Calendars

Calendar season is going great for us. sales are strong with no discount to be seen. After a disasterous 2005/06 season when we joined the discount bandwagon we regrouped and in 2006/07 did good business in the lead-up to Christmas. This year we are tracking even better numbers.

While some customers ask if we are discounting, few walk away looking for a cheaper calendar elsewhere. The keys are range and service – no surprise there. If you have the special interest calendar people want, a couple of dollars makes no difference.

Two years on from our horror year, it’s clear that a good range well cared for is more important and more valuable for the business than discounting early in the season.

Further to my post this morning about desk calendars, in Hong Kong tonight I found exactly this range if the closest business you can find here to an Australian newsagency. They have an amazing display of these desk calendars and a minimal range of hanging calendars.

This photo shows just three of the massive range of desk calendars we have received at our Sophie Randall cards and gifts store. (For view of more of the range click here.) Between ten a fifteen of the titles would work very well in newsagencies. We sell beading, knitting and similar titles so why not the specialist desk calendars which connect to the same demographic?

While newsagents have good coverage of hanging calendars, we tend to shy away from these desk products.

Last Friday, calendarXpress launched a website promoting its line of calendars and participating newsagents. This is an important online initiative designed to drive traffic to and sales for the newsagents involved. By developing other brands for niche categories in our newsagency businesses we can overcome prejudices and attract those who may not browse a newsagency.

calendarXpress, while created by newsXpress, is open to all newsagents as a means of better managing the calendar range and improving margin.

I am a Director of calendarXpress.

We went out early with calendars this year compared to previous years and it is paying off with weekly sales of more than $1,000 at full price. In our location, these are good numbers. The dog calendars are working the best – I can see us ordering backup stock to tide us through Christmas. I am glad we have none of the magazine company offerings.

Diaries are equally as strong as calendars this year compared to last.

Based on the emails I have received in the last 24 hours, I could easily sell more ZOO Krystal 2008 calendars through here than in my newsagency.

We are carefully watching the publisher calendars this year – while we have canceled most, some sneak through like this one. Our concerns are margin and shelf life. The calendars we have ordered directly generate more than twice the margin so, naturally, we prefer them to these units. Also, the titles we have ordered are integrated – we ordered each for a reason – whereas titles like this not ordered by us has to be placed somewhere. Finding a relevant location for one off product is challenging.

We can see from sales already that taking control of the category will be financially rewarding for the business.

Customers have been asking for the last week when our BrownTrout calendars will be out. That they have named the brand is surprising. This will be our third year playing in the calendar space and the first where we are not taking and calendars from the magazine distributors – having customers ask about the range so early is wonderful – we take it as a good sign. Our BrownTrout calendars were put out yesterday.

We have let our magazine distributors know that we do not want to receive calendars from them this year as we have negotiated more lucrative arrangements direct with calendar publishers and importers. It does not make sense to carry calendars which deliver 25% to 33% GP when we can carry similar or better product which delivers 60% to 75% GP. Also, given that the Government owned Australia Post post office opposite my newsagency will have some product similar to what the magazine distributors send, I would prefer to offer a genuine point of difference.

calendarXpress offers individual newsagents a competitive edge.

I often write here about the need for newsagents to pursue new traffic generators and basket builders for their businesses. One such area is calendars. While newsagents carry calendars now they are either from magazine distributors on poor terms or from other suppliers on terms which are not as competitive as they could be.

Through the newsXpress group we have put together a compelling calendar offer for any newsagent – not just newsXpress members. The enquiry form can be downloaded here.

Late last year we embraced calendarXpress ranging guidelines in my shop and achieved an excellent return – far better than we achieved the year earlier when we went it alone. It’s having access to smart category management resources which delivered success for us. Achieving a better return from a traditional newsagent range is what our channel needs to do.

Below is a flyer sent by fax to newsagents promoting the calendarXpress offering.

calendarXpress unlocks better margins and a better range of calendars for newsagents.

DISCLOSURE: I am a shareholder in newsXpress Pty Ltd, the company behind calendarXpress.

The performance of calendars is dependent of many local factors. I learnt that last year when our sales were in the toilet while others had a bumper year. This year, with 66% less stock, our sales are up on this time last year. In fact, we’re chasing more stock. It’s a nice position to be in but one not really of our doing. Last year our centre had two major calendar discounters as well as ourselves. This year we have no competitors so we make the decision about discounting – and don’t discount. The challenge is to make it happen that way next year.

Our newsXpress calendar is proving a hit with more than two thirds of the $2.99 calendar sold – most often adding to an existing shopping basket.

Sales of our exclusive newsXpress calendar are strong. With this calendar offering we cut out a middleman, improved margin, delivered an excellent calendar for a lower price and setup marketing initiatives for 2007 – the calendar includes 24 coupons which customers will bring back to our shop (and other newsXpress outlets) through 2007 to redeem for offers. Being exclusive to newsXpress, means our stores have a valuable point of difference in our calendar offering – rather than relying of suppliers to trim margin, we have, as a unified group, negotiated commercially and with considerable success.

This is a new approach for newsagents – it’s what we MUST do for our future. We need to exert more control over our range, improve margin and branch out into new areas which provide the traffic necessary to deliver a bright future. Our existing suppliers are not going to deliver the growth and margin we need – certainly not with exclusive product. If we don’t want to become general stores we must control more of what we sell. Hence the welcome first steps this month by newsXpress.

Disclosure – I am a shareholder in and Director of newsXpress Pty Ltd