Looking deeper into the newsagency sales benchmark data, in almost every store I have data for, crossword titles are in growth. In plenty of newsagencies, crosswords is the only magazine category In growth.
What’s interesting is that this continues excellent interest in crosswords fits with continued strong sales for jigsaws, diamond dots art, adult colouring, 3D puzzles and other maker kits. Put all these together and you have a wonderful story.
Indeed, I’ve seen regional businesses achieving between $1,500 and $5,00 a month, yes, I did type $5,000, in sales from crosswords / jigsaws / maker kits with the combined sales of these beating other product categories / segments.
This is an excellent example of a good news story for our channel this year. Good growth and, for most products in the segment, good margin. Maker kits, for example, can earn 65% GP.
Crosswords are the indicator category. See strong sales for them and you have a pathway forward for leveraging that traffic and attracting people crossword folks talk to about similar interest product. This is a great way to grow the business with no marketing spend.
Great to see some green shoots and cross selling opportunities in the magazine category. Gardening & Lifestyle also appear to have performed well with similar cross selling opportunities