GNS Market Fair in Brisbane this weekend
Queensland newsagents should be getting to the GNS Market Fair in Brisbane this weekend. If it is like Melbourne, Perth and Sydney it will be well worth going. I’m looking forward to being there tomorrow.
EPAL retreats on EFTPOS feek hike position
As I have been writing here for some time, EFTPOS fees are set to increase from October thanks to a decision by EPAL, the organisation created by the Reserve Bank and controlled by the major banks plus Coles and Woolworths. Oh, and I have noted that Coles and Woolowrths are set to not face any fee hike. Why the Reserve Bank would think it is smart to put the big banks and Coles and Woolworths in charge of the cookie jar given their addiction is beyond me. What is even more shocking is that no one in the government is prepared to reasonable engage on this as an issue of concern for small business.
Anyway, I digress.
Yesterday, it was reported that EPAL has changed its position on the impact of its EFTPOS fee pricing decision. Here is what EPAL had said:
Australian consumers should not face new charges to eftpos interchange fees.
Yesterday, the Australian Financial Review reported (page 48) EPAL as saying:
It is therefore premature to state with certainty what impact the planned changes will have on retailers or then upon their consumers.
Click here to read the full EPAL press release containing this quote. Not that it says much. It’s a kind of a cover your backside press release, as if they know what is coming.
I suspect that the EPAL Board, controlled by the big banks plus Coles and Woolworths and realised that the big banks will pass on increased fees and that retailers will either have to either suck these up or pass them on. With the current retail challenges, it’s far less likely that retailers would have the capacity to suck up the EPAL / Bank drives fee increases.
This back down by EPAL is considerable given the battle they have waged over recent months against anyone who has criticised their new fee regime. They have successfully nobbled politicians based on the responses I have seen from local members who have been queried by newsagents about the new interchange fees.
It is not too late for newsagents to engage on this issue. The ANF and a small group of newsagents have. If only more newsagents would.
For background on this issue and a copy of a letter from the ANF which you can use, please click here.
An opportunity for newsagents with Quarterly Essay: Bad News by Robert Manne
We have tactically placed the latest issue of Quarterly Essay – Bad News by Robert Manne – at the front of the newsagency, next to newspapers. This title usually resides toward the back of the business, with Time and other low volume news related magazines.
Manne’s essay is about News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch’s political voice in Australia, The Australian newspaper and how it shapes debate.
We have placed Quarterly Essay next to The Age as e are more likely to get a reader of The Age purchasing this on impulse than a Herald Sun reader. I’m hoping we sell out.
I’d urge newsagents to try placing this issue at the counter. A $19.95 addition to any shopping basket would be most welcome!
Ripper Better Homes and Gardens sales
The current issue of Better Homes and Gardens has gone exceptionally well for us. Last night we had one copy left. Our various tactics for this title have paid off with the placement of the impulse purchase stand at the front of the newsagency facing into the shopping mall working the best. This is an easy title to sell on impulse, especially around the weekend.
We were chasing more stock for delivery yesterday as we know we could have moved another bunch of stock over the weekend.
Smith Journal selling well
I know from my own newsagencies that Smith Journal is selling very well. Customers are reacting to our displays and engaging with this new title from the publishers of the successful frankie magazine. the publisher has reported at their blog today of sell outs. Gordon and Gotch has limited floor stock available. I’d urge newsagents who have sold out to order more copies so that they can see what they can achieve.
Bill Express CFO pleads guilty
Former Bill Express Chief Financial Officer Peter Couper yesterday pleaded guilty to two counts of falsifying books, one count of providing misleading information to an auditor and one count of providing false or misleading information to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission reports The Age.
It is good to see some those responsible for the Bill Express collapse being held to account. I wish they could get to more of those responsible for the millions Bill Express cost newsagents, especially the sales people who led newsagents to sign the five year contracts.
Interesting newsagency model in Malaysia
I was in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week in time to see the opening of the new myNEWS store at Bukit Bintang in downtown Kuala Lumpar. This is a very interesting store, a nice evolution from the more traditional myNEWS model. To us here in Australia it is like a 7-Eleven store with a much stronger traditional newsagency product mix and customer service focus.
The layout is terrific, inviting. The shop looks as visually clean inside as it does outside. Each area, magazines, confectionery, stationery and convenience lines, is well signposted. The store has at least ten times the range of magazines you would see in a 7-Eleven store.
I got to see several of these myNEWS stores this visit and you can see the evolution represented in this latest store. It leverages the convenience model without detracting from being a destination for key categories.
VANA move respects newsagents
The VANA Board has decided to reorganise operations and not replace the CEO role. The new structure better respects newsagents and leverages the stronger VANA / ANF relationship. It’s a move which goes beyond the words of unity and demonstrates a practical move toward a now approach for newsagent representation.
My personal view is that newsagents are over represented in associations. A leaner and more cohesive team could achieve more for newsagents. The VANA move is good leadership in this regard.
Leveraging the greeting card sale
We had this range of Rollmatz in-store for less than three months, as part of a broader toy offer, before selling out. They have proven to be a profitable line, easily sold when working with a customer on the shop floor who is looking for something for their kids to play with (on) or as a gift. Adding a $34.95 item (with a 50% margin) to a shopping basket containing a couple of greeting cards makes for a nice sale. I saw this happen last Saturday. A shopper wanted something difference for her niece’s birthday. The suggestion of the Rollmatz worked, doubling the value of the sale to that point.
Having gifts and other stock items which sell easily with the cards we carry is the smart way to leverage greeting card generated traffic to its full potential. This is where working with our customers is important, talking with them about what else they are looking for, listening for what could sell with their destination purchase.
The other key is to have products which are not easily price compared. This provides valuable margin opportunity.
I can think of plenty of reasons to not try Rollmatz in a newsagency. Our recent experience, however, encourages me to look for more items we might reject at first glance.
Newsagent IT newsletter
Click here for the latest newsagent technology newsletter from my software company Tower Systems. The Tower software is currently in use in more than 1,760 newsagencies around Australia.
Ethics in retail
Just about every day in our retail businesses we face situations, from the complex to simple, which challenge our ethics.
It could be a miscalculation by a few cents in our favour to a supplier not billing for some inventory delivered to the discovery or a roll of cash dropped on the shop floor.
How we, as leaders in our businesses, deal with these situations sets the ethical framework for others in the business.
The newsagent who rips cash out of the business for personal spending can’t expect employees to not sneak cash out for their own purposes.
The newsagent who does not report the non invoiced inventory, maybe magazines, cannot complain about customers or employees who steal magazines.
The newsagent who takes stock for personal use can expect the same of others.
We need to embrace opportunities to show our ethical behaviour knowing that how we behave guides how others behave.
News Limited cost cutting leaks
Call me a cynic but I am suspicious of the leaking of an internal News Limited memo about cost cutting. The report by Crikey yesterday includes this:
Hence this memo (leaked to Crikey) to News Limited bosses from chief financial officer Stephen Rue, announcing group-wide, cost-reduction targets of 15-20% over the next three years, due to “the last few months of trading [and] trends over the last three years”.
I am cynical because newsagents are waiting for News Limited to announce their plans for the future of newspaper home delivery. The cost cutting will play a role inn their future plans. It has to – not only for financial reasons but also for operational reasons taking into account the internal News limited forecasts of where their revenue will come from for news related mastheads … print versus digital.
Newsagents with distribution businesses should not be surprised about cost cutting. They have been living this for years and have had opportunity to plan for it. That said, many have not.
See what I wrote on June 28 about a News Limited decision on newspaper home delivery fees.
Brilliant display for Smith Journal
Renee at my newsXpress Watergardens store took initiative and created a stunning display to promote the new Smith Journal magazine from Morrison Media. Click on the image to see a much bigger version. See how Renee has taken the theme from the single poster we received and created something which taps into the feel of the title. No sooner was the display up and the first copy sold. I love this display! It presents our business in a great light. I also love the magazine as it fills a gap. I am keen for Smith Journal to grow as stablemate frankie has grown. Newsagents can own this new title by getting behind the first issue.
Lovatts leverages Smurf opportunity for newsagents
Further to my blog post about The Smurfs, the folks at Lovatts have let me know that the current issue of Puzzle Fun For Kids features The Smurfs. This is an excellent opportunity for newsagents to promote the title outside the usual location.
Puzzle Fun For Kids also includes a Smurfs colour-in contest (p82) and the chance to win Smurfs merchandise (inside the back cover).
I’d suggest the counter, next to confectionery, with toys or with newspapers – any high traffic location likely to be seen by kids.
This usually under the radar title is an opportunity for newsagents to leverage interest in The Smurfs and to introduce puzzles to people for the first time.
Any newsagents out there had experience with QCAT on a retail lease dispute?
I’d be interested in hearing from any newsagents in Queensland who have taken a tenancy dispute to QCAT recently. I have experience with the Office of the Small Business Commissioner and VCAT in Victoria for these matters and I want to compare the process to that available in Queensland. Click here to find our about the QCAT shop lease disputes process.
Smurf products deliver valuable margin dollars
This past weekend provided an excellent example how we can drive business growth. On Saturday, I was thrilled to see people visiting our newsagency to purchase a Father’s Day card add a Smurf figurine to their basket. This extended each sale by at least $7.95. At a 50% margin that’s a nice extension. I was delighted to see this.
Add to these impulse purchases shoppers who visit specifically looking for Smurf products thanks to good word of mouth and we have a limited time niche delivering good revenue for our newsagency.
Most newsagencies have good base traffic for newspapers, magazines, greeting cards and lotteries. We need to tactically leverage this by engaging in opportunities … like the Smurfs. The best opportunities are those which are current – ideally promoted on TV or connected with a high profile movie.
The Smurf movie opens on September 15. Those who remember The Smurfs from years ago know about the movie as does a whole new market – kids discovering the Smurfs for the first time. This is why the figurines and other items are an easy sales pitch for us.
I have found that the best opportunities for leveraging good base traffic are those outside what would be expected from a newsagency.
Promoting Feast magazine
Check out the display created by the team in of of my newsagencies to promote the latest issue of Feast magazine which went on sale on Monday.
This display confronts shoppers as they enter the store. It is easily seen by shoppers as they pass in the mall. It can;t be missed.
I love the display – it captures the richness of the recipes and stories in the magazine and is easily shopped.
The launch issue of Feast magazine did well for us. We are looking for good results from issue #2.
Promoting the Hallmark Recordable Storybooks
We have been promoting the Hallmark recordable storybook range behind the counter for the last couple of weeks. This stunning display features the range of these popular interactive gifts. We decided to use this high profile space to promote the recordable storybooks at this time to tie in with the national TV campaign funded by Hallmark.
The Hallmark Recordable Storybooks have created a new product niche for us. While others have tried to copy them, they have not succeeded in my view. You know you’re on a winner when someone comes back for their second or third purchase.
That’s Life TVC airs tonight
Newsagents in regional Victoria and regional Queensland are set to benefit from a new TV commercial which airs tonight for That’s Life. This TVC is the first of three 30 second commercials promoting the new Real TV section in That’s Life. If you are a Facebook user you can see the TVC here.
Push on retail pay
The Age yesterday has a report about a push by the Australian Retailer’s Association on retail pays. With governments supporting an open all hours policy, they need to provide businesses with the ability to operate viably under these conditions. In a newsagency with an average overall business GP of 32%, paying $40 an hour 9and more) on a Sunday is not viable.
Newsagents need to look carefully at poor performing titles
Sometimes, the sales achieved for a title in a newsagency can be turned around by a change in location, some in-store promotion, co-location or some other support.
While it would be time consuming, newsagents should look through poorly performing titles, those with a sell through of less than 50%, and consider whether they could undertake some action to increase sales.
The alternative is to early return the title and facilitate its ultimate removal from the business.
Given that the majority of shoppers in a newsagency do not go deeper than the front third of the shop, the reason for the poor performance of a magazine could be the lack of creative and energetic engagement with the title by the newsagency team.
It is easy to blame the magazine distributors and they certainly deserve much of what we hurl at them. However, what if you could take some action which turned a situation around for a title. Surely you would be thrilled with the extra sales through the cash register?
If we do what we have always done then the result will be what we have always achieved. This is why we need to look at non performing titles and see what radical moves we could make. Yes, radical. Who knows, you could find sales you’re not currently getting.
I’d encourage newsagents to look at non performing magazine titles and take some action. See if you can achieve sales growth. Let us know how you go.
Now that’s a great cover!
The cover of The Monthly magazine stands out on the magazine rack brilliantly. The pink provides an excellent visual cut through as does the headline – PORN WARS. We have placed the title so that the full cover is seen. To do otherwise would do the brilliant cover a disservice.
The Monthly continues to deliver excellent covers. This is vital to the title driving impulse purchases in newsagencies.
I’d encourage newsagents to put this issue of The Monthly at the counter. At worst you’ll get some complaints and at best some sales. Either engagement would be good for business.
The Cadel effect continues’
Cycling magazines continue to benefit from a Cadel Evans effect in my newsagencies. The category is popular with browsers and in driving sales. I know from my work with bike retailers that magazines play an important role in easing people into cycling as a hoppy / sport. It’s logical therefore that people newly interested in cycling as a result of Cadel’s Tour de France win visit their local newsagency to check out the magazines.
Sure fire way to boost magazine circulation
UK comedy show The School of Comedy offered some thoughts on how to boost magazine circulation:
I am grateful to a Twitter friend for pointing me to this hilarious skit.
Nice treatment of the Australian newsagency
The Nicholson cartoon in The Australian today (pg. 27) is a nice treatment of our channel, representing some of the key products we sell while having a crack at the current financial health of Fairfax. I like that Nicholson has the shopper visiting a newsagency to purchase a newspaper, that there is a shopper looking at greeting cards for key occasions and that it acknowledges that we sell stationery for school. Thanks Nicholson!