No expense has been spared at this Australia Post corporate store. Two strips of tinsel in the front windows.
Stunning! I guess when you have a monopoly guaranteeing foot traffic you don’t need to provide a compelling experience to lure people.
I am pleased to announce two new management appointments within Tower Systems which will benefit newsagents.
Gavin Williams has been promoted to the role of General Manager and joins our executive team of Norman Partington (Group Financial Controller) and myself (Managing Director). Gavin’s new role has a broad focus and carries senior management responsibility for – installation, training, support, development and admin. For the last six years he has managed our software development team and managed key projects within our business. Gavin joined Tower Systems ten years ago in a support role having worked at our newsagency on a part time basis while at university.
Jonathan Tay has been promoted to the role of Software Development Manager. Jonathan has been with Tower Systems for three years, serving as one of our most senior installation and training specialists. He has also played a key role in testing of updates. Jonathan joined us after successfully completing his Bachelor of Computing at Monash University. In this new role, Jonathan has responsibility for managing our design and development teams, product QA and change management.
Gavin and Jonathan are ideal candidates for their respective new roles. Their knowledge and skill extends our strategic management capabilities and will help us make significant advances in 2008.
I feel most fortunate that we have been able to fill two crucial roles from within the Tower business.
We are currently recruiting to fill the vacancy Jonathan’s promotion creates within our installation and training team.
Several craft titles this month have what appears to be a flyer promoting the free magazine which comes with each title. It’s only when you take out the cardboard flyer that you see it’s not really there to promote the free magazine. No, this flyer is there to try and get readers (or browsers) of the magazine to visit their website and sign up for a free digital edition of the magazine.
While publishers are at liberty to make any offer they choose inside their pages, that they are doing this on the back of newsagent generosity is, for me, a question of ethics.
Newsagent fund these products into our shops. We pay for them before they are sold and have to wait sometimes two months to get a refund on what has not sold. We pay for the labour to keep them tidy and we pay for the titles stolen. We only make money if we sell the product.
This flyer can be seen by browsers and I suspect this is what the publishers would like. It is certainly part of their pitch to move readers from the print to an online edition – and I am part of their push to achieve this.
Some magazines will move online and cease print publication. It is inevitable. Publishers who want to achieve this should work with newsagents and respect our efforts on their behalf. Going behind our backs is disrespectful.
I note that I only found the flyer when it had been removed from a magazine.
The titles, by the way, are: Papercraft, Beads etc, Downunder Quilts and Scrapbooking for keeps.
Newsagents received House & Garden magazine on Monday of this week. We have been told it is to be on sale for two months. Smart newsagents will push hard to sell out in the next two weeks because who would buy a Christmas themed title after Christmas? Such a long on-sale is nuts. What this really does is stop newsagents returning for a credit prior to February which means it could be the end of March before we get our money back. What is this long on-sale period other than a boost to the cashflow of ACP Magazines?
We have replaced our display of gree magazines at one of our counters with this display of property and investment titles.
Property and investment is an often forgotten category in newsagencies, relegated to second class real-estate. We are hoping, through the display, to remind people that we have a broad offering.
We know from our sales data that the work we have been putting into this category elsewhere in the business is delivering above industry benchmark growth – proving there is a good market in our newsagency.
While these displays are extra work, they payoff is the reinforcement that we are magazine specialists.
We have a good range of premium pens in our newsXpress Forest Hill store. They are also in our card shop within a shop. We also have a good range of premium pens in our Sophie Randall shop in the same centre. It’s the extraordinary difference in the shopping experience which I want to blog about today.
In the newsagency time is an issue. I wish it were not, but it is. The shop has a high frequency of medium to low value transactions. Our average basket is just over $6.00. Lottery, newspaper and magazine customers tend to not want to wait for more than a few seconds for service. Premium pen sales take time: we need to unlock the cabinet and assist with the selection. Rents and wages being what they are we don’t run with sufficient loose staff to easily afford assisting a pen customer without it slowing the main counter.
In the Sophie Randall store we experience a different beat. Customers are not in a rush. They will wait at the counter while we serve a pen customer making a careful choice. This difference in attitude – in customers and in us – between the two businesses makes the premium pen category a better fit in the Sophie Randall store.
That is not to say we ought to get out of pens in the newsagency. Rather, I am saying that we are not getting it as right as we could. We need to create a premium pen display story which serves the shopping needs of newsagency customers more effectively without overburdening the sales team.
While what we have now would be considered best practice based on what I see in newsagencies around the country, I know from the Sophie experience that we are losing sales in the newsagency because of the conflict between the needs of a premium open customer and the bread and butter traffic customers in our newsagency. People would see that we’re busy and walk away. The only way to address that now is to have a spare person full time on the floor, loose. Frankly we are not big enough to justify that expense.
For an interesting conversation about the future of newspapers, read Sad Newspapers, a blog post by Jeff Jarvis and the comments which followed. It’s about two newspapers in Detroit and how thin they have become.
We are insulated here in Australia from the trouble newspapers in the US and some European countries are experiencing because of our strong home delivery penetration and the control exerted by newspaper publishers over the supply chain.
I am surprised at the cover of this National Australian Fishing Annual. Maybe the have used a sexy, even suggestive (look at the fish), shot before. Compared to other fishing titles, this one would look more at home elsewhere in the category. There are more photos like this in the magazine. Maybe they are chasing a new demographic to fishing. I don’t mind as I’m only the retailer. However, there is a valid questions as to where to place the title – if they are chasing a different demographic. Guys looking for bikini clad girls playing with fish will not be looking in the fishing section.
For days ago we placed a column of Lovatts crossword and puzzle titles next to Australian Women’s Weekly. While we have done this before with success, this time the results have been excellent – especially with the Christmas themed title. We are tracking a 25% sales increase for the crossword product off an already strong base. The bump from Wednesday to today is obvious on the sales graph.
We have two promotional columns like this near AWW and the weeklies.
We will leave this display in place for a week before replacing it with another – probably Christmas themed crafts.
One of our youngest team members at Forest Hill, Mel, came up with a great use for the old stand we had for numbered birthday badges. She dressed it with these Christmas badges which light up and, now, our old stand which was gathering dust is front and centre at the counter and working for us.
The badges were lost in our Christmas display. Now, at the counter, customers see them and want to get in early.
Well done Mel!
We have wallpapered the wall in front of our lottery counter to promote our syndicates in the end of year superdraw. We do this with all superdraws. It works well.
Syndicate sales are rarely single sales. In addition to multiple syndicate tickets, customers usually pick up a regular ticket or two.
The idea behind the wall is to create a sense of celebration – the end of the year and all that.
We have created the collateral for the promotion ourselves. While Tattersalls will continue to judge us only on name badges, up-selling and placement of their posters, we feel that unique effort such as our wall – and similar promotions other proactive agents run – ought to be part of the Tattersalls measurement. It is frustrating that they measure agents down to the lowest common denominator – but that happens often in the newsagency channel.
The Australian is reporting today that PBL Media, owners of ACP Magazines, has purchased half of the local version of OK! OK! has quickly carved out success in the tough weekly magazine marketplace as I have blogged previously.
While it’s a 50/50 joint venture, I’d expect ACP to lead on the distribution side – making a tougher retail real-estate battle for Pacific Magazines. They need either a much stronger Famous or a new offer in the marketplace.
As the report in The Australian says, the major weeklies are having a tough time and that OK! is bucking that trend with sales growth of 18.8% year on year. That’s what I am seeing – strong growth. Hence our decision to allocate more real-estate in the high traffic areas.
I am disappointed about this move from a newsagent perspective because of what it means for competition. However, for ACP it makes sense. I hope that OK! continues as is because it ain’t broke.
In what has become a happy tradition, click here for my 2007 Christmas marketing tips for newsagents and other retailers. Print them off and share them around.
I was pretty chuffed to hear from Jurek Leon a couple of days ago that he has included my 2006 tips at his Christmas Tips for Retailers website.
Here is my 2007 list:
1. FOCUS ON HERO PRODUCTS
Have one or two hero categories in the lead up to Christmas. Make a bold visual statement at price points which represent value. Plan to become known in the district as the go to place for these products. You do this by having the best range at a good price and displaying it accordingly.
2. THANK YOUR CUSTOMERS
Write a note of thanks to your customers and place copies in bags. Thank them for their support and share what this means to you and families supported by your business. Be personal.
3. HOST AN EVENT
Host a VIP shoppers night, a 24 hour Christmas Celebration Sale or a tree lighting night. Bring in Santa and create some theatre around the start of the Christmas season in your shop. Maybe do with other shops in your area. Offering free Santa photos is a good way to draw in families.
4. REMEMBER TEACHERS, NEIGHBOURS, FRIENDS AND OTHERS
It is the once a year gifts which can be challenging. Consider a display of gifts for teachers, another for neighbours etc. The easier you make it the more people will buy from you.
5. DONATION BOX FOR A LOCAL CHARITY
Talk to a local charity and offer to put a collection box at your door for customers to make a product donation which fits the needs of the charity. Include photos of work the charity does. Invite the charity to let its contacts know what you are doing.
6. CHRISTMAS ART
Choose a theme and invite entries in your very own art competition. Give the winner a nice trophy and a gift voucher. Let the local paper know. A good theme would be Christmas in xxx where xxx is your suburb – bring out a local connection.
7. EMBRACE THE SEASON FROM YOUR DOOR
Everything about your shop must feel like Christmas. Music. Uniforms. Stock on display. Flyers. The moment customers step inside your shop they need to feel Christmas. Design your store layout for Christmas success, let it do your selling for you.
8. CREATE A TOP TEN
People love lists. Top Ten gifts under $10. Top 10 gifts for dad. Top 10 gifts for mum.
9. EMBRACE THE SEASON FROM YOUR HEART
While Christmas means different things to people, it is, overall, a happy season. Work with your team on ways to embrace and maintain a connection with happiness. Your generosity of spirit toward your team can set the tone for their generosity of spirit toward customers.
10. REST
Schedule enough time for rest. Recharge and make your days more successful.
11. COUNTDOWN
Create a H U G E handmade countdown calendar – behind the counter. 20 sleeps to go, 19 etc.
12. SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE
Christmas is stressful for shoppers. Roster extra staff to reduce customer stress.
Footnote: I first published this at the Tower Systems blog. I repeat it here for those only reading here.
It is great to see more card companies introducing music cards into their everyday ranges. It’s enjoyable hearing songs play out when the cards are browsed. One challenge is how we display these cards since they are bigger and thicker. Another is how to uniformly show that they are music cards – especially when you have more than one supplier represented in the range.
I was in a major shopping centre yesterday and could not find a newsagency. It seems the landlord decided to not renew the lease some months ago and has not let space for a newsagency since. The only outlets for magazines are supermarkets, Big W and newspapers the supermarkets and coffee chains. Lottery products are sold from a kiosk, cards are in several outlets and stationery is, well, everywhere.
All that is missing is the newsagency shingle.
I wonder what this says to newsagents about how their businesses are viewed by major shopping centre landlords. I wonder, too, what it says to consumers – do they miss a newsagency in the centre, are they being trained to shop elsewhere?
I also wonder how newspaper and magazine publishers feel about this. There was a time some years ago when a newspaper publi9sher would not allow their products to be sold in a shopping centre where a newsagency did not exist.
Is this the newsagency of the future? Extinct? I don’t think so, certainly not broadly speaking. I suspect this is just a rogue landlord.
Calendar season is going great for us. sales are strong with no discount to be seen. After a disasterous 2005/06 season when we joined the discount bandwagon we regrouped and in 2006/07 did good business in the lead-up to Christmas. This year we are tracking even better numbers.
While some customers ask if we are discounting, few walk away looking for a cheaper calendar elsewhere. The keys are range and service – no surprise there. If you have the special interest calendar people want, a couple of dollars makes no difference.
Two years on from our horror year, it’s clear that a good range well cared for is more important and more valuable for the business than discounting early in the season.
Kudos to the folks at New Idea and their participation with Australia Post in the new Steve Irwin tribute postage stamps. The sheet includes the commemorative cover of New Idea featuring Steve Irwin and his two children. This is the second stamp feature for New Idea and the second time a magazine has featured on a sheet of stamps. The first was when New Idea was named 2007 Magazine of the Year.
Bargain Shopper magazine rips newsagents off. It is supplied late in the month – so they are paid next month – in quantities which are three and four times what newsagents will sell and with a ridiculous shelf life. This is appalling behaviour.
I am early returning 26% of what I received this week as there is no justification for such gross oversupply.
This behavior is unconscionable. The publisher creates the problem with their print run and the magazine distributor facilitates the abuse of the newsagent system. This distributor – NDD – ought to know better.
The problem for newsagents is that the ACCC lets publishers and distributors get away with oversupply at four and five times what we will sell.
This is the display we have created next to the counter to promote magazines with an environmental pitch. It’s a simple display, designed to attract.
We have placed the display next to our main newsagency register point as we have found this the most effective in promoting magazines outside the top 50 sellers.
Typically, we will leave this in place for between a week and two weeks – depending on customer interest. We also add new titles as they come in.
I know the display does not look corporate – it’s not meant to. We see this multi-title approach as a service for our customers and in support of the depth of range we have.
Command adhesive products from 3M are featuring in a long format TV commercial based around Christmas use. I have seen the commercial several times on pay TV. Newsagents not carrying the range ought to right away. It’s selling well in stores I am connected with. Be warned however – not all newsagent stationery warehouses have the full line.
Further to my previous post today about Conscious Living, the same health store has Wellbeing magazine for sale. We have it in our newsagency too? Why would a publisher put this stock in my newsagency as well as the health store. The shelf life and cover price makes the title of little value. Getting into two stores reduces sales in one or both so I might as well get out of the space. The health category is doing very well but if publishers like Universal are going to chase other outlets to the cost of my business why should I support them?
It is disappointing to see Conscious Living magazine in a health store not far from my newsagency at Forest Hill. What is worse, is that the publisher lists the magazine as available from this health store and does not list it as being available at my newsagency.
While the two businesses will attract different customers, it dilutes the newsagent pitch as the magazine specialist. Their lack of support on the website demonstrates that we are not central to their distribution plans.
With a six month shelf life, Conscious Living is already cash-flow challenged for newsagents. I am going to re-think stocking the title.
Gee, ex Big Brother housemate Krystal Forscutt is busy. She was on the cover of Zoo last week and is on the cover of XBOX 360 (twice since this issue has two covers) and Playstation Magazine this month. What is odd about the latter two covers, promoting the need for speed game, is that they have each used exactly the same photo. Mistakes happen I guess, production errors they get called – we just need to not display them too close together.
Darrell Lea sent out another fax about its liquorice promotion today, this time apologising for poor communication with its non-company stores. It is disappointing that it has taken three days to respond but worse that they do not see how disrespectful their action in only promoting corporate stores is. Non corporate outlets like mine seem to be of little interest to Darrell Lea.
I love the Darrell Lea product and have been happy to have it at my Forest Hill store for years. This year, however, they have botched their licensee relationship and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some quit as a result.
For some reason XBOX 360 magazine has been produced with two covers this month. Everything is the same except for aspects of the cover image.
I can’t see a reason for doing this – it won’t get the title additional retail space and is more likely to lead to confusion among browsers.