business.

There are many ways we can grow magazine sales.

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magazines

Second go with Smurfs this year

In another example of a brand commitment delivering valuable dividends, we are promoting a range of Smurf branded product as part of our Christmas offer.

Sure enough, the range is selling.

What you can see in the photo is all we have left of Smurf branded product.  Sales are sure to be helped along today by The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol which aired on the Seven Network last night.

I notice that grandparents, aunts and uncles tend to go for the branded products as they are a known quantity. In the case of the Smurfs products, there is the nostalgia connection as well.

 

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Gifts

Marketing messages on newsagent receipts do work

I received feedback from Brett Carey of newsXpress Deception Bay about a successful and simple marketing campaign he was running on the receipts produced by his newsagency software.

Just had a customer call me. She just read on her receipt that we had cheap Ink and Toner. She had just bought HP02 from Harvey Norman for $19.95 and thought she would check us on price and was stunned that we were at $12.50.

She will buy from us from now on and she will tell all her friends too.

Two minutes work on Tower and $$$’s in the bank.

More newsagents should use this free marketing platform. It’s free and can drive sales.

FYI. This is not a newsXpress campaign, any newsagent with the receipt marketing facility in their software can do it.

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newsagency marketing

Selling out of Melbourne Home Design + Living

Further to my post about Melbourne Home Design + Living, we have one copy left and have switched to this in-location display with sister titles from the publisher.  This is a title which would not be on the radar for many newsagents yet it is a title which responds to time in the spotlight as I have mentioned here several times previously.

In  our businesses there are many titles which respond to such attention.   These are the titles we can use to drive incremental magazine business for our newsagencies.

Magazine range is the most significant point of difference the newsagency channel has yet too often newsagents treat managing magazines as a chore rather than an opportunity.  Sales fall beyond average as a result.

Our shops are full of opportunities and this is what I try and embrace with even small engagement like for Melbourne Home Design + Living.

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magazines

Promoting the Kimmi Doll calendars

I love this calendar display created at one of my newsagencies by the creative team.  It’s facing into the mall and attracting shoppers to the Kimmi Doll calendars we have in stock.

With something like the Kimmi Doll range there is an excellent opportunity to attract shoppers who were not in the market to purchase a calendar but will do so on the basis of the connection to the popular brand.  The success we are having is a reminder of the importance of brands, especially at Christmas time when people are buying brands they know the gift recipient likes.

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Calendars

Diary and calendar sales soar

We are continuing to enjoy an excellent diary and calendar season with sales up more than 40% year on year for both.  We are still at full price and will be for calendars until January 1, 2012 and for diaries forever – we don’t discount these.

I am disappointed by the retailers, including newsagents, who are discounting calendars right now.  There is no need.  Okay, maybe the cheap calendars of poor quality could be discounted.  But not the quality product, especially that catering to special interests including dog breeds.

I see discounting diaries and calendars right now as a message of weakness from the retailer.

We are doing nothing out of the ordinary:

  • Great positioning of a regularly refreshed display.
  • A focus on quality product, brand names preferably.
  • Clear pricing.
  • Great customer service.

While there are other outlets selling calendars and even discounting near us, we are having, as I noted, a terrific year.

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Calendars

The Guardian newspaper cuts pages

The digital-first strategy at The Guardian newspaper in the UK is being blamed by the decision to roll some previously separate sections, sports, film & music, into the main newspaper and to cut pages from the overall product.

With News and Fairfax having increased their focus on digital access to content we have to wonder if we will similar moves here. I;d expect so as newspaper publishers continue to chase a model which delivers the best return on the costs of editorial content.

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Media disruption

Vast difference between newsagencies

Following discussion here last weekend about the newsagency shingle, I have visited twelve newsagencies in two states over the last few days to see for myself how we treat the newsagency shingle.  In short, we treat the shingle badly.

The businesses I saw fall into four types of newsagency businesses:

Old. Old and tired businesses with poor lighting, empty shelves and disinterested people behind the counter.

Cheap. Businesses filled with cheap no-name brand products ranging from toilet paper to stationery. Looking from the front it was hard to tell the type of business.  Poor lighting.

General store. Magazines have been cut way back and the shop filled with cheap stationery and gifts but it does not feel quite as bad as the cheap outlet above.

Relevant. A clean if not new(ish) shop-fit, thoughtful magazine layout, brand name focus for stationery and gifts, good lighting and staff in uniforms. A business with a purpose. Not necessarily a sexy looking business but one which certainly looks managed.

Despite the differences, each of these businesses was called a newsagency.  There were more in the Relevant category but it is the others which I remember the most.

I am sure that I could visit more and find more groupings.  We have evolved into a diverse channel with little connecting our businesses other than the sale of magazines and newspapers.

With newsagent proprietors creating such different businesses it is appropriate that some want to move away from calling their business a newsagency.

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Newsagency management

Stunning sales from Better Homes and Gardens

We are enjoying extraordinary growth in sales of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  Growth of close to 20%.

We are thrilled not only at the sales but at the excellent return we are getting from simple tactical engagement such as this in-loctaion display for the latest issue of the magazine.

Better Homes and Gardens responds so well to in-store support.  We have found it necessary to order more stock so that we can reach our full potential.

Our sales growth shows what we newsagents can achieve – we have two major supermarkets in our centre as well as bother newsagency plus a couple of majors. So we’re not short of competition.

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magazines

Merry Christmas to newsagents from Fairfax

Clink on the image to see the notice sent by Fairfax to NSW newsagents re the handling of the Sydney Morning Herald over the Christmas period.

As is usual from Fairfax about these things the communication is unclear and the work confronted by newsagents frustrating at a busy time of the year, especially for distribution newsagents.

While newsagency software can handle these distribution challenges, newsagents still need to do some work to set everything up.

I am sure that with a bit of effort Fairfax could have made this much easier for newsagents. This would have been appreciated given the time of the year and the heavy demands on time in a newsagency.  Also, these Fairfax bumper editions cause customer frustration – of which newsagents bear the brunt.

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newspaper home delivery

Ironman magazine oversupplied by Gordon and Gotch

At best we sell four copies of each issue of Ironman magazine. A review of the sales history indicates that a fair supply would be no more than six copies.  Unfortunately the ‘magazine experts’ at Gordon and Gotch disagree and have increased us from six to eight to ten to twelve copies over the last four issues.  There is no apparent reason for the increase in supply to twelve copies in our Ironman magazine sales data.  The only excuse I can think of is that Gotch would prefer the excess stock be in our newsagency (and others?) and not in their warehouse.

Click on the image to see the supply and return data for the last twelve issues.

To those at Gotch who think I am picking on them, don’t give me or any other newsagent reason to claim that you oversupply. Start to supply us on equitable terms.  Your CEO claimed that you don’t oversupply yet I continue to see evidence of it in my newsagency and other newsagencies I work with.

Newsagents want what magazine publishers want, an equitable supply model which is driven by sales.

You have the data, use it.

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magazine distribution

Welcoming Family Business Magazine

We have started carrying FBM – Family Business Magazine and are giving it good positioning in our business titles section.  It is physically bigger than an average magazine so we have had to juggle space to fit this odd-size title in.  It’s an IPS title so we will give it a run and keep it if we can get an economic return from the investment.

The IPS title roster is helping us extend out reach of special interest titles.  This is important as it improves our credentials as a magazine specialist.  This is important with two major supermarkets nearby with refreshed magazine departments which only offer the top 200 titles.

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magazines

Promoting Home Beautiful magazine

We are promoting the latest issue of Home Beautiful magazine with this display at the second entrance to our women’s magazine aisle.

I love what our team has done with the yellow backing of the poster … it works a treat, brings a brightness of the poster out.

Our Home & Lifestyle magazine sales are well up on last year.  I think that this is in part due to our regular promotion of key titles in the segment with displays like this as well as good in-location displays.

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magazines

Americans spend more time reading phones than print

A report from eMarketer just out claims that Americans are spending more time reading their phones than print.

The table summarises the data gathered for the study which resulted in the report.  It’s an interesting read, but no surprise.

Not the difference in the reduction in engagement for newspapers compared to magazines.  It’s in line with other moves we see for the two mediums, newspapers are being more affected today by tablets than magazines.

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Media disruption

What are you selling the Phantom Christmas # 1620 for?

The EDI file for Phantom Christmas 1620 had a price of $3.00.  The $A price printed next to the barcode on the cover shows a $A price of $5.50.  A call to Gotch has revealed that they have realised the mistake, credited us for the wrong low price and invoiced us for the higher right price.  Gotch did this without telling us.  In the meantime we have sold copies at the low price.  Now we have to chase being compensated for this mistake by gotch.

The lack of communication to newsagents on this is frustrating.

Newsagents should check their Phantom stock and contact Gotch to ensure they are not out of pocket.

UPDATE (12:56PM) : Gotch has advised that they will look into compensating us for the sales we have made at the lower price.

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magazine distribution
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