NANA, the Association representing newsagents in NSW and the ACT has announced its intent to participate in the sale of NSW Lotteries. While short on details, the plan appears to be that NANA will join with other parties to bid. It will be interesting to see if newsagents stump up the cash to be a stakeholder.
I’m sure we will be asked for more cash no matter who wins the bid. there will need to be refits and deposits paid, newsagents will be out of pocket at a time when cashflow and bank lending is tight to say the least. I’m also curiious what happens to the thousands of dollars in deposits agents paid when the signed up, will this be put towards the new owners or will it be like everything else and lost to the four winds?
Lost to the winds I would say Luke. I think it is a bold suggestion by NANA and perhaps one greater in theory than in practice for the reasons you pointed out. I would find it a bit hard to stump up the case for a revenue stream that I only get around 8% for.
On the flip side anything that might keep it out of the hands of those Woolies mongrels in my mind is worth spending some money on.
The problem we are going to have with woolies is, if they want it they can outbid the rest. They are turning over huge profits and have the ready made network to dump lotteries into without having to outsource. Hopefully the powers that be see them as the big bad wolf they are that is killing small business, not just newsagents.
I should add that it’s obvioulsy not just the need to keep the small comission but the keeping of Newsagencies as the go to place for Lotteries.