The Australian Financial Review today has an excellent piece outlining an overview of the strategy that is driving excellent success for the business. I urge newsagents to read it as it explains why Officeworks cannot be ignored.
Officeworks management know what their business is, what it stands for and how to pursue this to their profit. The niche they are pursuing is a niche that used to be owned by newsagents.
While we can complain that Officeworks is not as cheap as they claim or that our service is more personal, there is no denying their commercial success and recent terrific growth.
Two reasons Officeworks has been able to grow is that newsagents underestimated them and newsagents expect more shopper support than they actually get.
People will go where they perceive value. Newsagents can more effectively promote value and drive traffic and sales as a result. Value does not mean discounting.
Perception is reality Mark. ABC Newsbreakfast had the demise of newsagents as a topic this morning. Virginia Trioli saw them as nearly non-existent already as the newsagency had closed in her neighbourhood and she felt that most must have closed. She did go on to say that she often wanted to shop in smaller stores and not always have to go to an Officeworks or Bunnings et al when she only required some small item.
Tony I agree re perception / reality. I sent a message to Virginia that there are plenty of newsagents with compelling and relevant offers.
The associations plus GNS & Ancol should
be ashamed that their product availability is so poor compared with OW.
The statements from the purported leaders of our industry don’t show their
intent to pursue the OW ideals.
Do our suppliers intend to motivate their customers (us) with “innovating and taking risks”. In other words they need to
look at their offering and think more like leaders and not just suppliers.
The CEO’s of these organizations need to
drive this (surely that is their charter) and
that is what they are paid for.
i am frustrated with Gns the way they do business for years, their xmas stocks are as old as my grandma. since the new management takeover , it is not getting better at all (worse for sure)and i will never want to be their shareholder. if they r going broke it is their own mismanagement .
Can I ask what products everyone is struggling with at GNS? I do not seem to be having the same problems. What am I not selling that i should have if they were in stock?
GNS has gone down hill, dare I say it since Ted left, as he understood to an extent the newsagency channel. I do not think Alex Stewart understands us yet and I see no evidence of him educating himself on our channel. He sees sales to other stationery sellers as his new growth market which only upsets and sends newsagents to other wholesalers. Why be loyal to GNS when they are also selling to your direct competition down the road? I still shop at GNS but I also have direct accounts with some suppliers, but this is because they offer deals and extra supplies that GNS dont stock.
Texas ti 30 calculators. A special order at GNS qld. not a regular line. buy price around $22. I have bought 100 this season special order. A customer pointed them out to me on OW website today. $21.95.