I watched a as a customer asking for a ticket in the now defunct Wednesday Tattslotto for tonight was easily sold an alternative product. As I noted in my post earlier today, customers don’t care about the brand, some don;t even care about the actual game. It is the dream for tonight that matters – hence the ease of selling an alternative ticket.
The drought is over! Scratchies are back in town – instant scratch tickets that is. We received Intralot scratch tickets yesterday, put them out and achieved good sales – including in two outlets which had never sold this category of product before.
Most customers don’t care about the brand, they care about the game or the price of the dream or entertainment they are buying – many yesterday would not know they were among the first to buy Intralot product.
Instant scratch tickets are an important part of the product mix and having them available again after a two week absence reminds us of this. A bonus is that Intralot are flexible about location.
We have been promoting tonight’s OzLotto $25 million on one end of our newspaper stand (facing out to the mall), next to sports and racing newspapers.
This is part of our standard approach to promoting jackpots above $20 million. It makes sense given that half the people entering our shop will not pass the lottery counter – we have a very wide opening to our shop.
This kind of promotional activity for lottery products is outside is required of Tattersalls and as such is not part of their compliance assessment.
Thankfully or Tattersalls machines are still running, they have not cut us off overnight as threatened. I say thankfully because OzLotto has passed the $20 million jackpot sweet spot and is now offering a first division prize of $25 million. We are actively promoting this through our house syndicates and regular tickets. Our promotion reaches beyond the Tattersalls defined area and across to our main newspaper display. Thankfully the newspaper publishers don’t threaten to cut us off it we promote other product in “their space”.
We have a TV station working on our Tattersalls story in addition to the radio coverage already. I suspect this activity as well as intervention by the Minister for Gaming, the Small Business Commissioner, the State Gambling Regulatory Authority and my Lawyer has given Tattersalls reason to take another look at how they approach this. I hope so. I’m a retailer and as such want to sell tattersalls product. I have not taken any decision in my shop which I think will impact negatively on their sales or disrespect their brand.
I was interviewed by Derryn Hinch on 3AW yesterday about our dispute with Tattersalls over the placement of the Intralot terminal on our counter. He and his producers had done their homework and and this made the interview good for bringing the issues at the core out in the open. While the dispute is not yet resolved, it is intresting that two radio interviews in 24 hours led to more engagement by appropriate authorities than traditional channels of communication had achieved in weeks.
I was interviewed by Jon Faine on ABC local radio in Melbourne this morning about the breach notice issued by Tattersalls against us. I know from calls I have received in the two hours since that this is a hot topic among newsagents. Hopefully, the coverage by the ABC will encourage Tattersalls to look at this issue pragmatically rather than the baseball-bat enforcer approach they are currently taking against small businesses.
The space I have allocated to Intralot has never been used for selling or promoting Tattersalls product. Locating Intralot here helps our team better pitch Tattersalls product as an add on to Intralot sales. There is a win here for Tattersalls if they work with their retail network.
The person missing in action continues to be Tony Robinson, the Minister for Gaming. Three letters and no response. So much for small business support.
Tattersalls has hand delivered a letter today breaching me for pormoting Intralot in space I have used for eight years to sell magazines and confectionery. They have given me two days to remove the Intralot terminal. They have also advised that my comments here are a breach of mny Tattersalls. It seems the company is scared of my having an opinion and being public with it.
I give up. The Tattersalls gorilla wins. The Brumby State Government has been no help. The office of the Small Business Commissioner has been no help.
Intralot has started its TV campaign based around the theme of the luck factory. In-store, they are using the LCD screens to educate customers about their new games they launch July 1. I am pleased to see such good use of the LCD screen – they add to the theatre of retail. All of this activity is exciting and will refresh interest in lotteries as a result
The Victorian State Government continues its cut and run strategy on its changes to over the counter lottery products. Their lack of genuine engagement in navigating the resulting changes is disappointing. I have written to the Minister for Gaming twice about unreasonable demands by Tattersalls regarding space allocation. The Minister has ignored my letters yet he has sent another form letter to all lottery outlets pointing us to the office of the Small Business Commissioner. I have written again this morning.
A better approach would be to demand Tattersalls stop sending threatening letters to its retail network, require a moratorium of, say, six months and establish a commercial approach to resolving counter and other in-store space allocation issues.
If my moratorium approach is adopted, I could promote and sell Intralot and Tattersalls products as I choose – see the photo – and then be judged by resulting sales. If my Tattersalls sales are down compared to other outlets then I’d need to to what Tattersalls says. If, on the other hand, they are on par or up, I am left alone to run my business.
I have written to the Minister again this morning as well as Tattersalls and then SBC. With seven days to go and a legal threat from Tattersalls someone needs to step in and help my and others in my situation.
Tattersalls has claimed that it owns the term Quick Pick meaning that Intralot has had to ditch tonnes of printed material and come up with a new name. While we will work hard to pitch their Lucky Pick to customers, customers will call it what they will. If it catches on, customers wanting a Tattersalls product could ask for a lucky pick, now that would make me smile.
At Forest Hill we are getting behind the last Wednesday Tattslotto draw this coming Wednesday, June 25. We are promoting that there can be no jackpot, the prize pool must go. The focus of our locally produced marketing is our house syndicates which we have created just for the occasion. This, coupled with Tattersalls provided material will drive good sales.
Embracing the final draw as we have allows us to talk about the changes coming July 1 when Intralot games start.
I was fortunate to meet with Dr Katakis, the CEO of Intralot yesterday. While not the purpose of the meeting, we did talk about the threat made by Tattersalls to turn off access to their product in my business. He provided some contact details within Government agencies which should help resolve the matter.
Tattersalls would be well advised to accept that they have lost their monoopoly and that it would be in the best interests of their products and brand to put their big stock away and focus on developing their business in partnership with the retail channel rather than the current approach of legal threats of swift economic penalty if you do not follow their every demand without question.
I want to grow the sale of lottery products regardless of the brand. Intralot products will appeal to one demographic of player and Tattersalls to another. I want the full suite of products to succeed. Physically separating them as Tattersalls demands makes this goal a challenge to achieve.
Tattersalls withdrew all remaining instant scratch ticket stock in Victorian Monday, leaving 40% of the counter space allocated in our Forest Hill store empty with no prospects of new product. A threatening letter from their Senior Corporate Solicitor Monday indicates that they intend to fight to retain “their” space. Dead counter space is commercial suicide. I hope that commonsense prevails. In the meantime, Tony Robinson, the Minister for Gaming continues to sit on his hands.
I’d be interested in hearing from any newsagents in Victoria who have received communication from Tattersalls in the last week or so about their in-store Tattersall’s Dedicated Area. You can reach me by email on mark@towersystems.com.au.
We are out if instant scratch tickets as are most newsagents and other lottery outlets in Victoria. Tattersalls say we cannot use the space for anything else even though they do not have new product approved by the State Government for this space. Premium counter real-estate is left looking pathetic – see the photo I took yesterday.
Tattersalls is not responding to our concerns nor is the State Government. While these two parties ignore the problem, retailers are left looking bad to their customers. I think we will have to take matters into our own hands if we are to maintain a professional retail presence at the counter.
I was interviewed last night by Mark Hawthorne for his report in The Age today about how Tattersalls is treating its retail network over the handling of allocating space to Intralot. Jon Faine on ABC local radio in Melbourne today covered the Tattersalls / Intralot story from a different angle and interviewed a Tattersalls agent from Cheltenham.
Media coverage of the challenges facing newsagents and lottery agents is most welcome. In my own case, Tattersalls is demanding I follow a rule book which the company has conveniently ignored for the last five years. The space I have allocated to Intralot is space I have used for other products all this time. Now, it suits Tattersalls to dust off the rule book and threaten my livelihood and that of all stakeholders in my newsagency.
Silence from Tony Robinson, the Minister for Gaming in the State Government is deafening. Having created the challenges for small businesses, his government appears to care less about the business owners, their employees and the families which rely on them.
Commonsense ought to prevail. Tattersalls ought to have business rules which focus on our sales performance and not the real-estate we allocate. It suits me and them that I and my team do this.
The photo shows one of our scratch ticket bays this morning at Forest Hill. We only have two packs of scratch tickets left. Tattersalls has no new product for this and currently does not have Government approval for scratch ticket product. Why they demand we keen this space vacant for them without a revenue opportunity is beyond me.
I have written today to Hon Tony Robinson, the Minister for Gaming in the State Government of Victoria in the hope that he can assist with a dispute over retail real-estate at our newsXpress Forest Hill location.
Tattersalls has told us that we must move the Intralot terminal on our counter or face not having access to Tattersalls product from July 1. Tattersalls has made it clear that they will not accept any reduction in retail real-estate even though they have fewer products on offer from July 1.
The Minister, in a circular to all lottery agents, tells us to go to the Office of the Small Business Commissioner. Based on poor handling of a complain last year I have no faith in that Office to serve the needs of my business within the time contsraints of a July 1 deadline.
Tattersalls should not penalise newsagencies like mine because they lost their monopoly in Victoria. If they were smart they would work with us to esnure active promotion of their product across the whole of our business rather than acting like spurned lover hell bent on revenge.
The Intralot equipment was installed in our Frankston newsagency late last week. The photo shows the current location – this will change when we undertake our shopfit and re-branding shortly. Since this newsagency does not currently have Tattersalls we are not engaged in a real-estate dispute. The space we are using was not previously being put to good use so the disruption at the counter will be minimal. Also, from this location, we can easily sell out to the mall and to customers buying Tattersalls product from the kiosk nearby.
No sooner had Intralot installed the equipment for their new lottery offer to launch July 1 and Tattersalls were in telling us that Intralot cannot have access to any of their space. If we do what Tattersalls want we will have to reduce our counter space by 30%. This is despite Tattersalls having less product than previously. I sure hope that commonsense prevails. Tattersalls is more concerned about rules than commercial outcomes. We give them tremendous coverage outside their area and this drives sales but they don’t care. All they are worried about is Intralot getting some of their space. We could follow their rules and, at the same time, stop our extra promotion, they’d lose at least 20% of our sales. Sure we would suffer but Tattersalls would be happy. Tattersalls ought to treat this as a business decision and treat us as business people.
I hope that Powerball does not go off tonight. I know that we should want a winner and cheer if that happens but selfishly, another jackpot would be wonderful. The first division prize would reach at least $60 million and possibly as much as $70 million.
A $70 million division one prize would drive newsagencies and other lottery outlets nuts in the next week -good nuts that is.
While I am thrilled with the sales kick this week, another week or two would be fantastic – we are between seasons after all. With Mother’s Day a distant memory, the next major retail activity will be around school holidays and mid year sales. So, the Powerball jackpot is hitting at an excellent time for us. The add-on sales are excellent. Every department in the business is buzzing. Newspaper publishers, magazine publishers, greeting card publishers and other suppliers to newsagents should see a positive impact in their numbers.
Yes, I hope that Powerball does not go off tonight.
We are taking a great idea from a newsXpress colleague and creating a pack of Powerball tickets. For $50 our customers will get several goes at the $50 million jackpot. Based on a trial on the weekend it will work a treat. Creating products like this around jackpots is a great way to make the most of the biggest lottery prize ever opportunity.
So much of today and the next six days is about the Powerball $50 million jackpot. Today we have extended our promotion of the jackpot deep into the newsagency including across magazines. Our encroaching on magazine space is compensated by a refreshed magazine display at our main lottery counter and leading to this. While we are offering the up-sell, it is equally important to have the shop do this for us – in the magazine department and elsewhere. The jackpot value is rare so it makes sense to seek out new customers.
We have papered right around the counter, up the walls and across the top to promote the $50 million Powerball jackpot. We have also papered multiple places in the shop with the posters we made yesterday to promote the jackpot. We have our team also offering the up-sell and several other strategies in play to make sure that we achieve our sales targets. We have set two sales targets with team rewards at each point. We are still building what we will do next week in the last couple of days of the jackpot.
