I had an opportunity to speak at the GNS national sales conference at Cypress Lakes in the Hunter Valley yesterday. My presentation was a variation on my recent Newsagency of the Future presentation.
That GNS would find time in the conference agenda for its national sales team to consider the challenges and opportunities facing newsagents is terrific.
The stationery department in a newsagency is one over which newsagents have complete control yet which they rarely seize the opportunity to exert that control. The result is often a poorly focused stationery offer which does not make the most of the opportunities newsagents have available to them.
For example, newsagents tend to hang on to under-performing stock for too long because they want to ensure they can serve even infrequent shopper needs. However, they do not price stationery for this slower turn long shelf life product.
Australian considers think newsagents are expensive when it comes to stationery. Most of us aren’t as we compete price-wise against most of the majors. However, if shoppers think we are expensive regardless why not increase our prices? Given perception we won’t lose sales.
I urge newsagents to read a blog post I published on June 20 last year. In The Stationery Challenge for Newsagents I listed twelve actions newsagents could take to get on the front foot for stationery and to own this department.
Every day newsagents do not act on stationery in their businesses is another day lost for the business, newsagent-owned GNS and stationery suppliers … oh, and your customers.
GNS is working to help newsagents and the conference this week is helping to refocus the energies of the sales team and the entire company.