We have gone all out with the Better Homes and Gardens gift pack that arrived in-store yesterday. Yes, we have this magazine in four locations in-store including a run along the floor of one side of our main magazine aisle and a double waterfall up the middle plus stock located at the sales counter.
Click on the image for details.
Coles is the only other retailer with this title and Coles managers in the store Coles supermarkets in my centre have allocated extra space to the title. I don’t want them to grab impulse purchases I could grab. So, for the first week of the on-sale I am maintaining these four spots to make the most of the excellent box of cards packaged with the magazine.
I have had a conversation with the folks at Pacific Magazines yesterday about this BHG package with the gift cards. The BHG publisher decided to fund a Christmas gift with purchase. The challenge was they could not offer all retailers. There was a debate about which retailers to offer. Those representing newsagents won for our channel – this is why the promotion is limited to newsagents and Coles.
Pacific has released two national email campaigns to drive traffic to newsagencies for this product. This is support exclusive for our channel.
On the size of the BHG and Home Beautiful package – we have the same problem as Coles. Sure it is a pain but we can live with it. The more we sell the less of a problem.
To newsagents frustrated with this promotion I say – consider the alternatives: a supermarket only promotion, no promotion at all, a boring same-old gift. This promotion is Pacific Magazines giving newsagents what we have asked for: a high-value gift, not in every retailer, backed with traffic-generating support.
Please please please DO NOT early return this title.
As a small country newsagent we did not receive the gift with this issue (or the last one although we still sold out). As Mark advises please do not early return – we would kill to be part of more promotions like this.
Mark, I agree that we need to promote BHG but I don’t agree with the choice of gift. We are card retailers as well, in fact more profit comes from cards in most newsagencies.
In our situation, with 90 BHG, if we lose the sale of 30 packs of cards with gift tags we then are in a loss making situation on a magazine that would generally sell out anyway. The traffic will be the same. Each sale of BHG that loses a boxed card sale is a lost opportunity and lost profit.
Yes I know you don’t agree, but there will be some card sales lost but impossible to quantify. Do Hallmark now give away mags with cards, do Cumberland give away cards with a diary, where does it end.
We will promote it heavily to try and get market share from Coles even though we don’t agree.
Peter weighing all the options and knowing about the processes Pacific has gone through, on balance this is a promotion I am glad we have.
I wonder what Network Services “Industry First ! Key suppliers Collaboate !” announcement has in for us next week ?
And Peter B if they annoyed you that much couldn’t you take the cards out of the pack and sell the mag as a stand alone and the cards in a dump bin seperately ?
Our BHG are have no gift but the Coles store has. Why is this great for Newsagencies?
Garry I’d check with Pacific if I were you. The campaign is great for newsagencies because many of us got the product.
Paul, I bet there are some unscrupulous operators out there who are selling the cards separately.
They are “Royal Doulton” after all and could be worth a mint!
Hi Mark
Finding space at this time of year is like putting together a 10 000 piece jigsaw puzzle but I’m not a fan of having stock sitting flat on the floor. I think it ‘cheapens’the product the customer is purchasing. How do you see this?
Russell I think at Christmas we have no choice. The floor placement of BHG in the magazine is for this week only. It is selling through so I expect it to be done quickly.
Just downloaded tomorrows mags and my supply of BHG cut in half ,another quality job by GG . Now if only the same allocation person would cut me back on the crap that dosnt sell .