The state of the newsagency channel

I’ve been fortunate to meet face to face with plenty of newsagents in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth this week at the newsagent management workshops I have been running. Some common issues are on the minds of newsagents.  Curiously, not one question or comment about associations or unity – this issue is off the radar.  Here are some of the topics people did discuss:

Optimism. Plenty of newsagents are optimistic about the future and reflecting this in their investment in their businesses in shop fits and funding new product categories.  These opticistic newsagents come from businesses of all sizes and situations.

Change. Newsagents are talking about change more so than ever before.  Some are driving change in their businesses others are trying to work ot what change will occur.  My view is that we need to control change and that we do this in our space allocation, our attitude and our engagement with our teams.

Magazines. Oversupply, long shelf life and poor business practices make magazines frustrating for newsagents. Unless magazine distributors make progress on these issues, more newsagents will reduce space and even close accounts.

Newspapers. Newsagents say that with publishers wanting to get into more and more non-newsagent outlets they are less likely to see newspapers as a core product in their newsagencies.

Service. Customer service is the most popular point of difference being pursued by newsagents.  For some it is lip-service while for others it completely defines their business and every decision they make.

There were plenty more areas covered. In all, the week has been an excellent rolling conversation for which I am grateful to the newsagents who gave of their time to participate.