Coles is also offering an amazon deal for the bundle of The Australian Women’s Weekly and Australian House & Garden for $9.95. As is printed on the bag – it’s a $4.95 saving. This is extraordinary.
I am told Coles receives margin at the full cover price of the two titles – but don;t have any evidence supporting the claim.
This bundling of these two premium and respected titles makes them look cheap and the marketing desperate.
It also, as with the other deal in my earlier post today, drives magazine shoppers to Coles and away from local newsagents. Is that what Bauer wants?
Received this at my newsagency. Just the usual commission. I’d expect coles would just total up the value of all bauer products being scanned through the checkouts and pay bauer a percentage.
Cameron did you find the extra space needed for what is a new title for you?
We had sold out of House & Garden so that’s where they went. When space is tight we often jam the value packs in front of the single magazines (in the same pocket).
I find magazines increasingly sink or swim based on their covers. A good cover can sell 5 times as many as a rubbish one. The routine rain, hail or shine buyers seem to have dropped off. The bundles seem to get customers to look at the value rather than the stories on the cover.
Unless we are running low on one of the titles I early return all bundles.
They don’t sell well, take up too much space and they look messy.
Cameron you are right regarding covers, can pick pretty much as soon as a magazine arrives how the issue will or won’t sell to my customers.
Yes, as mentioned above, presentation is very very important, and bagged product looks desperate. I put them out ony when there are no single copies left, that is, haardly ever.
Agree regarding the covers. Is this what Bauer wants? Yes I think so. They must have researched it and decided to fall in with the Duopoly. despite their reassurances, they will only support newsagencies for as long as they need to. It appears that despite being the biggest single channel for them they cannot see a future in newsagencies.
Bagged product is in the same category as the stickers on Newspapers. Why have a cover at all. How many customers never look at what is in the magazine. Bagging takes all that away and is solely focussed on price. Has Bauer done any research on the customers attitude to bagging. I doubt it. Generic customers buying generic magazines for as little as possible. Is that where we are going.
I received 15 of this bundle. I have plenty of aww and ahg so I sent them back. Bundles sell really poorly so I am not carrying the stock
Is that what Bauer wants?
Short answer is YES.
Unfortunately it’s not just Bauer. Many suppliers that have dealt with Newsagents and Majors have been shifting their focus for a while now to Majors.
Bauer’s continual deep discount offer of magazines, News Ltd free Herald Sun give-away to Ritchies, (which was posted on here a month ago and nobody made a single comment), Hallmark’s new fixtures and displays by price point, Tattersalls trial into convenience fuel outlets, and I am sure there are many more examples…….The shift in our suppliers support is alarming, and in my view disgusting.