While it is not yet a month old, the complete relay of magazines which I did in one of my newsagencies about which I blogged recently is driving at least 25% in overall unit sales growth.
I have double checked the numbers and allowed for sales trend in the months leading up to the relay. There is no doubt in my mind that the relay is delivering excellent growth.
The sales of some categories are exploding as a result of the relay. For example, some categories have achieved 200% in growth. This is extraordinary in the climate of flat or declining magazine sales. In Craft & Hobbies, for example, sales are up 245% off a reasonable base. Crosswords, a category which we have consistently pushed and achieved growth from, are up 80%.
The return I am getting from less than a day’s work, including planning time, is extraordinary.
Beyond magazine sales growth, there is a knock-on effect through the store. The relay is keeping magazine shoppers in the store longer and any retailer knows that the longer shone browses the more likely they are to shop.
It is particularly gratifying to see well-considered adjacencies deliver excellent sales growth.
The best approach to a magazine relay is to start with a blank canvass, completely empty shelves. Place your weeklies first and grow out from there. Create shopping zones: women, men, kids, food, garden, special interest etc.
Build the display to serve your customers. If you are unsure in your planning, spend time watching your customers browse and shop. Talk to them as well. Their insights could be the key to excellent sales growth.
Approach the relay with as few barriers as possible. I have done relays with some newsagents who have all manner of excuses on why some locations should not change. They want sales growth but are not prepared to engage in necessary risks to chase this.
It is important to remember that changing magazine locations is easy. If you discover that you have made a mistake, you can easily change it again.
Seven years ago the MPA (magazine Publishers Australia) published a handbook and video to guide newsagents on undertaking a magazine relay. While that content is a bit out of date today, it would be a useful guide to newsagents unsure of where to start.
I’d urge every newsagent in Australia to undertake a magazine relay at least once a year. Be sure to measure the results. Let me know how you go.
PS. I used my newsagency software to look for opportunities when planning the relay.
Mark , over the weekend i am going to relay all my mags again ,it has been over 12 months since i last did one . any chance of seeing some more pics for ideas (either email or on here ) sometimes i think i have it all worked out and think it is working but when you get a chance to see how others do things it gives you a whole new look on it .
Shaun what I did was create spaces based on shoppers. A women’s aisle: weeklies, interests, fashion, food magazines (but not cookbooks), health, pregnancy and wedding. Plus a seelction of home and living.
Next, men’s: cars, bikes, sport, computers, special interest etc.
Finally, an aisle of cookbooks, more home and living – currently being expanded, teen and music.
Out of interest Mark has revenue also grown 25% or has it been higher or lower than the unit increase. Just wondering as I seem to be noticing people starting to head away from some of the dearer mags and purchasing cheaper ones instead on similar volumes some months.
A couple of points higher. Middle class demo works in my favor.
Curious the qty v $ question. We seem to be selling less books for more $ and yet more cards for only a little more $. Go figure.
The thing about this is that every newsagent in Australia can increase sales if they do a relay. Why is it that the majority don’t?
Mark,
That exact question came up in a discussion group of newsagents one day. The most common answer I got was that they were either afraid that customers would not be able to find their magazines, or they had made changes before and had customers complain about having to look for what they wanted (instead of going to the place it has always been in).
As any newsagents who consistently relays their magazines will attest, the first fear doesn’t eventuate and any small level of complaints received is not reflected in sales.
If a relay creates some form of natural order and is easy to navigate, people will find what they are looking for (and hopefully something else that they weren’t).
When we first began to regularly relay our magazine department (minimum twice per year) we did receive some complaints from customers. They were simply reacting in a negative way to change. As they got used to magazines (and everything else in the store) moving around the complaints ended. You have to condition customers to perceive change as the status quo in your store. Many retailers forget that just because a handful of people complain and make a lot of noise doesn’t mean they hold the majority opinion. Most customers enjoy something new to look at – they just aren’t shouting it from the rooftops. Sales and profitability are the only units by which any change should be measured.
Ditto Jarryd.
Well put Jarryd and food for thought. In what order do most of you have your mags? When you do a relay, how radical do you get with your shifts?
I can give you a quick run down on the order our mags go. We have one central double sided stand and two single sided ones. We also have two small stands and a section that shares the back of the book section.
The double has one side that starts at daily newspapers – Quokka – Countryman – Elders – farm mags -business and current affairs – motorbikes – girly mags – cars – tattoos
The other side starts with daily news and goes TV mags – weekly womens – monthly womens – pregnancy and parenting – fitness and health – horoscope and new age – bridal
One side stand goes fishing – 4wd – camping and caravaning – sport – horse stuff – hobbies (not craft, more like steam trains, collectables, flying etc) – music and movies
Other side stand has gardening – outdoor decorating – indoor decorating – photography and art – craft.
The small end stands have puzzle books – colouring in – kids mags and comics.
The back of the book stand has wine – cooking – computers and gaming.
I know that a lot of it makes little logical sense on paper, but we are restricted by old fixtures that were not designed for this shop, and a weird shaped shop floor. A lot of the relay is a legacy of the previous owners. I’ve tweaked it a bit, but I’d love some suggestions or ideas on what works well for everyone else.
I do have some concern that customers won’t deal well with the changes, but I’m willing to have a crack at it and see what happens.
Vicki I have done many relays in my newsagencies and for others over the years. This latest one involved the most radical departure from what existed. It is driving the best sales lift. I was conservative in the blog post as I did not want the results to seem unbelievable.
I have been helped by a lazy and tired newsagents nearby as well as an average couple of supermarkets.
I wanted to create a genuinely fresh experience which guides an increase in the number of magazines inthe basket.
Here is my tip if you are not sure where to start: take every magazine off the shelves, step back and walk through the shop t where your magazines would star, start there creating what you want, not what you have but what you want to get the best outcome for you.
Change. Measure. Change. Measure. Change.
Right now, magazines are probably the best point of difference you have. Embrace the opportunity.
Magazines maybe a great point of difference but you certianly get peeved with magazine distributors and thier mind set . Its our biggest week of the year for motorcycle mags but GORDON & CRUTCH decided not to send any JUST BIKES this month . The 9 sold this time last year must not matter to them
Terry i may be wrong but i don’t think it comes out untill about the 21st of oct or there abouts.
unless you are talking abut the one from a couple of weeks ago
Shaun it was the Oct issue that was released on the 26th of Sept
Another great benefit of doing a Mag relay is the NEW interaction it gives with OLD customers……”where has my mag gone” is a terrific opportunity to engage a regular customer we may not have spoken to for a while !!!!
I tried to cancel copies of “real bugs” with
Netonline today and I had computer
evidence of only needing 6 (selling 3-4)
and getting 13. First supply was about 30 so I was refused unless I took 16 copies. This is totally unacceptable that
a company can “make” me take copies of a $14.95 product that I simply will not sell.
Surely I know more about my business than Network????
If there are agents out there who do the
wrong thing and send back product b4 it
has a chance to be sold WHY DO I HAVE TO BE BLAMED FOR IT AND WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO TAKE PRODUCT THAT I DON’T WANT AND WON’T SELL?
This is a model that is unsustainable and
it MUST be fixed. The item was $14.95 so to get 10 copies of something at that price that I don’t want is quite significant.
June makes you laugh , they normally cut you back then you request say 5 because thats how many putaways you have and they say no you now need 9 or something like that ,and this is after initially cutting back the sales that you have been making
Oh what a great system ……..not
Had a good reponse from GORDON & GOTCH about JUST BIKES mags will receive some on Friday a bit late, but well done G&G
I would love to see how they work out allocations. Is it by dartboard, random numbers drawn from a hat or by ouija board contact with the spirits of newsagents passed ?
I’ve been selling the same two Auto Actions a week for the last year or so with just the odd discrepancy from this but my supply over the last few weeks has miraculously grown now to 5 or 6 while my supply of Picture dropped to 6 a couple of weeks after I had a week when few sold whereas I would normally sell 8-10 regularly. Suddenly today it was back up to 13 ! There were a few other “strange” supply quantities today too. Neeedless to say all the dramatic oversupplies just went straight to early returns.
One of the most frustrating things about Network supplies is the SBR (sales based replenishment) I sometimes receive 1 x copy of New weekly on a Friday when the new one is due on Monday) or 1 x copy of
Wheels when I still have 4 on the shelf.
It means that they are checking my sales through edixchangeit but when it comes to allocations no one wants to know.
I don’t think I have ever sold out of a product that I have received SBR for so
it seems to me that it is a waste of time
and money to send the extras in the first
place.
Surely a “good” newsagent would request
more if he/she needed extras???
By the way my Frankie diaries arrived yesterday – maybe I hit a nerve when I
said they had been stolen by another newsagent?
Anyway I was happy to get them back and only 2 were “missing” out of 20 that
were invoiced ??????????
Box was opened ?????????????????