I have been speaking with the owners of a couple of small card companies over the last week about the difficulty they are experiencing in breaking into the newsagency channel. They are coming up against the issues of all card space on the wall (or the wood as some call it) being under contract, the dislike of spinners and spin from some card company reps that the product from these small companies does not perform.
Too often newsagents allow themselves to be locked into a space allocation deal so that they can access working capital for the business. This is not a good reason to choose a card company. The better deal is one which offers an amount of flexibility over range, so that the business can express itself through its card range.
I like having a major card company as the anchor supplier for my card departments and have Hallmark as this in my newsagencies. I also have capacity for other product and have chosen to do this in a couple of my businesses.
To the small card companies finding breaking in tough I say keep trying. Product is the key. Have product which turns better than other suppliers and your success will drive more newsagents supporting your range.
G`day Mark,
I am doing a new shop fit soon and was wondering what sort of percentage (of wood) i should give “other” card suppliers ???
I am interested in stocking a small card company. The issue we have is being serviced. So many of them don’t want to commit to travelling outside of major centres.
Service, no different from big card company. I am in Central West NSW and have not had card rep for over 6 months. Send in merchandiser once a week. Is that service.
Phoned and complained still waiting.