Author: Mark Fletcher

Informed Investors magazine is the kind of title newsagents need to cultivate. It’s locally published and focused on a specific and loyal demographic – Asian investors. It’s is the only comprehensive Australian wealth and financial magazine published in the Chinese language.

I have been talking by email with Mike Wang, the publisher of Informed Investors. He contacted me through this blog, asking how to achieve better placement in newsagencies. Informed Investors needs to be placed next to Chinese newspapers. Newsagents who sell Chinese newspapers ought to talk to Wrapaway in NSW or Informed Investor direct in other states about getting the title. We currently offer over thirty foreign language titles in my newsagency and we’re a suburban business thirty minutes out of Melbourne.

What I like about Informed Investor is that it is niche focused and that it compliments a category which does well for us and many newsagencies.

It’s interesting to see how Mike and his team are promoting this title compared to, say, BRW. Both are in the same space yet go about their business quite differently. Informed Investor seems more closely connected with its readers, more practical if you will. That is not to be critical of BRW – the difference is one of style I guess.

Driving toward Caulfield Racecourse today I noticed a long line of cars, snaking back well over a kilometre. The car parks were almost full and the traffic was stopped. It turns out that they were headed to the racecourse for the Caravan Camping and Touring Supershow. I had no idea that caravans and camping were so popular. We sell caravan and camping magazines and sales are okay but not as good as the traffic jam suggested. It’s got me wondering what the disconnect is here because I want the people in the traffic jam coming to my shop to buy their magazines.

The traffic jam shows there is a market and I am sure these people want to connect with their interests outside of the show season. I can help with that through the magazines I have. Hmmm…

Meredith Corp in the US is closing the print edition of Child magazine and folding this into an online parenting-and-family portal that will also include content from American Baby, Family Circle and Parents. MediaPost has the rest of the story.

Maybe that’s what Pacific Magazines ought to have done with Explode – the teen boys magazine they closed after a few months publication. My blog entry from November 2005 remains one of the a frequently entry out of Google searches, meaning that plenty of people are looking for Explode – for a short lived brand it sure is popular. Check out the comments – I’ve received three times this privately from people enquiring about the title.

Following the example of Meredith and others of recent times, magazines no longer close, they go online and, most likely, find a more profitable existence.

I’m in Sydney again today and took another look at the new Watermark store. Their magazine fixturing is the same as I saw at the Relay at Adelaide airport except that this unit is supported by better lighting. This full-face display makes for easier browsing but restricts the number of titles you can display and would therefore not be helpful for newsagents who see their magazine range as a point of difference. The ideal is somewhere between what Watermark has and the traditional nine to twelve tier unit newsagents have.

I was in Perth yesterday and as is my wont I visited a bunch of convenience stores to see how they are managing magazines. I saw empty pockets for one or more weeklies which came out on Monday. Woman’s Day, New Idea and even TV Week.

With direct accounts, no one is actively managing the magazine category. One store manager, when I asked why he had empty pockets, angrily responded with “they don’t pay me enough”. Another store manager said he would prefer to deal with the newsagent because he could get more when he needed it.

While this is only anecdotal evidence, I’d suggest there is an opportunity for newsagents to mount a structured research campaign with a view to making a case to win back management of convenience store accounts. I have no doubt that this would result in fewer empty pockets, happier customers and broader support for the magazine category. We (newsagents and publishers) have to decide whether we are seriouys about sub agents.

The empty pockets I saw today are a disgrace.

Time Inc. has announced the appointment of Goldman Sachs JBWere to consider ‘strategic alternatives’ for their magazine businesses in the South Pacific region. The announcement says it may include the sale or licensing of certain titles. I reckon we’re going to see plenty more rationalisation moves like this.

Interesting ti see Avant Cards now distributing Cleo, Harpers Bazzar, Inside Out and New Scientist in cafes around Melbourne. I know of one newsagent missing $25.00 a month in magazine sales to a cafe as a result.