Is stand alone stationery a transition opportunity for newsagents?

With more newsagents now actively considering changes to their business model, I ask whether transitioning to a stationery centric business is an option.

I am thinking about a shop which is no more than 120 square metres, packed (literally) with everyday stationery for immediate purchase and able to supply larger items next day. Operating on a pricing principle where easily price compared and accessible items are competitively priced and other items have a better margin.

This stationery centric model could have, in addition to an excellent range of stationery, room for the top, say, 200 – 300 magazine titles, a couple of newspaper titles and maybe a small stand of up to 60 card pockets.

In some respects, this idea is about newsagents, or former newsagents, reclaiming stationery from big business.

One reason it could work is that plenty of stationery is purchased because of immediate need. satisfy that well and you can expect to win good business.

One of the challenges with the newsagency model as it has evolved is that we do a bit of everything and, for many businesses, not one thing well.

I can think of plenty of regional high street newsagencies which could pull back to specialising, like the Office 1 business shown in the photo, standing for something in the region and drawing destination shoppers because of this.

We need to be thinking of ideas like this which are product category specific. Each of us need to be known for something. This was at the heart of my call last month for newsagents to develop their unique selling proposition.