Newsagents are better retailers of magazines and newspapers than supermarkets and some other retailers.
Newsagents offer broader support of the category – more than good placement. We are less demanding when it comes to costs such as shelf space, marketing subsidies and other costs of business. We add value through a range of magazine related services like co-location, beacon branding, loyalty programs, category promotions and other initiatives.
I would like to see publishers respect the service newsagents provide by reducing their use of other retail outlets. Help us reinforce our position as magazine specialists. If developed professionally and executed co-operatively such a strategy would improve newsagency foot traffic and increase customer spend on magazines.
Publishers think that by making a product ubiquitous it is easier to purchase, more likely to be purchased. I’d suggest the opposite is true. People can think that they will have other opportunities to purchase a title and some end the week or month having not done that. Also, seeing a title everywhere may blind people to it – that’s what I wonder.
Reducing retail outlets gives us an opportunity to build healthier businesses around newspapers and magazines and, as a result, invest more in the category. The return for publishers would be greater effort from the specialists.
I am not about to lay out my plan here but I would note that today’s conditions offer an excellent opportunity to build magazine sales based on respect of magazine and newspaper specialists rather than driving competition through more outlets.
There are proactive newsagents keen for such an opportunity.
Tower Systems last week launched an exclusive newsagent computer system offer for Connections with ACP newsagents. The communication sent out last week by Connections was the culmination of considerable work creating a computer software and hardware package deal which supported the goals of newsagents, Connections and ACP. The package includes Tower newsagency software, new hardware, on site installation and training, support and updates for a year, XchangeIT EDI for a year and 60,000 Connections points.
