Epson has announced a range of printers that do not require cartridge replacement. Check out the Wired story for a good tech report. The Australian report – Epson kills printer ink cartridge with new containers – cuts to the chase for retailers selling cartridges.
This will not hurt cartridge retailers overnight but it will impact on ink sales as Epson will not be alone in offering printers that do not require cartridge replacement.
I have been sent the first three issues of Art Therapy, the partwork set to be launched in September – being distributed by Gordon and Gotch.
The launch and accompanying TV advertising will refresh interest in this space and, I suspect propel interest through to Christmas.
Smart newsagents will ensure they have good stock of books, pencils, pens, erasers and other products to sell to this shopper as the opportunity is considerable outside the magazine space. The partwork launch is an excellent opportunity for us.
What is your position on a chatty newsagency employee?
On the one hand, we want employees to chat to customers, to make them feel welcome and to engage with their shopping experience. On the other hand, we don’t want chatting to get in the way of work or to be intrusive on the shopping experience.
Employees need to remember their pay is funded by the money the business makes. Making money ought to be their top priority.
Employers need to remember that a friendly shop can help people spend more.
It is a fine line we all walk.
The first step is to talk about any problem. Sometimes bringing it into the open changes behaviour.
The draft Workplace Relations Framework report from the Productivity Commission is a good start for considering structural change to help boost economic activity in Australia.
What we need next is a respectful debate involving all stakeholders rather. Unfortunately, already, on social media and in mainstream media we are seeing unions and employer groups sticking to their corners and not respectfully exploring changes that could benefit the broader economy.
The draft report offers an endorsement of workplace reforms by Labor while at the same time putting the topic of weekend penalty rates on the table for discussion.
In terms of weekend penalty rates and Sunday rates in particular, the current rates make us uncompetitive and hold back employment opportunities in my view. I’d like Sunday rates to match Saturday. That said, I’d like to discuss this in a calm and respectful way.
Newsagents with an opinion on this ought to attend an upcoming public hearing or make a submission by September 18.
Dun & Brasdreet’s latest Business Expectations Survey reports sales expectations highest since 2003.
Sales expectations have rebounded sharply, reaching their highest level for more than a decade in a strong signal the business community has a more optimistic outlook for Q4 2015.
In marked contrast to the preceding period, Dun & Bradstreet’s latest Business Expectations Survey reveals the Sales Expectations Index for the fourth quarter surged to 40.8 points, up from 28.6 points last quarter and the highest level recorded since the fourth quarter of 2003. Some 48 per cent of companies surveyed expect to see an increase in sales in the fourth quarter of 2015.
While representing the views of the corporate sector, optimism there permeates into small businesses, boosting the optimism we have for the future. This survey is good news.
On stands and in common spaces there are plenty of good examples of low cost displays and merchandising at the Gift fair in Melbourne.
This use of pallets for creating a noticeboard and display table could work in many businesses.
Gone are the days of spending more than we should on refitting shops. Instead, it is fashionable to repurpose old furniture and other items for retail display.
Freight has been a hot topic on the floor of the Melbourne gift fair over the weekend with penalty of retailers including newsagents saying they should not have to pay freight.
The reality is: whether you are charged for freight or not you pay for it.
Your suppliers need to make money as do you. They choose to locate their businesses where they do as you choose the location of yours.
It is easy to demand freight free. It is equally easy to source products that do not have a clear or suggested retail price – thereby enabling you to set a retail price to cover freight.
The low Australian dollar, higher freight charges and higher importation charges are behind more suppliers reviewing freight arrangements. Many suppliers I know are not passing on the full impact of the low dollar compared to where it sat a year ago so to pressure them on freight places a further burden on them.
The lines between retail channels continue to blur as retailers pursue traffic and revenue in a crowded and competitive marketplace.
Supermarkets are not alone in reaching into the product categories of other channels to make their businesses more successful. Pharmacies have been doing this for years as have proactive newsagents.
The gift fair on at the moment in this has demonstrated how much previously defined retail channels cross over into others. On gift and homewares stands I have seen owners of gift shops, jewellers, garden centres, newsagencies and general online businesses.
Gifts are the ultimate board offering, working well in a variety of retail channels. Newsagents need to consider this as they expand their gift offerings as they need to ensure they are in a highly competitive category with obvious and not so obvious competitors.
This presents a significant challenge to many newsagents who enter the gift space for a point of difference. It is why you need to be careful about suppliers you use, to ensure that your investment is not challenged by the same products being placed in a supply business nearby.
Several suppliers at the fair told me of independent retailers asking if they supplied this group or that group. In one particular instance the supplier mentioned that a no meant the retailer walked off the stand. Groups in several retail channels work hard to keep their supplier relationships secret for this reason.
Tatts has been active on social media promoting Set for Life and from what I can see on Twitter they are promoting buying direct from them, online. WA newsagents will be happy Lotterywest are not doing a Tatts.
If I was a Tatts retailer and under pressure from the company to promote the game I would be frustrated at the lack of support for the retail network.
I love the floor display unit for the Justice League figurines. It is strong, dramatic and perfectly branded. The products did not sell. Price point was an issue. I think this is because it is licenced product and from Schleich – a premium brand.
Performance demanded we quit the range. We dropped price to $9.99 and immediately the products started selling. Customers love the characters and everything else about the Justice League range including the new price point.
The space we freed was more important than holding out to possibly make margin on the stock.
Quitting underperforming stock has to be done without emotion and at a price point that meets the needs of the business.
While I don’t have lotteries in my newsagencies, I have been helping a few newsagents engage with Set for Life to make the most of the launch opportunity. This is important regardless of Tatts also offering it online.
Here are my tips for launching this new game in your business:
It is not too late to go big and loud in promoting Set for Life as it will take some time to build interest in the new product. It is essential you do more than sell the game across the counter.
This is easy. Take a spare stand, fill it with a range of cards that appeal to a shopper you struggle to get into the business, put it on the lease line so passers-by can see it and watch to see if the stand attracts people. If the stand does not work, change the cards and keep doing this until you see people who would not usually shop with you stop and take a look.
Look at the photo how one of the people in my newsagency set this up. The branding at the top and bottom are key to making a strong and professional statement.
Don’t assume that having a card department is all you need to do to get people to consider purchasing cards from you.
A retailer last week told me that they enter inventory into their shop computer system when they move it from the garage at home to the shop. They explained they purchase products at a discount by buying in bulk and don;t consider them part of the shop’s stock until it is at the shop.
Their approach means this business does not have accurate reporting on stock turn, return on investment and aged sock performance. I6 means they are ill-informed when it comes to making buying decisions.
Buying because of a special deal for bulk could be false economy. You will rarely know unless you carefully track your stock.
Partwork launches provide us the best opportunity to drive traffic yet many newsagents ignore this, preferring to complain about the margin rather than considering the value of the bigger picture. Most partwork launches in Australian are supported with a high rotation TV ad, often on free to in prime time. Here is how we leverage these:
A comprehensive co-ordinated approach is key to enjoying the most success possible from apart works launch.
With hundreds of thousands spent on a launch it makes sense to me that we ride the back of this to drive traffic with the goal of that new traffic seeing what else we sell.
Walking through some of the gift fair in Melbourne today I am surprised at the number of candle suppliers. I do not recall seeing this many. Small independent makers showing off boutique candles and importers with international ranges.
The number of candle suppliers tells me to be careful about candles, to ask questions about other retailers they stock. If I was to offer candles I am more likely to stock a range that is not available elsewhere in my catchment area.
However, given the broad availability of candles I am not like to stock them.
The Melbourne Gift Fairs (Reed and Home & Giving) start today and Life In Style started 2 days ago. Here is some of the advice provided by newsagency marketing group newsXpress to members in advance of the fairs:
We have refreshed our behind the counter offer with a range of Disney art pieces by Pop Artist Romero Britto. Disney collectors love them. Britto fans love them. They are an adorable gift. Better still, they are a perfect behind the counter offer for pitching what the business stands for compared to others.
The Age emailed me about this National Geographic Kids discount offer last night as a consumer and not ad a newsagent. It’s the first I have heard of it unless I have missed something.
On a Friday we reset magazine facings to reflect the different shopper we have visiting from Friday afternoon through to Sunday afternoon. In our case they are more interested in fringe and special interest titles. Our changes reflect this, to create a magazine department different to the two Coles supermarkets in the centre.
Placing Daphne’s Diary and Vintage Made at the front with the full cover on show are two examples of moves we make to position our magazine offer differently in the centre.
While the magazine distribution model continues to frustrate, we continue to try for tasty lemonade with how we manage magazines in-store.
Reading the IBISWorld Industry Report OD5495: Newsagencies in Australia, I am left wondering how wide their research took them since they place considerable emphasis on the Hubbed Connect platform. There are nine references over 29 pages including this from page 11:
The Connect model, which is being offered to newsagencies, is anticipated to provide significant growth opportunities for outlets. The Connect portfolio is expected to offer consumers a one-stop shop for a range of products and services that they would previously have demanded from a range of alterative retailers. The Connect model is expected to reinvigorate the Newsagencies industry by proving scope for growth across a number of products.
It appears inadequate research was done when you consider this from page 6:
The Connect system enabled newsagency customers to undertake a range of tasks they would previously have done at other retailers, from bill payment to parcel shipment and photo printing.
Newsagents have had parcel shipment and photo printing for years.
The Connect related statements read like they are from Connect or their launch partner the ANF. Today, in 2015, I know of plenty of newsagents trying to ditch Connect but having trouble.
It is disappointing that the Ibis document has not covered more commercially valuable innovation being leveraged by individual and groups of newsagents. To me, the inadequate coverage means the Ibis report is not accurate, certainly not worth the $900.00+ price tag (unless you got it free).
The report was published to the ANF managed Facebook group and removed shortly after I wrote about it here.
