Tattersalls has advised its Victorian outlets this afternoon that it about to sign an agreement which will see its lottery products sold in 7-Eleven stores. This is a blow for Tattersalls outlets and is sure to be felt at the cash register. Tattersalls says that they are targeting new customers in the convenience channel. The move by magazine and newspaper publishers into convenience means that this channel is seeing more and more traditional newsagency customers every week. It is a stretch for Tattersalls to say these are new customers.
The 7-Eleven move is based on technology like the Tattersalls / Bill Express integration where lottery tickets are sold using non Tattersalls hardware. I would be curious to find out if this is an outcome from the interest 7-Eleven expressed in purchasing Bill Express when the company appointed Administrators earlier this year.
The move demonstrates that Tattersalls understands competition yet the company continues to refuse newsagents and other Tattersalls outlets to use the now useless Tattersalls scratch ticket bays.
Are 7-eleven going to abide by the same Tattersalls guidelines as newsagents?
Are they going to spend a fortune on a new shop fit?
Are Tattersalls going to be more lenient with “their” space in our stores?
This is a real shock to what’s left of this industry.
All valid questions Michael however, I wouldn’t worry so much about shop fit instead we should be more concerned about why Tatts agence in Victoria are getting screwed over when the rest of the country are safe!!! The Brumby government need to do something fast otherwise the corner milk bar will be selling tatts tickets!! This state is out of control
I can’t say i’m overly happy about this as i have a 7-11 within close proximity to my shop. As is known to regular readers here i’ve supported Tattersall’s in certain regards (to the point of being accused of working for them lol) but i’ve also been critical of them as well for other things that have happened to myself and others since i’ve sold their product and this is certainly one of them. It’s pure greed from them without any regard to their existing AR’s.
While you’d have to expect it will have an impact on existing outlets, It remains to be seen how much so. One “positive” out of this i guess is that it’s only the sale of quick picks that customers can purchase and not use coupons and play stored tatts card games (i don’t think) which should go a long way to keeping our regular customers coming back and hardcore tatts players so to speak who have played it for years.
In all honesty i don’t see it taking off in a massive way as people are used to the current set up and will stick with routine. In saying that it’s still far from ideal and i can’t see any Tatt’s AR being too pleased about it.
I’ve been tossing up whether to sell up the business in the next 12 months or so and move onto something else where the hours are shorter and the rewards greater. I think this might be the clincher and a good reason to do so.
Michael,
As to your question about whether 7-11 will have to spend up on a new shopfit. It’s a fair point and in one instance i’d love for them to have to fork over their hard earned to do that, but i’d actually rather they didn’t have to.
The reason being is if they have a designated tatts area with all the bells and whistles then their customers may be more inclined to buy a ticket with their attention drawn to it. I just think the less advertising for them the better.
Heres the guidelines as much as i can gather so far Michael:
No dedicated area requirements,no uniforms,no equipment leases,no delivery charges,no extra insurances,no fixturing requirements,no upfront licence fees,no trailing fees,no 9 month wait to join like we have to wait when we sell,no signage requirements,no training expenses to pay,no cash holding as no payout over $200,they didnt have to offer exclusivity ie im sure intralot will follow shortly,no wastage from syndicates,
and the kicker, the supermarkets,servos and everywhere else with eftos machines is sure to follow….id love them to try and tell me now what to do now in “their dedicated area”…i have been in newsagencies for over 20 years and loved it but this is the final straw for me ive had enough of the one step forward two mstep back hypocricy of our supply partners and the unlevelplaying fields and lack of respect for our channel to suppliers,
I just read the Announcement and its highlighted (Please note that these lottery tickets can be checked and claimed at any Tattersall’s outlet). There is NO way that I will be checking those tickets especially if there is a payout….. It’s not in my agreement. What can they do??
Is VANA going to engaged the state government with concern of this?
This is surely going to doom a few newsagents – which won’t help the economy.
There are a total of 31 7/11 stores in Melbourne that trade 24/7 – how many newsagencies?
Did any of our representative bodies get consulted on this …no of course not because they are all irrelevant and carry no power strength weight or voice…
Personally i don’t think this will force the closure of any Newsagents. As stated i’m sure it’ll have an affect to some degree, but if a store had to close just because 7-11 are allowed to sell quick picks then i dare say the business was in a fair bit of trouble well before they came onto the scene.
NSW 7-11’s have had nsw lotteries in store for approx 12months, even longer in their trial sites.
i havent actually had a look at their setup becasue im no where near one, but from what we were told is that its a “lite” version. the dont accept players club registrations and its auto picks only and can only check their own tickets. we cant check theirs and they cant check ours. they do have signage and advertise jackpots, they are targetting the impulse buyer. someone who has checked one out more in depth might what to clarify.
what more can be said. once again our partners stab us in in back. 7/11 looked at bill express and didnot go ahead and buy it but have now done the deal with tatts which was a product that they didnot have via epay next they will do bill payment on their own system. It will be do you want a lottery ticket with that petrol sir or a mars bar.
WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING.
Dean;
i agree; however as Helen pointed out perfectly, we have all had a gutful of the unlevel playing field. We are made to jump through hoops; 7 Eleven are just handed the bloody thing!
I have a fantastic relationship with my business manager from Tatts and it is going to hurt me to have to really speak my mind on this one.
Once again newsagents have been left with our pants down because of NO representation on this issue. Not just VANA (useless); ANF (Gutless); what about the LAAV??
Helen is also right when she says this is the final straw; i think you will find alot of really good people will just throw their hands up and move on to something else.
Vaughn,
I totally agree with what your saying and i’m as pissed off about it as anyone especially given i have a 7-11 close by. I’m just trying to get any sort of positive outlook on it i can for us the newsagents.
As i mentioned earlier, i’ve been considering selling up for a few months now and with the issues i’ve had with Intralot and now this i reckon it’s just about made my decision for me and made it a bit easier to move on.
I know there is a lot of newsagents just outside the Melbourne CBD who are in strip shops, within close proximity to 7Eleven’s. This WILL hurt them.
Mark, maybe your Frankston store can now have Tattersalls installed? Why not? By George!
I’m in Qld, but the what I’ve seen in the last 12 months, I can say that it looks like Victorian Newsagents have been raped in a business sense. It does look like the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
While I am not surprised by the Tattersalls move – given their earlier moves with Bill Express – I am surprised that they have done this yet continue to block competition in our stores.
As a newsagent, today’s announcement encourages me to look more outside the regulated categories in my business for future opportunities.
mark
Did you all know that you can not sell syndicates on the web?
Given the constraints and the unlevel playing field, anyone interested in buying this A grade outlet?
Why is it a surprise to you that they’ve done this yet continue to block competition in our stores Mark?
Of course they’re going to (wrongly) block competition in our stores to limit their impact which sadly for most they can and are doing. But on the other hand whether people buy a ticket in our shop or in a 7-11 store they still end up with the money so it’s not really a surprise at all really. They’re 2 completely different things and unfortunately they can do both of them.
To everyone who owns a Tatt’s outlet – It’s value just dropped by at least 10%. To everyone who owns a Tatt’s outlet that is nearby a 7/11 – It’s value just dropped by 20%+! You can’t compete with 24/7 (& no Tatt’s won’t enforce their fitout rules – just watch)! Everyone should get used to reality………Tatt’s DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU! They care about shareholder returns & profit margins & they WILL continue to f%^&! you at infinitum. This is just one more example. Are we all ready for for horse racing terminals in our venues if Tatt’s win the coming bid? Do you think they’ll include you if you’re not ready to spend another $20k on fitout?…………………?????
Don’t worry guys, this is only the first step by Tatts. Soon 7-11s will be able to operate just like a Tatts outlet! Tatts has already made the most significant move by introducing Tatts product in 7-11s. What so hard about implementing the other features (e.g. tatts card entries) later on? Tatts is just to scare to introduce everything at once. This is just an excuse for them to say to existing Tatts outlets that we are still different!! I can guarantee you they will implement additional features when the demand is there eventually!!
To be honest, I am already over it. No one is going to look after your business except for yourself. I agree with Mark that we will just have to look outside the traditonal business and find other avenues. We simply cannot rely only on the business of Tatts, newspaper, magazines anymore.
Who would ever have expected anymore from that narrow minded, intellectually challenged, arrogant, snake-oil salesman they have in charge of victorian lotteries,this has been a long time coming