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

Extra stock (and sales) of the SBS Guide to the World Cup

sbs-world-cup-program.JPGWe thankfully received additional stock of The Official SBS Guide to the FIFA World Cup 2010. We had been out of stock for a few days and had been approached by many customers looking for this title. We were able to let them know that new stock was to arrive yesterday, and it did.

As one customer told us – The Official SBS Guide to the FIFA World Cup 2010 is is the best one for time zones.

Now that we have plenty of stock again we have our display back in place alongside other World Cup titles.

The World Cup is for magazine sales like Mother’s Day is for greeting card sales. Brilliant! We have customers buying multiple titles. Part of the success is driven by our multiple display strategy – in the front of the store as well as in our sports section.

We are also selling support materials to add even more value to World Cup magazine sales.

No other magazine retailer is embracing World Cup titles like newsagents – take notice publishers!

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magazines

Clarification on Gotch supply adjustment facility

There is some confusion in the newsagency marketplace about the Gordon and Gotch supply adjustment facility which Tower Systems pioneered last year.  This facility continues to operate and be available for newsagents.  It is not the key mechanism for making supply adjustment requests – this continues to be the various processes well documented by Gordon and Gotch.

The facility Tower developed and documented for other software companies is designed for two or three adjustments a week – usually from the counter during the magazine arrivals process.

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magazines

Ralph magazine closes

The closure of the print edition of Ralph magazine was announced late today by ACP Magazines.

While the closure is disappointing for those who will lose their jobs, it will allow newsagents to focus more attention on a challenged category of magazines.  Men’s magazines really struggle compared to women’s.   I suspect this is the case because part of what guys look for in a lad’s mag can be easily found online for free.

The final issue of Ralph is out June 21.  We have an opportunity to promote it as a collectors edition and send Ralph off on a high.

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magazines

More capacity added to Newsagency of the Future workshop

The Newsagency of the Future workshop I am speaking at later this month is proving to be popular among newsagents.  We have added more capacity to the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide venues.  We have also added a date for the Gold Coast in response to requests – Thursday July 8 at 10am.

While I don’t promise to have all of the answers, I do promise an honest appraisal of the short to medium term future of the newsagency channel based on current data and assessment of trends which are set to impact, positively and negatively.  I also promise a lively discussion – there are things we need to talk about to help us navigate to our own future.

Click here to book online.  Venues will be announced for all locations next week.

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newsagency of the future

Is print dying (or dead) as a medium for comics?

simpsons-comics.JPGMaybe it is just me but sales for Simpsons comics appear to have fallen through the floor. With an appalling sell through rate, sometimes single digit, these titles are not even paying for the retail real-estate they occupy – especially in a shopping centre newsagency where rent is close to $300,000 a year.  Add shrinkage, labour and returns shipping costs and they are seriously loss-making.

I wonder if comics will be among the first print titles to succumb to the pressure of disruptive technologies like the iPad and availability on the Net and other platforms.

Take a look at what ComiXology is doing.  They have an iPad app and have just announced facilities to make comics more readily available on computers.  Check out the video demonstration of the Marvel Comics iPad app developed by ComiXology.

While we still see the same number of kids sitting a reading in the shop, sales are not where the need to be. Newsagents need to capacity to quit a segment like comics if the sapce allocation is losing money.  The current magazine distribution model does not work in our favour in this regard.

Back to the real-estate cost. We need to make $1.58 per week per magazine pocket to pay for the real-estate.

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magazine distribution

Connecting with eclipse, the next Twilight movie

eclipse.JPGGiven the extraordinary sales of the board game for new moon, the last Twilight movie, I am looking forward to the results we achieve for sales of the eclipse board game.  The game is an excellent impulse line for customers buying the magazines which feature Twilight stars – and a very nice impulse it is too.  It feels great to turn a $3.50 magazine purchase into $40+ sale, especially in a newsagency.  With the movie opening in four weeks, the publicity is certain to help drive interest.

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Newsagency opportunities

One pot wonders?

fhn-one-pot-dinners1.JPGI was surprised to see one pot cookbooks being offered with Good Food and Take 5.  While I appreciate that the titles are targeting different shoppers, the common free gift theme runs the risk of diluting value – to my untrained mind at least.  I like gifts which add to the experience of the magazine and which are different to gifts on other titles.  The blackboard with the latest issue of donna hay magazine is a good example of a good gift in my view.

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magazines

How will the new super mining tax affect small businesses like newsagents?

I have been watching and listening to the debate between the federal government and the miners about the planned super mining tax and wondering about the impact of the new tax on small business.  I’ve also been wondering about the pathetic school yard jibes but that is a blog post for another time.

With some new mining projects already on hold and talk of others not developing as far as planned, newsagencies in mining towns will feel an impact. I know some of these businesses and the towns involved.  They have been enjoying excellent business and have invested considerably to serve the growth.

Given the disconnect between the income source for the planned super tax and claimed spending priorities for the revenue, there is no wonder that Australians are confused as the government says they are.

The economic uncertainty created by the way in which the government has handled the matter is impacting in mining towns already.

The behaviour of the government last week in bypassing its own regulations on advertising and breaking an explicit promise to the Australian electroate made during the last election campaign is, in my view, appalling.

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Ugh!

Another day and more Apple iPad frustration

ipad_case.JPGI don’t want to be frustrated about the iPad, certainly not before I have had it, played with it and experienced the joy with any new technology device.  But I am frustrated.  Apple yesterday sent me the case for my new iPad.  This is the third shipment of bits connected with my iPad order.  But still no device.  Their approach to pre-release committed online customers compared to the retail channel is appalling.  That they are not recognising this and turning the situation around is not what I expected from Apple.

Companies make mistakes all the time.  It is how they resolve them that matters.  My experience is that Apple is not investing any energy in turning around a problem they created.

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Media disruption

Helping newsagents collect newspaper home delivery payments

Tower Systems is helping newsagents in South Australia collect newspaper home delivery payments through its free eziPass electronic payments platform.  Using eziPass,retail newsagents will be able to collect payments from home delivery customers and receive a service fee for providing this service.  The fee itself is being handled between News and the newsagents.

Click here to download the signup form to get ready to access this facility through eziPass.  Newsagents already accessing Touch products through eziPass will not need to complete the form.

The eziPass platform is available to all newsagents regardless of the newsagency software they run.

This project is quite separate to the PayPoint project launched by Tower Systems a couple of years ago which enables retail newsagents to collect home delivery account payments on behalf of distribution newsagents.

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newsagent software

Promoting donna hay magazine and the free blackboard

fhn-donna-hay-jun2010.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of donna hay magazine at our main counter thanks to the free blackboard gift.  News Magazines only gave us one poster (ugh!) so we copied the cover and used one of the blackboards to create the display.  While not our best visual merchandising work, my sense is that it will result on good sales for us.

We have built donna hay into a strong title in our store through consistent tactical activity at high impulse locations – like the counter location in the photo.

We will leave this display up until Monday.

I’d note that we took down our NW display which was in this location from Monday as it did not work for us – most copies sold from the usual NW locations.

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magazines

Leverageing Sex and the City 2 for marie claire

fhn-marie-claire-june2010.JPGWe are promoting marie claire in our women’s magazine aisle with a simple display which can be seen by everying entering the aisle.  This is the first of two initiatives we have planned for this issue of marie claire.  This display will remain up until after the weekend when we will act on phase two.

We decided on this simple display to start as it connects with the considerable publicity around the release of the Sex and the City 2 movie.

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magazines

Promoting June issue of Money magazine

fhn-money-june2010.JPGAfter resting our in-location display for Money last month, and experiencing a dip in sales abck to the usual number – we put up a simple display yesterday.  If we see a lift to what was achieved in April when we did our first display then it will provide the evidence that this type of display for Money works well at our newsagency.  While there is a real-estate cost for the poster, we have the space available in this men’s magazine aisle.

Given that our magazine unit sales were up 4% in May compared to May 2009 we’re confident that moves like these displays are working well for us compared to the channel average.

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magazines

May was a tough month for newsagents

I have now reviewed sales data for May 2010 and compared this with May 2009 for twelve newsagencies.  It’s been a challenging month for newsagents and retail in general..  While there is a risk in only looking at data for a month, here is a summary of what I have seen:

  • Magazines.  The average decline in unit sales is 4%.  That said, my newsXpress Forest Hill store recorded year on year growth of 4% in May.  Our weeklies are up 7%.  Looking closely at the performance of the 12 stores though, May 2010 is better than thefirst quarter of the year – the decline appears to have softened.
  • Newspapers.  Down 4% in unit sales.  Newspapers are more affected by the news cycle.
  • Stationery.  Sales are pretty much line ball year on year in most stores for which I have data.
  • Books.  Excellent growth in the stores with book sales at $2,000 a month or more – i.e. stores selling more than the discount novels.  Of the twelve in this initial sample, only three were into books in any reasonable volume.
  • Copying & faxing.  Double digit growth in all but two stores.
  • Gifts.  I only looked at stores with $2,000 a month in sales or more – double digit growth in most.  Of the 12 stores, only four were into gifts in any volume.
  • Cards.  This is the hardest hit department.  Red ink everywhere – declining unit sales ranging between 5% and 20%.
  • Customer traffic.  Down on average 7% – but a couple reporting a concerning double digit decline.

I have seen Year to Date sales data from a landlord for our retail category and they are reporting a decline of 9%.

While the news does not look ideal, there is good news in the data for entrepreneurial newsagents who are driving change through their businesses.

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Newsagency challenges

World Cup magazines go off!

worldcup-mag.JPGSales for just about any of the World Cup titles are excellent with sell outs being reported by many newsagents. Even Soccer International Magazine’s World Cup Program which arrived late in the cycle is selling well – our success has been at the counter as an impulse purchase – good considering the purchase price.

Part of what is driving such good sales of World Cup titles for newsagencies is our range of foreign language titles. These attract a broad cross-section of shoppers from countries with a strong interest in the game.

Newsagents not actively promoting their range of World Cup titles should take action today – there is still time to achieve excellent sales.

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magazines

Beecher: iPad exhilarating

Read what Eric Beecher, former editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and former editor in chief of the Herald and Weekly Times and current publisher of Crikey thinks about the iPad:

Using the iPad to consume journalism is an exhilarating experience. It is, almost certainly, a game changer for the way media consumption will evolve.
Just as the internet revolutionised the paradigm of media useage more than a decade ago, imagining where this kind of light, portable, rich, instantaneous, bespoke iPadish platform could go feels very much like another Gutenberg moment.

But, for the future of newspapers and old media, it also feels very much like a Hindenburg moment.

All the hype bloviating from newspaper companies about how the iPad will secure their future seems so much like wishful thinking based on mindless logic…

Click here to read the rest of the piece.

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Media disruption

Promoting Top Gear magazine and the free DVD

fhn_topgear_may3110.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of Top Gear magazine with an in-location display at the entrance of our men’s magazines aisle  – despite the title not being targeted by ACP for any special treatment this week.  early indications are good for this issue of the magazine.  That said, next week we will give it a push in a higher traffic area.

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magazines

Frustrating Apple iPad customer service

I called Apple today wondering where my iPad 3G is given that it was bought and paid for close to three weeks ago.

After selecting a bunch of options on their phone system I got to speak to a human.  Well, I think she was.  The truth is that I got little more than canned answers and my name repeated every fourth word.  Ugh!

The Apple representative had absolutely no joy for me and no explanation as to how people could buy off the street today what I preordered and prepaid for three weeks ago and am yet to receive.

No matter how I couched my questions the canned answers kept coming.  What irritated me the most what that she understood my concerns and wanted to help me.  Not!

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Customer Service

A whole new way of reading the news

australian-ipad.JPGThe ad on page 10 of the media section of The Australian yesterday should focus the minds of newsagents on the new world in which we now live.

The photo of a iPad featuring The Australian on its screen resting on a front door mat is a play on the quintessential image of a home delivered newspaper in the same situation. News Limited is not Robinson Caruso in their approach.  Publishers across the world are promoting the iPad as an alternative to their print product and home delivery specifically.

The arrival of the iPad and its promotion as a new distribution channel should not surprise newsagents, but it will. The advertisement in The Australian is just the first steps of promoting this new distribution channel.  I’d be doing the same if I were them – leveraging the old distribution channel to promote the new.

At some point, newsagents will become upset about the new distribution channel such is the ignorance in some quarters about what has been an obvious goal among publishers for years as I have discussed here many times.

Our focus needs to be on our model for the future, a model which recognises the disruption caused by the iPad and the devices which will follow.  The answer is not for us to sell newspaper subscriptions for the iPad as some newsagents are proposing.  The suggestion reflects ignorance of how the new channel works.

While publishers (magazine and newspaper) are telling newsagents that the iPad will not impact retail and home delivery sales, I think they will.  Not so much in the next two or three years but certainly beyond.  This is why it is essential we focus on our businesses today.  If you need motivation, pull out The Australian from yesterday and turn to Page 10 of the media section.

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Media disruption

InStyle magazine promotion works

fhn_instyle_may3110.JPGOur in-location display for InStyle magazine has worked very well.  We have achieved a 77% sell-through in 13 days.  This is the only place the title was promoted.  The display has helped push the performance of this issue of InStyle above average for us to this point in the sales cycle.  I am not suggesting that the display is the only reason for the sales success.  No, the magazine itself has plenty to do with this including the cover.  The display is designed to help people looking for the title to easily find it as well as to promote it to others browsing in the aisle.  It’s all about making shopping easy.

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magazines

Promoting the NW magazine VIP card

fhn_nw_may3110.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of NW magazine at the counter this week.  The free VIP card stuck to the cover which gives the reader a discount on shoes is a good value add-on to the magazine which we are happy to promote.

The value add is the reason we are promoting the magazine in such a prominent position as well as in its usual location and the basket builder stand.

The execution by ACP is excellent – well attached VIP card to the cover, good marketing collateral, good offer.

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magazines

Promoting the Zoo discount

fhn_zoo_may3110.JPGWe are promoting Zoo with newspapers this week since they are running another of their $1.95 special offers.  It’s frustrating because it will sell well and then fall back next week to not paying its way.  I understand why ACP runs this discount campaign, I just don’t see any long term upside in newsagency sales other than extending a few baskets the week the discount cover price applies.

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magazines

Why the iPad is not an ideal home delivery device

The Apple iPad in its current form is not ideal for assisting with newspaper home deliveries.  The GPS is not accurate enough nor the update speed fast enough for what would be needed in a suburban newspaper distribution situation.

Also, the only sat nav facilities in the iPad are for Google maps, not Melway or other maps.

The other barrier is cost.  Would newsagents be prepared to put around $1,000 of technology in a vehicle for deliveries?

I think the iPad has many applications of interest to newsagents and other business operators – just not in the home delivery area at this stage.

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newsagent software

Why would you buy a newsagency today?

I am often asked by people looking at buying a newsagency why they should given the issues and challenges discussed here and elsewhere.

In my view, a newsagency represents a good investment and offers good opportunities, plenty of upside – despite some challenges presented by out of date practices.  The value in theupside is why I have expanded my own involvement.

There is plenty about a newsagency business you can control.

There are excellent new traffic opportunities: ink, books, gifts, services and some other new products areas I am not prepared to name here just yet.  These are brining new customers in.

There are excellent sales efficiency opportunities – selling more to existing customers. This is achieved by cleverly leveraging high traffic products such as newspapers, lotteries and major magazine titles to drive impulse purchases.

There are good margin opportunities. For example, ditching magazine company calendars in favour of dealing with calendar specialists – newsagents more than double their margin.

Proactive newsagents can transform the business. This is where the biggest opportunity lies. By respecting existing key traffic generators and evolving the business offer in other categories, smart retailers can significantly increase sales and profit. Yes the traditional newsagency is old and tired. The new newsagency is vibrant and profitable.

Change. Yes technologies like the iPad will impact our businesses. This will be more in a good way than a bad way. Entrepreneurial newsagents are seizing the opportunity of change and using this to motivate internal change.  There are newsagents making good money from cafe services, online businesses and expanded distribution businesses.

So, why would I buy a newsagency today? The opportunity!

The only caveat I would apply is that you need to buy at the right price.

I will be covering the themes in this blog post in detail at the Newsagency of the Future workshop next month.

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buying a newsagency

Check your Master Chef allocation

With issue #2 of Master Chef magazine just around the corner, newsagents who expect to sell plenty of copies should check with Gordon and Gotch on the planned allocation.  Given that many newsagents did not get addditional stock and that allocations will be based on actual sales, getting now for additional stock would make sense.

I expect issue #2 to be strong since the TV show is still running and there will be plenty of customers who missed out on issue #1.

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magazines
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