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Gifts

National Police Remembrance Day

September 29, 2019, will be the 30th anniversary of National Police Remembrance Day, an important day in the calendar of serving and past-serving officers and their families.

We are grateful for the opportunity to connect with the day through the sale of specially minted commemorative coins. The interest has been terrific. Because of how they are packaged, they have proven to be an excellent gift for customers to post to loved-ones.

What I particularly like about this day is the opportunity to reinforce niche gifts and to offer cards that support the niche gift giving opportunities. Through this we get to pitch our business as being more useful than many other gift related retailers. If you look around, it is easy to find plenty of niche opportunities for which we can pitch gifts and cards.

More broadly, from a category perspective, coins are proving to be valuable in revenue and the new traffic they attract.

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Gifts

Fresh face of the newsagency attracts new shoppers

This is what shoppers walking past the newsagency have seen for the last few days. Wow! The new people this display is attracting is terrific.

Oh, and to the nay-sayers / critics … I am not saying you should do this. No, that is 100% up to you. What I am saying is that I am glad we did this.

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Gifts

The valuable counter position

The AFL team emblems we have sold okay from their usual position in the shop.

Place them on the counter and people add them to their purchase – newspaper customers, card customers and more. Love for an AFL team gets people to open their wallets in AFL crazy Melbourne from what I can see.

It helps that these products can be posted – making them an easy gift.

I see terrific value in placing items at the counter that are not identified as traditional newsagency lines.

We need to embrace every opportunity to push back on the shopper perception that we built up for decades.

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Gifts

Driving relevance for the newsagency

Here is our in-store pitch in support of the new Toy Story film out this week. Online, too, we are similarly engaged.

Connecting with blockbuster movies is lucrative, especially using products with 50%+ GP and that offer net new traffic.

Finding new traffic starts with product. It works well when you can connect with a popular licence. That is the motivation for this Toy Story pitch. The franchise is strong and the advance buzz for this new movie is terrific.

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Gifts

Gifts for guys in the newsagency

Newsagents often tell me that sourcing gifts for guys is difficult. An approach I favour is to not make one pitch of gifts for guys. Instead, I prefer multiple, smaller, pitches. This makes it easier to range and easier for the shopper to shop. We can move the smaller ranges around easily, bring some into better focus for a promotion, thereby offering a fresher view guy gifts.

Here is one of several gifts for guys pitches we have in-store now. The products are the banner, the lure. We figured that if we need to put up a sign saying gifts for guys we have got it wrong.

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Gifts

If you have Grumpy Cat product…

Grumpy Cat has died. This cat that spawned a worldwide business has lead a celebratory life. Grumpy Cat achieved terrific success in Australia.

If you have Grumpy Cat products, pitch them where they will be seen. Do it respectfully. Interest will be strong I suspect.

If you don’t have Grumpy Cat products but ant to acknowledge the cat’s passing, the image I have included with this post is the official announcement that was shared on social media. Consider sharing this.

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Gifts

Pitching gift packaging off-location to drive sales in the newsagency

We are pitching gift packaging off-location. That is, away from the usual fixed location for the category.

This display brings the product to life more than usual and puts it in front of more shoppers. Both actions grow sales sales.

This photo is one side of the display.

This photo shows the other side of the display. You can see we have different approaches for each side.

The display is (easily) changed weekly  to offer a fresh view  to regular shoppers and as part of the process of incremental change / refresh for the business. Sales growth is the core focus of all this.

The gift packaging category does not do as well for newsagents as it should. I say this based on newsagency sales benchmark data and comparison of this to overall gift packaging data.

Bottom line: we should be selling more bags, wrap and related gift packaging items. I think our sales should be at least a third higher than they are.

While some might say this is a function of product, I think it has more to do with lack of creative engagement with the category in-store.

We can fix this with minimal capital, inventory and time investment. Hopefully the photos act as inspiration.

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Gifts

Gifts are not what they used to be, and that is a good thing

There was a time when gifts were easy to stock for newsagents. There were wholesalers who offered access to spinners and packs that fit with the key seasons as it is those seasons that we all focussed on for ur gift stories through then year.

That all started to change ten or so years ago. Slowly, the gift opportunity evolved to a point today where plenty of newsagents do not purchase season specific gifts, leaving that space to discount variety and other similar mass retail businesses, including c-stores, which are playing more and more in this space.

Gifts today are more carefully purchased by newsagents in the space, to appeal to unique local interests or to use as a lure to a specific and valuable demographic for the business. Often, the best gifts are those you would never expect to see in a newsagency. In my own situation, I put pursuit of a demographic ahead of season and other factors s that can provide buying guidance that is ore useful than some hard and fast rule on price.

In my experience, terrific gifts today come from suppliers who to not make calls on retailers as that means you are less likely to have another local retailer following you, or at least not following you as easily as if they spoke to the same rep visiting the town.

The short version of this is that the days of mediocre cheap gifts as the standard in newsagencies has passed. We now see less of the forks bent into art for guys and colourful oven mitts or gaudy soap packs for ladies. We see more short run products, locally made products and higher priced art like pieces … that you would never have seen in a newsagency a few years ago.

The gift space is strong and have plenty of opportunity to get stronger. I am optimistic about this category for our channel.

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Gifts

2018: the year of poo

There is no slowdown to the sale of poo in the newsagency. What started as an emoji on digital platforms, is now in games, toys, plush, squishies, cards, books, candy, posters, badges, more…

Poo has broad demographic appeal and is represented in a mix of suppliers.

While we have poo products mixed in a range of categories in the business, there is enough product to bring it all together in its own category. Yes, I am serious.

What is interesting to me is that I thought the interest in poo products would have passed by now. We have seen products available for a few years. That it is part of Christmas 2018 and the extent to which products are available is unexpected. That said, we are working to make the most of the opportunity.

Retail today is all about being opportunistic, jumping on products and categories that have a social media play or connection and leveraging this for maximum benefit. Poo fits that.

Now, to round out the interest, we need a poo magazine or one-shot.

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Gifts

An exciting time in men’s gifts for newsagents evolving their gift offer

It is terrific to see the mens gift offering expand beyond stubby holders, socks and similar. Thanks to new wholesalers and better buying by existing wholesalers we are able to tap into cool gifts with a broader appeal than we have had in the past.

I am especially liking gifts that play well outside of seasons, as well as gifts that skew for guys but can work just as well for girls. It is a bonus is they work well for people 35 and younger.

Whereas in the past mens gifts used to be the same year in and year out, now we can play as if we are in  the fashion business, seasonally, knowing that what is in this season will have faded next season. Sure this is harder work for the retailer, but the benefits are worth it is we can become known as being a shop with cool gifts.

The changes over the last couple of years and in 2018 in particular in the mens gifts space are considerable. This is why I say it is exciting … because through this category of gift we can expand the appeal of our business both to existing shoppers as well as to new traffic shoppers.

Plus, many of the newer, funkier, mens gifts lend themselves to social media pitches. This is vital if we are to seek out and attract new shoppers to our businesses.

Finding the gifts is a challenge as you need to either have existing suppliers innovating through their buying for you or your need to seek our new suppliers who so not usually serve the channel. Both are options. I am seeing both work well in may businesses.

Given the number of cards we sell for males, it makes sense that we are strong in the male gift space. That said, gift sales in our channel skew strongly female, more strongly than the percentage of female cards we sell. I think this is because of buying choices by newsagents and others in our businesses who do the buying. It is something we need to fix, in our buying. The new products we have access to can help with that.

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Gifts

Father’s Day cards work at the newsagency counter

This placement of two Father’s Day cards at the counter has been working a treat in part because of the tactical placement, next to the EFTPOS terminal, and in part because of the stand-out cards themselves.

We have tried different cards, these two have worked the best at this retail location. The Batman card in particular is loved by shoppers. Inside, it is an homage to the original comic and TV series.

While the Father’s Day season peaks in the week before, and even then a few days before, we have had success driving impulse purchase weeks out with this counter-based tactical placement of Father’s Day cards.

We changed cards once, sometimes twice, a week, choosing cards that complimented each other, cards that spoke to our range in a way that we hoped was different to what shoppers might see elsewhere.

We have supported the counter selection with other tactical placements in store too, to provide multiple touch-points for the cards we shine a light on.

Father’s Day 2018 is going well. Of particular interest is the success we are having with gifts that are not your usual Father’s Day gifts. This has been a core focus of ours, seeking to play outside what is usual for gift shops and others in this crowded Father’s Day space.

From Ted Baker to other world-class brands along with pop-culture brands, we have played beyond what has been traditional for the channel as have plenty of other newsagents this season.

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Gifts

Pitching Father’s Day in the newsagency

We are getting a good reaction to the different Father’s Day pitch. Here is some of the select that is attracting shoppers. We have deliberately selected items that will have appeal beyond the season and items that will attract people who might otherwise not shop a newsagency for the season.

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Gifts

Managing challenging customers, and selling products

I have noticed more retailers using humorous signs at the counter to encourage less stressful encounters terms with customers. In some cases they are signs specifically for that purpose whole in others they are signs that are actually sold in the store. Here is one example I saw in a card and gift shop earlier this week.

I like this sign. It’s sharp but fun. It is part of a larger range that has been popular in the US for a couple of years now.

I saw first-hand that this sign work as a talking point with customers, which can lead to them looking at other signs in the range.

The key with using any signs like this, which are part of a range in-store, at the counter is to keep the counter clean of other distractions. This means no other signs. Plus, you need a quick response to any customer comment or query, to maximise the opportunity. The other thing I would do is change the signs regularly, thereby not focussing on one like this the could offend customers.

How we win some customers today is different to a few years ago. Just as what can constitute a gift today is different to a few years ago. Winning at both requires in playing outside what has been usual in our businesses.

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Customer Service

Squishies doing better than fidget spinners in the newsagency

Squishies have been performing well for months. While sales to regular shoppers are excellent, their attraction of new traffic is even better.

This high-margin category is already outperforming fidget spinners in terms of full year bottom-line value to the business.

What you see in the lease line display is low in stock weight. Squishies turn fast: 4+ times in two months.

The display attracts kids, who pull in parents. The typical basket has two squishies and several other items from the business. This is where there is terrific value on the category for the business.

I also like that squishies fit with our broader toy and games pitch, enabling us to even better serve those shoppers.

I expect the opportunity with squishies to continue to Christmas and at least early into the 2019 holiday season. It is the direct imported products that are performing best for us as our range is competitive with Smiggle, K-Mart, Target and others in range and price.

This post is about more than squishies. It is about being opportunistic, early to engage with a trend, sourcing outside slower supplier channels, and, promoting widely outside the business to leverage the new traffic opportunities.

This is retail today – playing outside tradition, leveraging high margin and reaching out for new customers who might otherwise pass the business by.

Squishies are easy to dismiss as a cheap toy. In my experience and the experience of retailers who have been in this space for over a year, they are much more than a toy. They are a genuine opportunity for our businesses.

Footnote: to any trolls planning to comment here to seek to distract from the insights shared and the optimism of the opportunity, go on, knock yourselves out. The efforts three or four people are going to in comments here to distract from positive posts is extraordinary. You can see the strength off their concision by their anonymity.

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Gifts

Teacher gift inspiration

Check out this teacher gift display that I saw at a stationery / gift shop in the US a couple of days ago. Click on the image to see a larger version for detailed inspiration.

I like the display because of the variety of product and that it was placed to interrupt traffic flow.

I saw this display at the end of the season. The initial display, setup a month ago, was four times the size of what is in the photo.

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Gifts

Good start to Sydney Gift Fair

Feedback from the floor of the Sydney Gift Fair is that optimism was strong among retailers and buying good.

Attendance was up 14% on level 1 and 18% on level 4 on 2017 numbers.

There is no better indicator of business outlook than buying at a major trade show like this.

Suppliers I have had contact with are happy with the first day of trade and sale looking forward to the next four.

My tips for retailers are:

  1. Ensure you know who else near could you get what you are interested in.
  2. Be clear about what is acceptable to you re backorders.
  3. Be clear about delivery timing you require. Some suppliers harvest orders and then order from overseas.
  4. have a budget.
  5. Never spend the full budget.
  6. Remember: you are not your customer.
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Gifts

More respected brands cross into retail, opening more opportunities for us

Stanley is the latest brand that I have seen cross into a retail offering. If the John Deere experience of a year or two back is anything to go by, Stanley will do very well because of the multi-layered appeal … as a straight out kids product and as a product that an adult who loves and uses the brand will buy for kids to bring them into their world.

It is terrific seeing adult brands leverage brand awareness for products we can sell as part of a toy / craft pitch.

Newsagencies are well placed to leverage opportunities in this area, as the John Deere launch showed. It was great at new traffic generation and shop floor impulse purchases, because of existing brand awareness and respect.

The gift segment of our businesses continues to evolve, which is good for businesses – especially as specialisation is more important than ever. Opportunities abound.

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Gifts

VM TIP: displaying mugs

If you sell mugs, consider placing them like in this photo, with one mug sitting on an angle in another mug. This is a common approach in bigger businesses where they have research the best approach to pitching mugs to browsers.

Oh, and if you do not currently stock mugs, consider it as they are in the top ten gift items purchased.

If your business is a destination for birthday cards, it should be a destination for gifts.

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Gifts

Terrific Atlanta gift fair offers insights for independent retailers

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the Atlanta gift fair this year. It was my fourth year at the event and the most enjoyable so far. In addition to the trade show I was able to sit in on some terrific gift related product and strategy workshops.

There was plenty of new product to see and new initiatives to consider.

This is the major trade show for gift and homewares for the year. It is held in a three tower location with each tower similar in size two the one on the photo.

Many companies have year-long booths for sales people to use. Many of these booths show products as a shopper would see them in retail.

I use the show as an opportunity its to draw inspiration in terms of product range, in-store merchandise rising and retail management practices from way beyond the opportunities for inspiration we see in Australia.

As often the case, there was talk at the trade show about the mood of small business owners. The mood is considered to be optimistic. People were open to buy. This is an advance on the same rate show a year earlier.

I have come away with several new product opportunities as well as what I think will be some good in-store initiatives. Retail competition in the US is considerably greater than in Australia. This challenges small business retailers to do better. That is where I have found good learning opportunities by being at trade shows like this.

The importance of gift retailers  is growing in our channel. It is exciting as what constitutes gift continues to evolve.

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Gifts

You are not your customer

The next time you decide to not stock something because you do not like it, stock it and give it a good location and good support.

You are not your customer.

Think about the magazines you sell, the diverse number of titles. What percentage of the magazines you stock would you read if you had time? I would be surprised is the percentage was higher than 25%. That would mean 75% of the titles are not to your taste.

You don’t have to like what you sell. You don’t have to like it to be able to pitch it. All you need to do is to understand what you sell. Understand who the customer could be, how they would choose what they buy and how to best represent the product.

The more people who shop with you buying what you would not buy for yourself the better for you and the business.

Don’t think about your shop as an extension of your home, filled with what you want ton see.

You are not your customer.

Hang on to this mantra. Buy with it in mind. Take it as a challenge to see how far you can stray from your comfort of what you like. Let this straying show you what is possible in your business.

The desk nameplate in the photo is an example of an item several newsagents I know stocked under protest. They were shocked that it and others from the sarcastic range sold out in a matter of days, leading them to reorder these products they do not like.

Chase opportunities outside what you like and outside of what people expect for your business or your type of business. This is key to attracting new shoppers.

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Gifts

Newsagency managent tip: selecting gifts for the business

Take a look at card sales by caption, work out the percentage of each. Use that percentage breakdown as a guide for the percentage allocation of gifts for those occasions in your gift department.

Too many newsagents buy gifts for seasons. That approach will not help you achieve the gift sales you could achieve.

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Gifts
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