Heights scare me. No, they freak me out.
Two days ago, on I walked the Tahune Forest Air Walk, and survived.
It was while I was hanging on for dear life, thinking that with the next sway the structure would collapse and I crash to the ground, that I wondered why many newsagents do not feel the fear I fear when it comes to the future of our channel? Don’t get me wrong, the fear is not debilitating, I see change as an opportunity, something to embrace.
All around us are signs that our traditional model is challenged: publishers are spending big on moving their readers from print to online; newspaper publishers are chasing more outlets and playing with free models as print advertising revenue falls in relevance compared to online; Gerry Harvey is about to enter the stationery retail space; lotteries are no longer a monopoly; Australia Post is pushing further into the traditional newsagent domain; and our key suppliers appear unprepared to help us cut costs out of our business model and thereby deny us the opportunity of fair competition.
While there are many successful newsagents experiencing excellent growth, I’d estimate this group to be less than 5% of the total newsagent community. Hence my surprise that so many are doing it tough hey they do not share my fear. Is it because they don’t see the changes I see or is it ignorance? I wish I knew.
When I was high in the air I could see what scared me. Newsagents often tell me they would rather not know about the impact of the Internet on newspaper and magazine sales. They say knowing this does not help their business.
The changes I mentioned – Gerry Harvey, Australia Post, newspaper sales falling, lotteries, etc can be handled if we, collectively, see and understand them and leverage or existing assets for ourselves. Ignorance is not bliss.
This means being tougher with suppliers who want to access our channel and forcing old practices to be replaced with fairer and more competitive practices. Magazine distributors, especially, need to understand that we are their asset and not their bank!
This is how to overcome fear, face it and crash through. I survived the Air Walk (barely) – and highly recommend it if you are in Tasmania – and am committed to helping newsagents find more just and efficient trading terms in 2008 for a bright future.
This is happening in more than just the Newsagency Industry. I think that small businesses everywhere are under threat from external forces and sometimes, from internal forces.
I think some of the issue is, small business owners are so busy working through the daily grind, trying to keep their head above water, they risk not seeing what is actually happening out there.
I have family that own a restaurant in Noosa. Since the flood’s it has not been an easy time in that region. Businesses (catering mainly to tourism) have not adjusted to the change in circumstances. It has now been raining there since Christmas with predicted rain for the next 2 weeks. Tourists are not going there for holidays in the same numbers as in previous years. As a result many are up for sale and worse, in some circumstances, they are actually going out of business…
What does this have to do with your comments? I think that in many circumstances, people are actually afraid of what is happening out there. They are working in their business, not on it. Newsagents are not alone, but like all small businesses, they do need to work at their business and see what is happening outside their store. If they don’t, there is much that they risk.
I am not a newsagency owner, I came across this blog in a Google search and it struck a chord. I hope you don’t mind my post.
In the Electrical Appliance game Old Gerry is a tough competitor. He is known for bringing grown men to tears if he dosent get his way. Classic examples have been when Gerry has closed the order books on suppliers who dont bow to his demands for profit and advertitising. The only way to stand up to the Norman Invasion is to stand solid as a group. Gerry will use his massive advertising power to dampen any argument put forward to protect small traders and rebut with argument such as “consumers have a right to choose” “why should goverenment decided when we shop” as he has done to force sunday trading in SA and WA.
Trev,
You quote Gerry Harvey’s rebuttals as if they were not valid. His tacktics may be tough, but its part of what makes him a good retailer … newsagents need to to take the same approach.
And “force” Sunday trading? Consumers DEMAND Sunday trading – retailers need to facilitate that.