For years now we have allocated guys space at the back of the newsagency for more comfortable magazine browsing. This is the ‘cheapest’ space in the shop – at the back of the store, unusually shaped space we cannot easily configure for other use.
While we call it our guy browsing area, guys, girls, kids and families use the space given the titles we have nearby. It provides a space away from the busy parts of the shop where people can be more engaged with magazines.
It would be a challenge to create this space in some retail situations so we’re lucky. It has served us well.
This is likely to change as we reconfigure our floorspace later this year. With rent increasing 5% a year and labour increasing close to this we have to increase sales and get more efficiency from our space to meet the increases.