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

Author: Mark Fletcher

Australian magazine publishers need to get consistent about barcode placement

magbarcodeAustralian magazine publishers need to get serious about barcode placement on covers. Lack of consistency costs time.

Take a look at the four covers in the photo, staff selling all four or a mix have to look at the cover to check where the barcode is prior to scanning. Take 5 and That’s Life are purchased together 47% of the time according to basket data I have seen. The staff member scanning both needs to shuffle the covers based on inconsistent barcode placement.

It’s worse with New Idea and Woman’s Day given their sales volume.

If the barcode was always in the same place we would save time and, as a result, improve the shopper experience. I am sure supermarket staff would agree.

Personally, I’d like to see the barcode on the lower left corner of the cover – for every magazine. This suits the efficient swipe of the cover in front of the scanner as that corner is closest to the scanner when holding a title in front of you.

To newsagents who say it does’t matter because they use a hot key – I prefer to scan every title as it is good practice for data accuracy. Plus you can shake the title and free up greeting cards or other items in the magazine by ‘mistake’.

What about it magazine publishers? Do you want to improve the shopper experience? I hope so as you would benefit from the consistency encouraged as a result of the change too.

If you think this seems like a minor issue, think about it in the context of a newsagency processing between 250 and 1,000 transactions a day. Anything you can do to improve efficiency and consistency is a good thing.

Footnote: some magazine publishers complain about lack of compliance by newsagents in terms of scanned sales data. I suggest this would improve as a result of my barcode placement suggestion.

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magazines

Partworks in convenience stores

mags711I’m in Singapore and noticed partworks being sold in 7-Eleven. While this probably because there are no specialist magazine retailers here, it was a shock to see such a specialist title in a convenience store with only a small range of magazines. The placement tells me that the giant 7-Eleven corporation can specialise when necessary, that they are a threat beyond the magazines they stock today.

We need to not look at the 7-Eleven model as set in stone. This is a very nimble worldwide organisation which leverages knowledge from one region into another where appropriate.

I know plenty of newsagents don’t like partworks. To them I’d say careful what you wish for. Imagine is partworks completely moved from our channel. That would be a wedge move that would encourage other departures. Play that out a bit and you can see where it lands.

The problem, of course, is that the terms under which we are supplied magazines are unfair and commercially disadvantage us against our competitors and that hurts our customers.

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magazine distribution

Product adjacency mistakes

productadjacencyI am guessing whoever decided to put the kids face paint with condoms was not following  head office mandated plan-a-gram in the 7 Eleven where I took the photo.

Space is a challenge in a small footprint store. Also, sometimes you put a product somewhere to get it out thinking that you will come back to it later.

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retail

ANF seeks help from newsagent suppliers on commercial matters

anfsuppThe ANF CEO has written to selected newsagent suppliers seeking participation in a workshop in February 2015 to discuss matters relating to the future of the channel.

While the idea of the ANF workshop sounds good, there are challenges. The most significant challenge is the conflict of interest of the ANF. It is a commercial player in the channel, competing with some it has invited to the workshop.

The ANF is a significant shareholder in Newspower. The areas it wants to cover in the workshop are areas of immediate interest and concern to Newspower. Indeed, the ANF participated in a similarly themed Newspower strategy workshop a couple of months ago. That workshop resulted in decisions by Newspower that they say place it on a strong footing. If this is the case, why this ANF workshop now, why not tap into the Newspower plans?

While Newspower is in decline, reportedly dropping to half the membership it had three years ago, the ANF is participating in trying to arrest the situation. It’s very ownership of a stake in Newspower is a conflict with the goals of the proposed workshop. Surely those running the ANF see this?!

The ANF also has a commercial interest in the Hubbed Connect parcel service (if it’s still operating). It also owns the Western Union agency newsagents use. Plus, though its VANA and NANA connections it has interests in insurance, training, other parcel ventures, stationery wholesaling and providing other services.

Why would a supplier connected, even vaguely, with any of these areas want to participate in the ANF workshop when they ANF could leverage their intellectual property for its own gain?

While the ANF says it’s an association, it is primarily a supplier to newsagents. You only have to look at how it uses its pages in National Newsagents to promote its commercial partners – Hubbed most recently and Bill Express years ago with gushing reviews yet without reasonable due diligence one should reasonably expect from an industry association. There are suppliers to newsagents who find themselves competing with the ANF directly or indirectly. I suspect they will not participate.

Another challenge for the ANF is its failure to act on behalf of newsagents. Three years ago it hosted a two-day workshop on problems with the newsagent magazine supply model. To my knowledge, not one recommendation from this workshop has been acted on by the ANF. While they may claim the draft code of conduct from magazine publishers and distributors is an outcome – I’d reject this as the code of conduct was initiated by publishers separately (and it is inadequate for newsagents anyway).

A third challenge is that the ANF has no mechanism for driving compliance by newsagents. There is no point in agreeing anything with the ANF as it has no means of delivery.

The fourth and probably most significant challenge is the relevance of the ANF. The most valuable opportunities for newsagents lie outside of circulation product and lottery product. The ANF has no experience in these new, high GP and highly competitive areas. If it is seeking to become involved in these product categories in some way it is late, years late. This is why I say the ANF lacks relevance.

Newsagents seeking leadership on new traffic better margin opportunities have been engaging with the marketing groups and working on their own. Those asking the ANF are late to the party and are asking the wrong body for assistance.

The ANF directors and those who work for the organisation have failed newsagents on dealing with changes to retail, disruption to print and disruption to gambling products. This workshop will not rectify the failure.

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Newsagent representation

Yes, I am not my customer

shopkinsWhen I saw the Shopkins product at the counter of the newsagency I groaned thinking it was sent to us by a magazine distributor (sorry magazine distributors). It looks like the kind of useless non print product they would send. It turns out our manager ordered it from GNS after spotting it in the GNS catalogue. His selection of the product was right, we sold more than 50% in three days. GNS has a hit on their hands – if newsagents embrace it.

I did some checking online and Shopkins has a massive following. Episode one of the cartoon has had close to 2 million views on YouTube.

In my research online, to discover how ignorant I was, I found a Herald Sun story about an Aussie kid wanting Shopkins for Christmas.

Yes, I am not my customer.

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Newsagency management

Sunday newsagency marketing tip: use your products to market your business

When buying products to sell in your newsagency, undertake it as a marketing activity. Yes, buying is marketing. Well, it should be!

Bring in products that will be sought after, that appeal to a niche group in the community which these people will love and which they will talk about.

Products that make their way to you through everyday suppliers and those who supply almost any store are not what I am talking about there. No, the products I am suggesting you find are those you have to work to get, those you have to seek out, learn about and fight to get into your business.

These products, hard to find products, niche products are a perfect extension to your marketing plan.

If your newsagency is the only store in the area with the products and if they are genuinely appealing to a niche that spends on its interests you can expect to see traffic increase as word of your range spreads.

Seek out suppliers who tightly control their retail network and who commit to not bringing on a competitor too close to your business. Seek out a supplier who puts you through the wringer when you say you want to carry their products. This is the type of supplier who will support you and generate traffic for you.

Let your buying actions and the products on your shelves play a key role in your marketing plan, use them to show your point of difference and through this attract new traffic for your business.

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marketing

Sunday newsagency management tip: write advice to yourself

Find somewhere away from your business , a coffee shop, a bar, a restaurant, somewhere that is busy with people all around you. Sit down and write a note to yourself explaining what you think needs to be done to improve the business.

I find that when I am sitting in a busy location away from the shop I able to have a perspective on my business that is detached, that has a useful perspective. The ideas that flow from this are ideas I’d tend not to get when I am i the business.

So, write to yourself, your other self at the business, about what needs to be done. Be brutal and clear. Prioritise the list. Given that time is not on your side mark the items on the list that are not negotiable to this version of you sitting away from the business.

The promise you have to make is to do the things that are not negotiable.

My experience is that newsagents are opinionated about other businesses they see. The goal of this post is to direct that back so that your business benefits.

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Management tip

Bauer media floods small business newsagents with Cosmopolitan Bride for no reason

baueroversupNewsagents – how is your supply of Cosmopolitan Bride from Bauer Media?

The magazine allocations experts at Bauer decided to increase our supply on the back of a sell through of 40% or less.

Cosmopolitan Bride is failing for is – we are losing money on it. Bauer would know this yet they want us to lose more. Where is the sense in this?

Click on the image to see the data for yourself. This is data the Bauer experts have access to and on which they made their increase decision.

Why have they increased my supply? For no reason other than to shift stock out of the warehouse and into newsagencies. Our sales data does not warrant an increase.  Indeed, the data warrants a decrease in supply of 50%.

So why does Bauer do this? Because they can. Because they can impose the tax of oversupply taking our labour, retail space and cash flow without considering is.

It’s arrogant of Bauer Media because they knowingly do it or ignorant of Bauer Media because flaws in their systems allow this to happen.

This type of oversupply is what is driving more and more newsagents to reduce their reliance on magazines. Other magazine publishers should take note but I doubt they will. They should as this behaviour by Bauer is a reason newsagents early-return.

Take a look at a brief video I shot last week about the high cost of magazine oversupply on newsagents.

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magazines

News turns a profit in the UK

Balancing my posts today about the future of print is news reported by International Business Times earlier this month out of the UK that Times Newspapers has made a modest profit of £1.7m. The whole article is well worth reading as it offers a British take on the health of print newspapers.

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Media disruption

The future of the print newspaper

Harvard Political Review earlier this month published The Future of Print: Newspapers Struggle to Survive in the Age of Technology, an article well worth reading. It takes us through the newspaper financial model and looks at the impact of technology.

Technology provides publishers the best option for efficiency, it dramatically cuts the distribution cost. Distribution newsagents who did not factor this into their business plan five or ten years ago are challenged today.

While there is a beautiful and emotional argument about the sound of the newspaper landing on the doorstep, the reality is it now costs to much to do this and so the service will continue to retreat.

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Media disruption

Google and the future of News

I enjoyed an article from Jeff Jarvis at Medium about a role Google could play in the future of news. I especially love this quote from Jarvis:

In Geeks, I argue that news organizations must shift from thinking of themselves as content factories serving mass audiences to understanding that journalism is a service to individuals and communities.

The whole article is well worth reading by those who cherish news and the role easy access to independent news and analysis plays in democratic society.

I suspect many 9in existing news organisations are not thinking along the same lines as jarvis – based on the actions they are taking.

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Media disruption

Playing hardball on refunds

Here are the rules we follow for handling refund requests in order of importance:

  1. We require proof of purchase. If the customer does not have the receipt they must at least know the date and time so we can find the purchase – plus what else was purchased in the transaction. We do this search using our newsagency software that manages all sales. If we cannot find the purchase or are not  sure for any other reason, the conversation stops there.
  2. If the goods are defective we provide a refund.
  3. If the goods are not defective we make a judgement call on whether to give a store credit depending on the request. For example, for magazines that could have been read in the time the customer has had them – no.
  4. If the goods were purchased more than a week ago, a store credit is unlikely.
  5. If the goods are not in their original packaging then no store credit.
  6. The louder the customer the less likelihood of a store credit.
  7. We use the technology to help us in enforcing our rules, the make the no, if it is a no, less personal.

Some people try all sorts of scams to get store credits or cash refunds. It’s important we are wary and only letting through requests that meet reasonable requirements. It is also important we are consistent.

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Newsagency management

Let the Boxing Day Sale begin in the newsagency

BoxingDaySalePosterDec14NXPWe’re all set for a very busy day today and for the next few days with plenty of stock discounted so we can be an active participant in the Boxing Day Sale madness that is part of life in a big shopping centre.

We have all Christmas items at half price as well as a range of gifts we’ve brought in. We are selling what we have left of single Christmas cards at half price and will do so until the New Year.

Calendars remain at full price until Jan. 1.

We have been planning for the Boxing Day Sale for the last couple of months so that nothing is left to the last minute. It’s a terrific opportunity to reset our product mix for 2015.

What I especially like is that around half the shoppers we will see are not people we see regularly so the opportunity to sell is even greater as they are not used to what we have.

Years ago we’d watch as major retailers did the Boxing Day Sale and our offer was soft. Once we jumped all in and really embraced the opportunity we discovered that we could attract plenty of new shoppers to the business and benefit from showing these new shoppers that we are not your average newsagency.

Now, we see the Boxing Day Sale as a key marketing activity for us, one that plays out in value beyond the sale itself.

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Newsagency management

Customers love the hassle free approach to forgotten envelopes

envWe found ourselves providing many envelopes for cards brought to the counter without envelopes through the Christmas shopping season. We have a stash of different sizes there for just this situation – like we do for all major seasons. Today especially, when shopper stress levels were high, the reaction of our easy handling of forgotten envelopes was a thrill.

It’s though small steps like this that we can provide memorable customer service that makes shopping easier. This makes working in retail more enjoyable for us.

If you’ve not done this before, try it … customers love that you can provide an envelope quickly and easily from the counter.

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Greeting Cards

The fart pen is the guy Christmas gift of 2014

fartpensWe sold plenty of fart pens this Christmas. Today, Christmas Eve, shoppers bought them in a steady stream. I was embarrassed by some of the hilarious stories. I feel for the dads who will open these tomorrow.

A cherished gift of small business retail is the stories customers share, even the stories about fart pens.

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Gifts

It’s Christmas Eve: have fun in your newsagency today

I like Christmas Eve in the newsagency. Shoppers are happy and spending. The shelves are emptying. Everything is still at full price. Even things you thought would not sell sell as the last minute shoppers are less fussy.

There are wishes, hugs and even the odd kiss from customers.

Christmas carols start to sound like carols and not the background noise you’ve heard for the last few weeks.

No supplier is chasing you for money today.

You might catch a moment for Christmas cheer with colleagues.

But most of all I like the anticipation of the day, the last few hours especially. I’m grateful to experience it in retail as I find it very special.

I hope your day today is crazy good with lots of laughs, lots of sales and good feelings flowing both ways with your customers.

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Newsagency management

What?! No coffee

Europeans are used to towns closing down for summer and plenty in China are used to it too when factories and businesses close for Chinese New Year. But I don’t get why my favourite coffee shop is closed today and for the next couple of weeks.

It’s a competitive world with other coffee shop options – so competitive that I thought this year they would stay open to stop their regulars discovering better coffee elsewhere.

This is the risk all retailers face if they are in a situation where they can close – as opposed to being in a shopping mall where you can’t close.

While a break could benefit everyone including the family at the heart of the business, shoppers are not as loyal today. In small business especially I think we are better off NOT giving our customers a reason to shop elsewhere. Tough as it is, being there when they want and need us is small business retail 101.

I have found an alternative coffee shop.  They have a four-shot monster latte that is amazing. Flying…

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retail

Gift card promotion driving sales in the newsagency

gcmagsWe’re enjoying good gift card sales with tactical placement of a gift card stand next to magazines. We are careful in the placement of cards on the stand – matching cards to the shopper most likely to be in this part of the business. Gift card sales are excellent this year and while our margin is slim, for a no inventory cost product it’s better than bus tickets and lotteries, way better.

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Newsagency management

News Corp promoting to Qantas passengers

qantaspapersWhen you check in for a Qantas flight using the self service terminals at the moment, an ad for a News Corp. digital product is on the screen while your details are searched out. In Sydney yesterday it was The Daily Telegraph app being promoted.

it’s a smart move by News, targeting the right market for a mobile product.

Newsagents need to take in and consider these moves as they plan for 2015 and beyond. The best way to learn what newspaper publishers are planning is to look at their actions rather than listening to their words.

4 likes
Media disruption
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