It’s good to see four new partworks heading for newsagents:
- Agatha Christie Books – on sale Mon 18th June. Part 1 – $3.95.
- Marvel Graphic Novel – on sale Mon 2nd July. Part 1 – $7.95.
- Art Of Quilting – on sale Mon 9th July. Part 1 – $2.95.
- Dora The Explorer – Little Cooks Collection – on sale 6th August. Part 1 – $2.99.
All are being distributed by Gordon & Gotch. All will be supported with TV campaigns. Allocations have been done by Gotch on the basis of sales of similar titles. Stock will be sent with A2 posters. There will be limited floor stock for newsagencies sending sales data through XchangeIT.
Based on the UK experience, Dora The Explorer – Little Cooks Collection is expected to be the top seller. It’s hitting at a good time with food continuing in popularity on TV and in print.
Each of these partworks is a terrific opportunity fore newsagents as the TV advertising and other marketing will focus on driving traffic to our shops. Yes there will be some who wonder about whether this is about driving subscriptions. Maybe, maybe not. The reality is the TV will drive traffic just for us. It’s not often we see that. This is an opportunity to embrace.
slightly off topic but you mentioned subscriptions , well i want to share this little story with you .Customer comes in wanting a magazine but says she is not sure if she has it yet and wants to return it if she does , we say yeah no probs but bring it back by the end of the day . She says she wants to bring it back next week so we said no , as it turned out and she admited this that her subscription had not turned up yet but wanted the magazine untill hers turned up and then return it and it was like a right to do so because she had already paid the subscription —- some poeple hey
We will not credit magazines or newspapers for just this sort of reason ( maybe for our really good customers who we know to be genuine. We had a customer years ago who wanted to return a newspaper if her father had already bought one. We always said no. It would cost them more to start the car and drive to us than the paper cost. Some people are truly tight and stupid.
I had an Indian lady who asked on of my staff if she could buy an unbrella, take it overseas with her and return it when she came back !
She didn’t even try to hide what she intended to do. The stunned look on the face of one of my other customers standing behind her said it all.
I think I’ll have to investigate umbrella rentals as a new sideline …..
I find partworks are exciting and bring interest, especially with the advertising surrounding releases. I will not, however, hold my breath for reliable, consistent supply.
Ugh !
Partworks drive traffic since their advertising promotes newsagents as the go to retailers.
Hi All,
I am very keen to get the Marvel Comics partwork when it is released here.
I have asked my newsagent to put aside the first issue for me when it arrives but now I have a question.
Should I continue asking my newsagent to put aside future issues of this and to order in the new partworks as they come? Or is this placing to much work on the newsagency for a low return?
Am I better off going through the subscription?
I am also a little worried about subscribing to it, as this partwork has had a lot of issues in the UK with the issues being unavailable to be sent to its subscribers.
So, do newsagents have problems ordering in partworks? I would like to trust that the partworks will come but don’t know which way will be safer – newsagent or subscription? Does the newsagent get enough out of this transaction for me to warrant supporting a local business? Or is the costs/time involved negate the income generated?
Nathan
Nathan don’t do the subscription. You’d have no one to deal with face to face. Talk to your local newsagent, explain what you need.
Looking forward to the Marvel one but very disappointed in the Agatha Christie partwork that arrived today. It looked cheap and nasty, a bit dull, and they plan on charging $15.95 for the regular issues?? Sorry, but I’m not sold.
Nathan, support your local newsagent with this partworks title.
I would be happy to supply you this product if you are in my area. We have 8 filing cabinet type drawers integrated into our counter to put magazines away for our customers. Generally speaking any supply issues are irrelevant if you ask the agent to put aside a copy for you, because you jump to the front of the queue!
I hope your local agent sees the value in these types of products. They are informative, fun and entertaining. And if the agent does them well, then they are well worth the effort financially.
Nathan…. go to the newsagent for sure.
Vicki…… dont worry about the price of issue 3 and on, let the customer make that decision for them selves. while there is a flood of TV ads telling viewers to go to their local newsagent…. we should be selling and doing everything to capture their return business.
Just sold a second copy of Agatha Christie part works. In both cases have asked if they would like these to be put away every 2 weeks. Both these customers have other items putaways with us both have not taken this option with us, as the deal offered by the publisher is so much cheaper.
Thankyou G&G, we have got you 2 new subcribers and we still do not have our poster for display.
Ok .i will stick to the newsagent! Thanks. Kyle, I’m in Brisbane cbd!