A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Author: Mark Fletcher

Pitching Whoopee Cushions at the newsagency counter

IMG_9290In a recent episode of Family Feud on Network Ten the top answer to the question name something your would expect to find in a joke shop was Whoopee Cushion. This fun product from decades ago is still popular. But it not a destination product – so we take the product to the people with placement at the counter. Some purchase it on impulse as a prank gift while others purchase for nostalgia. Either way, the Whoopee Cushion is a good item to have in the newsagency – and at the counter from time to time.

I am finding more success with items like this at the counter than old-school lines such as confectionery you can find at convenience stores and supermarkets.

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Gifts

If you want to sell more Graduation gifts

IMG_9271 (1)Graduation Gifts sell all through the year with people purchasing for more than what has been traditional. We now pitch graduation gifts all year round. One successful engagement is this placement of the Korimco graduation Beanie Kid with cards. It is the right size and price point to be purchased as an add-on to the card.

What I have described here is action we can take in our shops to chase above-average performance.

The average approach to graduation gifts is to concentrate these toward the end of the school year and to promote them together, usually away from the cards.

My suggestion in this blog post is to promote them through the year and to pitch some of them in with your card fixtures. By doing this you are guiding your customers to make a more valuable purchase.

Here are some examples of all year graduation gift opportunities: a puppy graduating from obedience school, someone graduating from vocational training, a driver graduating from P plates, someone moving up a level in living circumstance.

We need to not restrict when we can sell items by making assumptions that to not reflect how shoppers could behave.

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Gifts

Do you still use Title Tracker?

IMG_9304The latest issue of Title Tracker was delivered yesterday and found myself wondering about its value.

Given the data we get from the distributors through XchangeIT, that this includes accurate title data including industry standard categories, the value of Title Tracker is diminished in my view.

Title Tracker feels to me like a service that is passed its use by date. I’d love to know what others think.

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magazines

Using your newsagency software to promote the Pacific Magazines

Screen Shot 2015-08-24 at 6.47.38 amNewsagents using the Tower Systems newsagency software have access to this coupon promoting the Pacific Magazines Win a $5,000 Shopping Spree! competition to be automatically included on shopper receipts – providing another touch point for this newsagent-only promotion by Pacific Magazines.

Experience shows competitions like this work best in the newsagency if you connect with the opportunity through multiple touch points.

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Newsagency management

Shopkins from GNS a hot licence to stock in the newsagency

IMG_9289The Shopkins products available through GNS are worth stocking. Having these on display and promoting them through Facebook pitches your business with a relevance that pushes back on the community perception of newsagency businesses. They display well and offer an up-sell for people purchasing Shopkins products sent through a magazine distributor. We have then in a couple of locations: at the counter and in our toy department.

From a category perspective, Shopkins is in a category called building sets. In a recent confidential toy industry report, building sets overtook outdoor & sports toys in sales. Sales for the building sets category is up 8% year on year. Shopkins is the top property,. It overtook Barbie. Shopkins has added $6.5 million of value in the year to 30 June.

This is why the GNS range should interest proactive newsagents.

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Newsagency opportunities

Happy retailers make for a happy retail experience

Screen Shot 2015-08-24 at 6.57.32 amThinking about my challenge to newsagents yesterday about choosing optimism, I have this morning been looking through new marketing from my POS software company where the team put a call out for Tower Systems customers who would like to be professionally photographed in their shop for a national postcard marketing campaign.

These two photos from businesses in South Australia, a bike shop and a specialist confectionery shop, show small business owners happy to be in their businesses and happy to be promoting them. The photos exude optimism.

In each photo you can see pride in their faces. In the background you can see good visual merchandising and professional retailing principles.

The owners of these businesses excuse pride and confidence with justification. They are terrific small businesses having a big impact.

We choose ourselves how happy our shop is. We do this in our heads as well as on the shelves of our businesses.

How would you and your look if this photo was taken in your shop? Thinking about that could guide you to changes to make.

I appreciate there are challenges for the traditional newsagency business. We choose impact of those challenges on our mindset and demeanour and this plays out on the performance of the business.

While there is nostalgic appeal the traditional newsagency, you will make more money breaking free from that history and focussing on representing a bright and happy future.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency challenge: choose optimism

It is too easy to play the victim in small business, especially in the newsagency channel with challenges surrounding us and growing almost weekly.

It is too easy to become pessimistic and blame others.

Your situation is yours to own as I have written here many times before.

Your mindset is yours to own too. This is why I say choose optimism.

I appreciate it is not easy to choose optimism but I urge you to try, set this as your goal and work back from there figuring out what you need to to to be optimistic about your business and your situation.

For you to be optimistic you need to see a future where your business is profitable and saleable should you wish to sell in the future.

Both these goals require the business to be attracting new shoppers.

Attracting new shoppers starts with smart buying and involves out of store marketing to people who do not currently shop with you.

Smart buying involves you in buying from suppliers you do not deal with today.

Out of store marketing involves you in using new platforms that get you in front of people you have never seen.

I promise, it will only take one or two sales of new products to new customers to open your heart and mind to optimism and once you are there new ideas and fresh energy will well up and encourage you to engage with your business differently.

Optimism is a choice we man make.

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Management tip

Sunday newsagency marketing advice: send more cards

How many greeting cards do you personally send each year? If the number is under ten then you are below average. In the UK, the average is just over twenty per person.

So how many cards do you send each year?

The best reminder you can give to someone to send more cards is to send them a card. From a newsagency management perspective, the best way to get people sending more cards is for you to send cards for fringe occasions such as thanking a coach, thanking a teacher, welcoming someone to a new home, saying bon voyage, welcoming a soldier home or just because.

Your newsagency probably has the best card range in your area. (If not, why not?) Play to your strength by being aware of card giving opportunities and engaging with these with your customers and others you connect with through your business.

Think of every card you give as part of marketing of your business. 

I knew a newsagent years ago who would pick a birthday card for his wife, take it home and show her and put it back in the pocket in the newsagency the next day to sell.

Send more cards.

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Greeting Cards

Sunday newsagency management advice: tips for new owners

People purchasing their first newsagency come with fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm. My experience of some is they talk about previous businesses or roles as a way of boosting themselves.

All that matters is what you do in your newsagency. Your past is your past. It is what you do today, tomorrow and the next day that matters. Not your talk about what you might do but what you actually do to make your newsagency more relevant and profitable.

While your previous experience could be an interesting story, in only rare circumstances will it be relevant to what you face owning and running a newsagency.

We are in interesting times where opportunities abound. These opportunities are only valuable is you act more than you talk.

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Management tip

Some suppliers have themselves to blame when newsagents stop offering their product

IMG_9173 (2)Reflex copy paper is regularly advertised as a brand consumers can trust yet in Coles this week you can see it discounted to below wholesale at $3.49. While the discounting may suit the Coles price positioning strategy, it does not respect the brand nor the retailers who respect the brand.

Major brands that allow their products to be discounted as Coles has done this week with Reflex risk losing the interest and support of independent and small business retailers.

I want to stock brands in my newsagency that respect themselves and their retail partners, brands that value long term relationships.

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Competition

Begging in front of the newsagency

Visiting a newsagency on Tuesday I was confronted by someone begging. Hey mate can you spare some change? they asked as I walked in. Half an hour later when I stepped out of the business they tossed our Got a dollar you can give me for a coffee?

This is in an inner suburb of Melbourne. They were the only person on the strip begging. I suspect they chose the newsagency because of the OzLotto $60 million jackpot.

While they are not attacking the business, their presence could be confronting enough for some to encourage them to shop elsewhere next time they may want to shop at a newsagency.

The challenge for the newsagent is what to do. Calling the police results in a we’ll get to it if we can response. A call to the local council ByLays department results in I don’t think this is our issue. Two calls with plenty of waiting on the line and the newsagent frustrated.

The offer of money for a coffee shows that this is not what the person wants. They are looking to ‘earn’ a certain amount. The only way to move them on that Tuesday is to pay them $50 or more which, of course, no one would (or should) pay.

This scenario is difficult to handle. Maybe a more lateral approach could work. I recall seeing all shops on a street in Los Angeles had identical signs in their windows asking people to not give money to beggars and noting that the chamber of commerce supported a local homeless shelter and included details on the sign. It took a while but beggars stopped requesting that street.

I don’t like seeing people begging. I wonder about their situation. While I am sure there are some who do it because they make good money I am sure there are others who do it because they see it as their only option. Either way, when it reflects on your business you need to have a plan for mitigating the siuation.

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Newsagency challenges

Credit Suisse analysis of Tatts results is essential reading for newsagents

Credit Suisse has today published analysis of the latest Tatts Group results. This is a must-read document for newsagents with lotteries. Here are some key points of interest:

  • Higher-margin online sales grew 22% in FY15 and represent 10.4% of all sales including South Australia.
  • TTS is trialling lottery products in 54 Woolworths convenience/fuel outlets
  • Tatts will need to grow the dollar value of commissions over time, in our view. Tatts’ agency network is responsible for nearly 90% of sales and therefore an integral part of its distribution. It would not be in Tatts’ interest to see falling commissions contribute to agency closures.

This last point is a solid statement from Credit Suisse. Newsagent representatives could use this if they are smart. The Credit Suisse document is for investors. Tatts is a servant of investors.

While the Woolworths trial will be seen by some newsagents as the headline, I think it is not. The first and last points in my list of highlights are the most important in my view.

On the first point, 22% growth in online, newsagents have to consider what they are doing to drive in-store sales. It is too easy to be a victim and much harder to drive sales in-store.

FYI here is my post from June 17, 2013 about the Coles trial.

I expect Associations will express dismay, frustration and even anger at the Woolworths news. It should not have shocked them  had they been doing their job. I have moved on from concern about this as I see it as inevitable and do not see value in investing newsagent funds in pursuing a reversal. Newsagents ought focus on what they can do ti improve their businesses.

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Lotteries

Helping a newsagent prepare for a GNS meeting

A fellow newsagent is meeting with senior GNS management Monday next week following comments on a blog post here. I have opened this thread for others to comment about what they are looking for from GNS operationally and product-wise that this newsagent could raise in their meeting.

I am happy to receive private comments at mark@towersystems.com.au. I will forward all these to the newsagent who has arranged the meeting.

Alex Stewart, CEO of GNS, has been active commenting on posts and comments here in a stand out model of transparency in our channel. Unlike the ANF and others Alex does not lurk in the shadows or duck for cover on issues within his remit.

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Newsagency management

How one newsagent leveraged the local paper out of Woolworths

A newsagent shared this story with me recently about how they won a local newspaper back to their business and out of Woolworths. In their own words, with identifying details edited out, here is their story:

One of the local papers some time ago put their paper in the local Woolworths supermarket located very close to my newsagency.

I had been approached by the newspaper some years ago to supply Woolworths as a sub agent to me. I let them know my disapproval of this at the time and they held off. While I was away from the newsagency later that year dealing with my mother’s terminal illness the publisher started supplying Woolworths direct. I subsequently pulled their paper from my shop and have not stocked it since.

Every six month on average since the publisher has asked me to re-stock their paper. I have refused. Three weeks ago, after a heated discussion with them about my refusal, I told them that if they were serious about their offer to support a local business then they should take their paper out of Woolworths with no chance of it returning whilst I am the local newsagent. To their credit they agreed and have pulled their paper from sale out of Woolworths. It has been very well received by my local customers and I have to give praise where it is due.

I’m not sure if the above is the first time this has happened and I don’t particularly care however it has been a great discussion point in my store. I’m not sure what the implications may be further down the line when one of the visiting product managers come to town and question it however for a short time since this happened it has been a good little win.

What a terrific story.

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Newsagency management

Another spinner gone from the newsagency

IMG_9202I was thrilled earlier this week to get rid of another spinner. While they can be important in introducing new lines to the business and easily pitching products off-location, spinners as they empty are a blight. We have cut four in two weeks and two more will go next week. The job has just been made harder with Westfield declaring that we can no longer discard spinners in their hard waste area. No matter, this will not stop us clearing out the shop floor ready for a stunning Christmas.

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Newsagency management

Big tobacco supporting the ANF

I was surprised to see that Phillip Morris is a National Premier Partner of the ANF. I am not sure when they came on board. If I had a say I would vote against this. I have not sold tobacco products since 1998 and got out because cigarettes kill people and cost our health system billions.

I respect the free will of smokers and retailers. For me, the tricks employed by tobacco companies to hook people disgust me as did their efforts to cover up the tragedy their products have caused. It is for these reasons an industry association ought not take tobacco money.

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Ethics

Attention grabbing magazine display

FullSizeRender 18This fanned stack display of the latest issue of Porter magazine is eye-catching. The photo does not do it justice. Many entering the shop where I took the photo stopped and looked at the title – this is the most important function of any display.

Newsagents receiving sufficient volume of a title to create such a display ought ti try it if they do not do so already.

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magazines

The challenge for the newsagent next to the convenience store

twobusinessesThis photo shows a newsagency and convenience business next to each other on a busy suburban street. No matter where I stood – to the left, to the right or directly in front, the convenience store was brighter and more inviting than the newsagency. I have loaded a high res photo so you can compare in detail for yourself.

Both businesses sell papers, convenience lines and magazines – although the newsagency range is considerably bigger. The c-store has considerably more on the convenience product space.

The convenience store is part of a group that drives discipline. The newsagency is not in any group and left to run the business as the owner wishes.

The convenience store has a brighter future thanks to the discipline of the group to which they belong.

While I am on the record saying convenience is not a good model for newsagencies, if I was in control of this business and convenience had to be the focus, I would join a convenience group. While such a group would not be a newsagency group, it would provide management and marketing guidance that would enable better competition with the c-store next door.

This newsagency will close soon if it does not change direction urgently. The challenges the owner faces reflect challenges we all face in our businesses. Change is essential. It can be invigorating, fun and profitable. Change builds optimism.

If I was in control of this business and not bound by operating a convenience model, I’d make considerable changes, moving out of convenience and into higher margin traffic generating lines I could promote outside of the business.

When I see newsagencies in a situation like this one I saw last week I see opportunity.

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Convenience retail

Range vital to adult colouring success in the newsagency

IMG_9205This photo is a second display of adult colouring art therapy titles in our newsagency. It is located half way into the store. It sits in front of the magazine department to the right, our plush wall to the left and stationery on the wall on the far left.

We have cleared space in front of the display (not seen in the photo) so the full range of adult colouring titles is easily seen and shopped. Customers in wheelchairs and motorised scooters can come in and shop – these are valuable customers for this category of product.

The range on show has been selected to cater to people from teens through to 80+, boys and girls. This is important. In the early days retailers thought adult colouring was a thing for girls 30+. It’s not. We are selling for people of all ages. It is a fun category, we are learning plenty.

We have been in the adult colouring space all year and are enjoying excellent results still. We are watching sales because current sales will not continue. Knowing when to scale back will be important for business.

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Management tip

Did you receive Business First magazine?

CMpd23dUkAA36ZDGordon and Gotch is promoting Business First magazine, saying it is in newsagents now. The appeal of this title is so niche that it ought only have been distributed to newsagents who opted in. I am not aware of Gotch did this as I didn’t see anything from them on it. It is only when good newsagents have complete control over the magazines they receive that they will feel trusted to apply their full skill set to the category.

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magazine distribution

Coles double standards exposed in Zoo magazine decision?

The decision by Coles to withdraw Zoo from its shelves is interesting and with considering.

If the decision is a result of pestering because of how Zoo treats women in its photos and stories then maybe the pesterers could turn their attention to the shelves of unhealthy foods that shorten lives and burden the public health system.

If the decision is because the Coles directors do not think Coles fits their values then maybe they could explain how all the bad and unhealthy food they sell fits their values.

Coles can’t make a decision like this and not expect it to be considered against other decisions the company makes.

the values of a supermarket need to be reflected on every shelf and in every transaction. the Zoo decision cannot be considered in isolation.

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Ethics

Beware Facebook survey scam

I received two invitations this week to participate in a Facebook survey and go in the running to win a $100 gift card. This is a scam. Facebook is not running a survey. It is a phishing attempt. My advice: do not respond to the email.

With many newsagents on facebook and actively using the platform it is important you do not allow your account to be hacked. Take care.

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Newsagency management
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