We have commenced a benchmark project with around 50 newsagencies, delving deep into the businesses to streamline benchmarking processes so that comparisons are easy and reliable.
While benchmark studies have been undertaken in the past, they are snapshots and rely on data from a range of sources. Our goal is continual benchmarking from one IT platform source. All of the newsagents participating are using the Tower Systems software.
Knowing, for example, that a shopping centre based newsagency needs sales of $8,000 per square metre is the bar. Our software tracks sales by department, category and supplier by floor space allocation. This enables us to report on these and other views against the industry goal benchmark and thereby facilitate local store decisions on, say, supplier. It also allows us to consider adjusting the industry benchmark if the reported data from the group is radically different.
Key to the project working is agreement between participants as to how products are categorised within their businesses.
We first considered this project when we undertook a study of data from 8 million shopping baskets in 2005. The results of that research demonstrated the value of newsagents working together to compare data.
Mark, a very worthwhile project and one that is essential for the industry. Key benchmark figures will enable Newsagents to better understand how their own business stacks up and will also be useful when dealing with landlords. What are your thoughts about availability for interested Newsagents.
No doubt the figures from this benchmarking could be benificial in altering the relationships between newsagents and suppliers, namely magazine distributors and newspaper publishers?