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

Author: Mark Fletcher

Promoting the twins

We are promoting this weeks special edition of New Idea at the front of both our newsagencies in different ways.

ni_aug0608_fh.JPGAt Forest Hill we have a display in front of our cards. Since New Idea is well covered at our sales counters and in our magazine department, we felt it more appropriate to get in front of shoppers in another category. There is less visual noise and the cover of the magazine speaks for itself.

ni_aug0608_fr.JPGAt Frankston we have New Idea displayed right at the front of the shop, at the end of the counter which faces the mall. We usually sell weeklies and high volume monthlies from here. The photo does not show the detail of the display – writing on the yellow balloons, baby items and gifts.

Customers behave differently in each newsagency and our approach reflects strategies we have found to be successful in each when promoting a special edition such as this week’s New Idea.

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ANZ playing tough on Bill Express lease?

I have been contacted by several newsagents over the last two days who have found it particularly difficult to cancel direct debit arrangements for their now useless Bill Express equipment. In each case their bank, the ANZ, has refused to act on their written instructions. My understanding is that this is a breach of the Australian Bankers’ Association Code of Banking Practice. It will be interesting to see whether a formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service can resolve the disputes.

To balance this I would note that several other newsagents have been refunded amounts taken by their bank after they canceled their direct debit arrangements.

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Bill Express

Twitter and newspapers

Twitter must be getting popular judging by the number of newspapers now using the platform to provide access to newsfeeds. For those wh9o have not heard of Twitter, it’s a free service delivering small chunks of text. News organisations use it to feed headlines. It’s another free channel through which people can get a new fix without needing to purchase a newspaper.

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Media disruption

ING trumps The Age and Eddie

age_aug608.JPGThere is no doubt that the ad for ING stuck over the masthead on The Age newspaper today looks stunning.  You see this before the headline about Eddie Maguire – almost sacrilege in Melbourne.  The advertiser would be very happy as would the advertising department at The Age.  I love newspapers and wish that newspaper professionals inside The Age had the strength to stop ads being stuck over editorial content or, worse still, the newspaper masthead.

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newspaper masthead desecration

New Idea makes the wait worthwhile

ni_wg.JPGHolding New Idea back a day so it could provide full coverage of the twins born to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has paid off if sales figures I am seeing are reflected across the retail network. In two of our newsagencies, sales today (as at 4:30pm) are ahead of what we usually achieve with New Idea for a full Monday. In the third store we are just under usual Monday numbers. This is an extraordinary result for a Tuesday, the quietest day of the week. It says something about the pulling power of this story.

The photo shows the value of the full face fixturing we use at our newsXpress Watergardens store. With an issue like this seeing the full cover is what sells the magazine to its target market.

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What to do with the bag rail?

bag_rail.JPGWe are debating whether to lose the bag rail at the counter when we do the shop fit at our Frankston newsagency. As the photo of the current counter shows, we use the bag rail for magazines. While watching customer behaviour confirms that this drives good impulse purchases, it is old school retail. But if it works well, why change? Our plan is to find a way to retail magazines at the counter but with a 2008 feel.

We will also ensure the new counter provides flexibility as this is key in the design of newsagencies today. No more old style fixturing which has one purpose only.

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Who do you think you are?

whodoyou.JPGWho do you think you are? is a successful BBC show with a good companion magazine. The latest issue, featuring Jeremy Clarkson on the cover, provides an opportunity to attract new readers. We have it in the usual category and with the car magazines. What’s a cover for if not to find new readers?

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E-ink on Esquire cover

Esquire has set the publishing world alight with the announcement that the September issue will feature e-ink on the cover and in a two page ad for Ford. A screen and battery will be inserted into the cover. Moves like this demand that we in the print supply chain take notice e-ink and similar innovation even if it is a bit of a gimmick. The real challenge will come when we have a foldable rechargable paper thin device which receives newspaper and or magazine content without the need to visit a shop to purchase content.

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Big business customer service

Staples in Canada has announced plans to roll out what it is calling video agent customer service stations. Customers use these to speak with a call centre which directs the query. This is a big contrast to the personal service one receives in small business. Sure Staples is a huge retailer compared to, say, a newsagency. However, Officeworks, their Australian comparison, competes with us in the suburbs for stationery business. I am sure they will continue to hunt down ways they can cut labour costs – such as this video agent customer service station. Hence the importance of us concentrating on live in the flesh customer service.

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Customer Service

Promoting family history magazines

famly_history.JPGWe promoted Family History magazines at the counter of our Forest Hill newsagency at the weekend. This is a category rarely given any attention here. In the UK, the interest in family history appears to be huge – many newspapers have given away free software and content CDs to drive sales. Our very basic display delivered excellent results on the weekend, showing that even a small interest category can work at the front counter.

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New Idea delayed a day

wdokgraz.JPGIt was a grave move to delay publishing New Idea for a day. I understand the importance – the Jolie-Pitt twins photos would not be worth as much if published next week. In our newsagencies more than 50% of sales are on the Monday. Sales data I have seen suggests that the decay is not as sharp in supermarkets and convenience outlets. It will be interesting to see of the people looking for the title today do come in tomorrow.

As the photo shows, we have moved OK! Australia to the New Idea position.

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Choosing to shine for Father’s Day

fday_2008.JPGFather’s Day is a season around which newsagents can choose to shine. I know from Hallmark market research that our the newsagent retail network is a popular destination Father’s Day and other seasonal cards. We need to make the most of this popularity, not only in the card category but in allied categories.

Father’s Day 2008 is our opportunity to shine. Here are some tips which can help you make the most of the season starting from today:

  • Set a performance goal, a sales increase on last year. I’d suggest a goal of an increase in the number of Father’s Day cards sold in your newsagency of 8%. Let your staff know about the goal.
  • Get your Father’s Day cards our ASAP. We know from our own newsagencies that Father’s day cards are selling already.
  • Create some theatre around the card display. Just having the cards out is not enough.
  • Train your staff on the various captions you cover, there is more to Father’s Day than cards for dad.
  • Introduce a range of gifts which can be easily bought with the cards – gifts which make sense like albums, a desk set, a photo frame, journals, street directory, books, a magazine pack or a prepaid gift card.
  • Display the gifts near the cards. Make sure you have compelling, easy to understand display.
  • Create a small DL size flyer to promote your Father’s Day cards and gifts and give one to every customer.
  • Consider giving over a power end in your magazine area of a Father’s Display. You could create this around a theme which works to your demographic: fishing, car racing, gardening, handyman or dad relaxing in the sun. It is important to promote Father’s Day away from the main card display as well as with the display.
  • In the week before Father’s Day, change your gift display around and label it Last Minute Father’s Day Gifts. Sometimes, contextualising an offer like this can really drive sales.

It is not enough to replace some lifestyle or other cards with Father’s Day and hope for the best as newsagents often do. This season is an opportunity for us to choose to shine and chase sales growth. Newsagencies which outperformed others last Father’s Day were those where the season was actively promoted.

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Greeting Cards

The human side of the Bill Express collapse

bxp_light.JPGI received a call yesterday from a newsagent who had not stopped the direct debit arrangement for the Bill Express equipment because of advice from the Australian Newsagents’ Federation. She rang me after reading the advice from the ANF three days ago that newsagents suspend the direct debit arrangement. She was in tears at what she calls at least two months of “lost” payments. As she explained, the two months payments was more than a year of ANF membership fees.

Her story is not uncommon. She went into Bill Express on the advice of the ANF and, in her words, has always done what they told her.

In a business with annual sales of $345,000 and a net profit of under $20,000, the $6,534 a year in Bill Express equipment rental fees for no return will be a huge cost. This is why she was in tears. As she put it to me, had she ignored the advice of the ANF and listened to other newsagents she would have stopped the direct debit earlier and saved, maybe, two months of payments.

My caller told me that when she spoke to the ANF twice about this they were adamant that she should continue to pay for the equipment and that they had legal advice newsagents should do this. She tried called the ANF Friday but could not speak to anyone who knew why they changed position.

My understanding is that the ANF did not receive any different legal advice before it revised the advice it provided newsagents on Thursday to “suspend” direct debit arrangements for the Bill Express equipment. I hope I am wrong and that the Board issued the changed advice based on new legal advice and not political expediency.

While some on the Board will not like this blog post – it is more of the “third party commentary” they criticised on Thursday – the questions I post warrant answers. Did the Board get new advice? If so, what are the details? If not, why did the Board take the u-turn on Thursday and why not sooner? It would appear that the ANF Board has misjudged the mood of their constituency on the Bill Express matter.  The Chairman said most West Australian newsagents were not affected when he spoke to a group of newsagents in Melbourne earlier this week.

I know I should welcome the u-turn by the ANF and focus on next steps. The call I received yesterday does not permit that. While I get calls about Bill Express daily, yesterday’s was highly emotional. The cost could lead to the owner shutting the business and walking away such is her trauma of the financial situation and being let down. I felt helpless in listening to her situation.

I have told people at the ANF and at VANA of these calls.  Others have told them too.  Many newsagents cannot afford to have to pay for equipment from which they can achieve no return.  They feel let down for having been told that Bill Express by organisations they trust only to find that those organisations had not done their homework.

Hopefully the ANF will better explain its advice this week and ensure that its staff are well equipped to explain this to callers. Newsagents need certainty. They also need to know that their national association has empathy for their position.

What has happened to newsagents over the last few months with Bill Express is a crime. Newsagents need to see justice pursued by ASIC, the ACCC, the Administrator and any other avenue so that the closure which is important to victims of crime can be achieved.

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Bill Express

Melbourne Gift Fair a ripper

giftfair.JPGTower Systems has a stand at the Reed Gift Fair in Melbourne this weekend and through until Wednesday. If yesterday was anything to go by it will be a ripper of as success. While we are there primarily to talk to gift shops about our software, we have met with plenty of newsagents already.

A couple of newsagents I talked with yesterday made the same observation – this is the kind of fair newsagents should attend as they will see product here they will never see at a newsagent trade show.

It’s great to see so many newsagents researching the gift category. Given the size of this fair it would be hard to come away without any new products to try. While I was at the our part of the Fair yesterday I saw several suppliers offering product which I’d like us to sell in our newsagencies.

To walk a show this size properly will take at least two days. Thankfully, we have several on the team for our newsagencies and gift shops to cover the area.  From what I saw yesterday there is plenty of new product and some excellent deals.

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Gifts

Happy with first month of Intralot

What is it with people talking Intralot down? Several media outlets have been talking Intralot down this week and some newsagent suppliers are weighing in with their doom and gloom stories as well. My experience is that these commentators are ignorant. I would judge the introduction of Intralot as a success.

While it has was a bumpy start, each day has improved. To get a 700 retail point network running in a few weeks is a good effort. And, no, I have no deal, arrangement or anything else with Intralot!

At Forest Hill, where we have Tattersalls, Intralot scratch tickets sales are up 25% on Tattersalls scratch ticket sales for the same month a year earlier. Even after accounting for overall store growth, the Intralot scratch ticket result is excellent. The online games are well on the way to replacing the revenue from games Tattersalls lost.

At Frankston and Watergardens, locations where we did not have any soft gambling product, scratch ticket sales are very good and the online product slow. I am confident both will grow as our team in each store becomes more familiar with the gambling category, the games and we better fit the offer in the businesses.

I have taken the view that Itralot did not create this situation. The State Government did. As for Tattersalls…

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Lotteries

Consistently good counter sales

fas_impulse.JPGThe small pads in the photo are from For Arts Sake.  They and a similar pad product from the same supplier are among the best counter sellers we have tried in the last year. They are attractive and have a good price point – crucial elements to a successful counter offer.  Customers have top be able to make a quick decision.  The challenge with counter offers is finding different yet compelling product.  That’s where getting to gift fairs is important, to look beyond traditional newsagency suppliers.

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Gifts

Selling paperback books

books_carinya.JPGFollowing a post here a few months ago a newsagent decided to add discount paperback books to their range.  In July they achieved $1,500 in sales using spare fixturing they had in their back room.  They are projecting a bottom line benefit of more than $5,000 for the 2008/09 financial year.  Discount paperbacks can be handled as simply as shown in the photo – I’ve found that a strong box works the best, located near an entrance.  What the photo does not show is the spare stock in a cavity under the shelf holding the display stock.

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Book retailing

Shutting the door on cigarettes

frankhot.JPGThe announcement by the NSW State Government Wednesday that within six months all tobacco products must be removed from retail display will encourage newsagents to consider quitting the category. This is an opportunity for newsagents to embrace change at the counter.

In a shopping centre newsagency on average rents you’d need to be selling at least $4,000 worth of tobacco products a week to break even. The latest changes will add to that cost.

Newsagents in NSW need to start thinking about their options for this soon to be freed premium space. It could be used for displaying and promoting:

  • Ink and toner.
  • Premium pens and related gifts.
  • Mobile phone handsets and SIMs.
  • A technology offer – small gadgets.
  • A new line of confectionery – boxed chocolates maybe.
  • A feature magazine display.
  • Invitations.
  • A whiteboard with a list of new magazines just in.

The regulation changes are forcing changes at the counter. S,mart business people will use this to great advantage.
We quit tobacco products at Forest Hill in 1997 and at Frankston when we took over last year. In each case, sales were around $1,000 a week and not worth the investment. At Frankston we replaced tobacco with our Ink and Toner display.

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Newsagency challenges

Gifts in a newsagency

frank_gifts.JPGI am often asked by newsagents where they can fit gifts into their shops. The photo shows what we do at Frankston on one aisle end. We have two other displays like this as well as gifts elsewhere in the shop. The display is changed every couple of weeks. In the photo we have a selection of social stationery, Jamie Oliver mugs and plush sitting on boxes. The idea is for card buyers to see gifts which could work with the occasion for which they are purchasing. Once we have completed our shop fit we will have better fixturing opportunities for gifts.

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Gifts

Wedding season in magazines and cards

hallmarkwedding.JPGWe have created a small display of Hallmark wedding product – cards, bags, trinkets – and next to that a spinner with twelve wedding magazine titles. Many newsagents do similar displays of the cards and bags at least this time of the year.

Each time we display cards and magazines together, in context, it works well. The magazine stand is 11 years old and still serving us well.

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Greeting Cards

Reader’s Digest and the CD

rd_cds.JPGReader’s Digest this month comes with a free CD. In some stores at least. At one of our stores we received some stock with the free Cd and other stock without. The packaging says the CD is them saying thanks.

While I respect their right to do what they like with the title, the inconsistency is frustrating, especially where we receive two versions of the stock.

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