The photo shows a quarter of the range of calendars we have on display at our newsXpress Forest Hill outlet right now. Click on the image for a larger version. As we do with magazines, we pursue range as our point of difference for calendars. take a look at the range of dog breeds covered to get a feel for how far we take this.
We have customers visit because they have heard that we have the best calendar range in the area. We also have orders from customers looking for calendars of special interest areas – people we may see only once or twice a year.
We should have all of our calendar range in stock and on the shiop floor in the next couple of weeks. We will not discount until the start of 2010. Our margin on calendars is north of 50%. This is why calendars get prime location on the dance floor at the front of the newsagency.
Sales are already strong, matching stationery in and cards some days. Sales will increase each week as we head to Christmas.
Newsagents still have an opportunity to own calendar sales. The channel can do this by taking control and driving a pull model, where you order what you want, rather than the push model, where suppliers like magazine distributors send stock. It is hard work. The rewards in terms of new traffic and good margin are worth it. In choosing what to order, look at your magazine sales. That data is ‘gold’ in guiding purchase decisions.
While we have sold calendars for years, our calendar strategy today is the newsXpress calendar strategy. For the record, I am a Director of newsXpress.