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Magazine activity generating sales

Here is how some of our  recent magazine displays and promotions we have run and about which I have blogged have worked:

  • Better Homes and Gardens.  We placed a display unit next to the copier.  10 additional copies sold over two days this past weekend compared to average for the same days of the week for the same week of on-sale.
  • Melbourne Home Design + Living.  Created a counter display to drive impulse purchases.  Sold out in just over a week.  Chasing more stock.
  • New Idea.  Created a power end display promoting to greeting card shoppers.  15% sales uplift compared to average for the first three days of on-sale.
  • Children’s Birthday Cake Book.  Various displays driving sales of 30+ copies.  We are planning to take this promotion to new heights as soon as we get more stock.

None of these promotions was requested or driven by publisher engagement.  We decided to promote the titles because we felt we could achieve incremental business by being proactive.  The results are excellent.  They demonstrate that by being engaged with magazines and tactical in promotion we can achieve sales growth.

Yes, magazines overall are challenged.  That does not mean we give up.  The results above and others I have written about here indicate that we can grab business in our newsagencies by leveraging our points of difference compared to supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol outlets.  They do the bare minimum and without thinking about.  We can be personal and genuinely engaged.  This is what drives incremental business.

We look at each magazine as an opportunity to do something more than the average.  The more we engage and measure results the more we learn and this makes our decisions better.

Yes, I think that many newsagents need to reduce their magazine range.  However, the more important need is for genuine engagement with the products pursuing the growth I am seeing for selected titles.

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magazines

Promoting Precious Rocks, Gems & Minerals partwork

mags-rocks.JPGWe are promoting the new part series, Precious Rocks, Gems & Minerals with this power end display facing onto our dance floor.  We expect it to sell well since Treasures of the Earth sold well and this latest partwork is similar to that.

While this title may not generate the traffic of Art of Knitting or other stellar partwork successes,  I expect it to garner a good following from existing shoppers and to drive some new traffic for us.

As newsagents are the only retailers, those of us who promote the title well are set to generate good business.

My sales benchmark data continues to show that partwork customers are 30% more like to purchase other items in store than a regular magazine customer.

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partworks

Promoting T3 magazine

mag-t3.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of T3 magazine with this simple yet effective in-location display.  This is located part way down our men’s magazine aisle.  It stands out nicely.

As with all of these in-location displays, it will run for a week before we shine focus on another title in the aisle.

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magazines

I Love Magazines unit life extended

With the excellent I Love Magazines campaign coming to an end tomorrow, ACP Magazines is providing generic materials which can be used to extend the life of the stand.  Given the ease of moving the stand, I like the idea of extracting more value from this unit.

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magazines

Newspaper home delivery changes coming

We are set to see several changes in the handling of home delivery subscriptions this year.  Newsagency software companies are currently being briefed on some of the changes. I anticipate that briefings on other changes will take place in the next few months.  Some software in use will have to be modified to suit the changes.  Newsagents who don’t have current software could face some challenges depending on how the publishers deal with this.

In considering changes, publishers need to be pressured to think of the needs of newsagents and not just their own needs.  For example, for fifteen years newsagents have been calling for electronic statements to enable easier checking line by line.  An electronic statement could save a newsagent up to four man hours a week.  Multiply that across the channel and you soon see the value.  sadly, publishers put their needs ahead of the needs of newsagents.  Rather than save the channel thousands of man hours each week they would prefer to focus on getting better subscriber and other data at their end.

I am all for the changes mooted for 2011 but I would like to see more.  I would like to see software changes which genuinely save newsagents time and money in their businesses.

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newsagent software

Promoting The Outdoor Room at the counter

magoutdooroom.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of The Outdoor Room at the counter.  This impulse purchase location is proving to be successful us in promoting home and living titles so it was an easy choice for promoting The Outdoor Room.  We will leave the display up for a week.  If we see good uplift and we have a demand on display space, we will locate the display for The Outdoor Room elsewhere.  As I have noted here recently, we think carefully about all of our displays.  Our space allocation and display time investment are all about driving a financial return.

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magazines

Promoting two House and Garden titles

mag-housegarden.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of House and Garden magazine as well as the accompanying Decorator’s Handbook with this display on the dance floor, near the sales counter.  It looks stunning in the store if we do say so ourselves.

Click on the image for a larger version of the display.

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magazines

How does Universal Magazines justify sending out old magazines?

img_0139.JPGLast week, newsagents received this Pools and Outdoors Pack from Network Services.  Universal Magazines is the publisher.  Poolside Showcase is the title at the front of the packs I saw.  While being sold as a pack, this is effectively a reissue.  You can see old price labels from other newsagencies on the front magazine inside the pack.  Some copies of the front title I saw are damaged to the extent of not being of merchantable quality.I question whether this pack should have been sent to newsagents at all.  It is clearly old stock.

It is not as if we need another pool or outdoors title – there are plenty on newsagent shelves already.

Universal Magazines has decided on a long on-sale for this pack, it is not due for return until week 26.  That is a ton of newsagent cash at risk, bankrolling the sending of this title to newsagents.  Yes, newsagents are funding the shipment of this old and questionable stock.

I would like to know the sell through for titles like Poolside Showcase from the the first time it was sent to newsagents.  If it did not achieve a 60% sell through it should not have been reissued through this pack.

I would like Universal Magazines to advise newsagents of the sell through of all of the titles in the pack – to justify their grab of newsagent cash through the reissue of this stock to us. They owe it to us since they are expecting us to pay for this stock which did not sell the first time it was sent out.

If Universal has such faith in this pack, why not let newsagents order it?  They will say that newsagents would not order the title and that such an approach is against the magazine distribution model.  I agree on both accounts.  Newsagents are smart.  They would take stock based on the financial return they will achieve.

I suspect that newsagents leaving this pack on their shelves for the full on sale will lose money once they account for their retail real estate, labour and shrinkage. So, no, newsagents would not order this title if they were give the opportunity.

That this pack has been sent looks to me like an abuse of small business newsagents.  If I am wrong and sales data justifies the decision then I will unreservedly apologise.

The folks at Universal Magazines will think that I am picking on them with this blog post.  I will let readers here be the judge of that. Someone in Universal decided to send out stock of dubious value and of questionable merchantable quality.  On those two counts alone Universal deserves to face some tough question from newsagents.

This is an ideal title for early returning, before the cutoff for the end of the month.

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magazine distribution

Dumping newspapers for Twitter

Ann Paterson has blogs that she has dumped print newspapers for Twitter and other online news sources.

Back in October I made the switch from newspapers to online news. My reasons for making the change were based in concerns about the quality and objectivity of the news I was getting from The West Australian and The Australian, though initially I hedged my bets and kept getting Saturday’s West for the TV guide, and one edition each week of The Australian and The Australian Financial Review for their higher education features. I work in public relations at a university and need to be across sector news.

Five months on and the only paper I get delivered now is Saturday’s West. Although I have been introduced to online TV guides, I can’t quite wean myself off the paper version. I am, however, coping quite happily without the other papers.

She goes on to explain her experiences and that having an iPad has made the transition easier.  Ann uses the Christchurch earthquake as an example.

I’m sure that newsagents will find Ann’s blog post interesting.  I hope it is motivating.

I have found myself checking twitter every few minutes since the first earthquake hit Japan last Friday.  I have been kept well informed, ahead of any mainstream media outlet.  With all of the news which has been around already this year, 2011 is the Year of the Tweet.

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Media disruption

Promoting New Idea this week

mag-newidea-mar11.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of New Idea with the power end display shown in the photo facing onto our dance floor.  We selected New Idea because of the Schapelle Corby story and because we like the magazine.  New Idea sells well and responds well to feature promotion like this.  We know from sales history that SchapelleCorby related cover stories achieve a lift in sales.  So, promoting this issue beyond the usual promotion makes sound commercial sense.

We will leave the display up until at least Wednesday when we will assess sales and demands on space – like any newsagency we have limited premium display space available.

We also have this issue of New Idea in an impulse purchase location at the counter as well as the usual location for the title.

we make promotion decisions such as this based on the sames we think we can achieve.  While publishers do pitch for attention in newsagencies, it is important for each of us to promote what we know we can sell and, especially the titles for which we can achieve incremental business. After all, it is margin dollars which you can bank.

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magazines

Promoting Dolly magazine

mag-dolly0311.JPGWe have been promoting the latest issue of Dolly magazine wit this display in the reading area of our women’s magazines.  This is an area away from the main traffic of the store where women can comfortably browse.  It is an area which has helped drive sales growth in women’s titles as well as crossword titles.  While some guys veture down there, it is an  area where you will mainly find women shopping.  This is why we only promote titles such as Dolly here.

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magazines

Fighting the banks on their anti small business EFTPOS fees

Newsagents need to gear up for a fight with the banks on the new EFTPOS fee regime.  Otherwise Coles and Woolworths will have the advantage of not having to pay the 5 cents (or more) transaction fee wel will face with the recently announced changed.

The EFTPOS fee move is all about the banks looking for other fee opportunities.  In this move, they have a fee which is difficult to understand and somewhat removed from the consumer.  By hitting some retailers (the weak and generally disorganised) and not others (the big and very organised) they are giving big businesses an unfair advantage.

What are newsagents going to do about this?

If we do not fight, many of us will probably absorb the fee as another cost of business. Those who do not risk negatively impacting customer goodwill.

Our fight should / could include:

  1. Lobbying local federal members of parliament.
  2. Complaining to the Banking Industry Ombudsman.
  3. Complaining to our banks.
  4. Moving our business to a smaller more friendly bank.
  5. Running a national and unified across the counter campaign – to EVERY newsagent customer.
  6. Calling talkback radio to get the story on the agenda.
  7. Picketing outside Coles and Woolworths head offices.
  8. Joining with other retail groups and bodies to unite on this common cause.
  9. Writing to newspapers.

TYRO is a focal point on this issue since so many of their retail customers are small businesses.  I am confident that they will also provide suggestions of how newsagents can engage on this topic.

This is not an issue which newsagents should leave to the next person to deal with.

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EFTPOS fees

Melbourne Home Design + Living set to sell out

mag-melbournehome.JPGThanks in part to the excellent display at the counter the latest issue of Melbourne Home Design + Living is st to sell at out at one of my newsagencies.  As of last night we are at a 77% sell through in under a month.  We have ordered more copies as we are confident that the title will continue to sell.  I have blogged about this title several times, noting that it works best when the full cover is on display.  This means getting it out of the usual magazine fixturing – as you can see from our display at the counter.  I hope that other newsagents who responded to my blog post about this title earlier this month are having similar sales success.

We can achieve incremental sales of magazines is we are observant about new product and tactical in placement and promotion.  This means we promote titles we think we will sell rather than necessarily promoting what we are told to promote.

One of the best ways to market any newsagency still is to professionally and energetically run a diverse magazine department.

PS. ‘diverse’ does not have to mean large – i.e. above 1,000 titles.

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magazine distribution

Phasing out postage stamps?

Newsagents with post office agencies may be interested to read about the move in Denmark  where people can text the post office for a code which is written on an envelope instead of purchasing a stamp.  The BBC report says that Sweden is also considering the move.

I don’t see Australia Post moving to this any time soon unless they want to divert focus away from their retail network, especially their government owned stores.  Personally, I’d encourage Australia Post to do anything possible to reduce traffic to their government owned stores.

My personal issues with Australia Post aside, the mode in Denmark does make sense.

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Australia Post

ACCC win on photocopy paper price fixing

The Federal Court last month ordered Singapore based Asia Pulp & Paper Co Ltd  and a related Indonesian company, PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Tbk to pay penalties totalling $4.2 million for fixing the price of photocopy paper  supplied to Australian customers. Click here for the ACCC announcement.

I can’t find out the brands of copy paper this relates to. The case interests me for a couple of reasons:

  1. The continued focus of the ACCC of anti competitive behaviour.  This is an important function of the ACCC as there are certainly business people out there who are happy to collude in order to protect their business.
  2. The case is a reminder of the challenges in the copy paper area.  Margins are wafer thin and it is difficult to win business on price.

I am glad the companies got caught and were penalised.

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Ethics

Leveraging the photocopy customer with Better Homes and Gardens

bhg-copier.JPGWe have placed the bright Better Homes and Gardens display unit next to our copier in pursuit if our goal to achieve greater efficiency from copying sales.  Photocopying, while delivering an excellent margin for most newsagents, remains the least efficient when analysing sales basket data.

Between 65% and 80% of sales including photocopying are for copying alone.  That is, customers come in, get their copying done, pay and leave.

As I have written here many times in the past, we are constantly looking for ways to drive impulse purchases among copy customers.  The placement this week of a Better Homes and Gardens impulse unit is another example of this. I chose Better Homes and Gardens for a number of reasons:

  1. It has universal appeal across gender and age groups.
  2. The cover looks stunning (tempting) as usual.
  3. The magazine is well supported with its own TV and radio shows.
  4. The display unit is bright, especially when placed next to the industrial colours of the photocopier.

Since this is found space – that is, space not used previously in this newsagency – we plan to run Better Homes and Gardens here for the next three months to see what we can achieve in terms of incremental business.  We also have the magazine in its usual location in our home and living section as well as with our weekly titles.

I’d urge newsagents to try the same with this title.  It responds well to additional promotion, especially in high traffic impulse locations such as the counter, with newspapers and elsewhere.

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magazines

iPad 2 sales astound

Analysts in the US are expecting the iPad 2 to sell 600,000 units in the first weekend.  The Apple distribution model has been adjusted to include more retailers.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Australia.  Newsagents and others who said the iPad was a passing phase are being proven wrong.  This new distribution channel is getting bigger by the day and publishers understand this.

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Media disruption

Leveraging local festivals to drive magazine and other sales in your newsagency

Given the range of products we sell, newsagents can really leverage local festivals to drive sales.  I am talking here about festivals which get good media coverage.  In Adelaide, the Womad festival this weekend is an excellent reason for South Australian newsagents promoting music titles.  In Melbourne, the Food and Wine festival is an excellent opportunity for Victorian newsagents promoting, well, food and wine titles.  In New South Wales, newsagents could be promoting tattoo and Body Art titles because of the Sydney Tattoo & Body Art Expo and VaVoom Festival.

Each of these is a wonderful opportunity given that newsagents sell magazines appealing to those interested in the festival. I know form my own experience that you can have success even if you are out in the suburbs and away from the festival centre.  We achieved an excellent lift in food titles as well as caravan titles by connecting with and promoting events which were quite some distance from our newsagency.

More newsagents should connect with local festivals and leverage the media coverage associated with them.

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newsagency marketing

Children’s Birthday Cake Book selling well

birthdaycookbook.JPGOur sales of the Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book, the reprint of the cookbook from 25 years ago, are excellent.  Our team moved the display so that it is in front of our new party department, next to children’s cards.  The photo shows what shoppers see as they enter the store next to our greeting card wall. This display is working a treat.  based on customer feedback, I’d expect sales of this cookbook to continue for some time.  The nostalgia appeal is high and this is driving good word of mouth – we see it!

Kudos to the people in ACP who decided to reprint a 25 year old cookbook.

If you have the title and are not doing anything special with it, I’d encourage you to have a crack – create a display and shine some light on this classing cookbook.  I’d expect it to sell in any newsagency situation.  Only Newsagents and Big W have the title at the moment.  The rest don’t get it until June.  I’m certainly making the most of the opportunity in my newsagencies.

There are people and groups in the newsagency channel who say that magazines are a waste of money and space.  While I would agree for some titles, there are other titles off of which we can make excellent money and drive traffic.  This Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book is one such title, as was the Slow Cooker cookbook last year.

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magazines

Groupon discount magazine offer

groupon-foodmag.jpgCheck out the offer New York Groupon subscribers received this week: $12 for 15 issues of Food & Wine magazine, delivered. A very nice deal indeed.

While there is a huge difference between the magazine distribution model in the US and what we have here in Australia, the use if Groupon to drive subscription sales is interesting.  When Australian coupon sites do take off, expect to see magazine offers like these.  It’s what I would do if I were a magazine publisher – it is not smart to rely on one distribution channel, such as retail, only.

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magazine subscriptions

Promoting photography titles

mag-photog-0311.JPGWe have created this mini in-location display to drive a lift in sales of photography titles.  It is a small promotion where out photography titles regularly sit, at the end of one of our magazine aisles.  The display is designed to let shoppers know that we have photography titles and that this is where they are located. Simple and effective.  The display will be up for a week.

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magazines

Trifecta of winners at NSW/ACT newsagent awards

Congratulations to the winners at the NSW/ACT Newsagent of the Year Awards announced Wednesday night in Sydney.

  • 2011 NSW/ACT Distribution Newsagent of the Year. Highlands Marketplace Newsagency. Craig and Jennifer Boyd.
  • 2011 NSW/ACT Retail Newsagent of the Year.  Green Hills Newsagency.  Allen and Brenda Kavanagh.
  • 2011 NSW/ACT New Technology Newsagent of the Year.  newsXpress Young.  Ted and Kate Loader.

These businesses are beacons in their respective communities, operated by newsagents deserving of the kudos and recognition each award brings.  They do the newsagency shingle proud.  Congratulations!

I’d encourage other NSW/ACT newsagents to visit these businesses.  You won’t be disappointed.

I am proud to note that each of these businesses relies of software from my newsagency software company, Tower Systems.

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Newsagency management
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