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

Newsagency opportunities

The value of a website for your newsagency

Attracting shoppers from far away is one of the benefits of a website for any retail business. There are plenty of other benefits including being able to sell products when the shop is closed, letting people see what’s in-stock from their home, selling products before you have them in-store and quitting stock that’s not selling in-store to list a few more.

One of the biggest benefits of a website is the opportunity to create a plan b for the business, selling products in a completely different category to provide a fresh income stream, a soft landing should the core retail business find itself in rough waters. The two major websites I have related to my own retail business do this, they sell plenty of products not stocked in the shop with fulfilment from a ‘dark’ store, a space not open to in-store shopping but leveraging retail business resources for efficiency.

There are many benefits of selling online. Having a website today is as important as having a fax machine was twenty years ago. It’s a basic business tool.

Here are some newsagencies with websites. yes, they are all newsXpress businesses because I have their details at hand. Take a look. Some are completed and trading while others are early on that journey.

I have shared this list because showing is better than telling.

Most retailers tend to overthink their first website or two. The best advice is launch early and launch often. In other words, develop an idea and go with it. Learn about being online and evolve the website as you learn more.

The website does not have to reflect your shop, but it can if you want.

Web development is expensive, especially if it is done 100% in Australia like these have been. If you want to reach more shoppers, it is critical. But, a website is a hungry beast. feed it and it is more likely you serve you well. Don’t feed it, and it is likely to not serve you well.

Disclosure: my newsagency software company, Tower Systems, has made many websites for newsagents. newsXpress, the newsagency marketing group I own, offers members half price beautiful websites from Tower.

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Newsagency management

Fujifilm and Scribbler unite to offer card kiosk in Australia

I have been watching the roll out of the Scribbler branded card vending kiosk from Fujifilm in the UK for over a year. I first used the kiosk myself a year ago and I spoke with Fujifilm people at the Spring Fair in Birmingham in 2023.

Now, Fujifilm Australia have confirmed this is coming to Australia.

In the UK, in addition to placement in the popular Scribbler stores, I am told they have these kiosks placed in some university and non retail commercial locations.

The card printed is on bigger paper that is not as thick as a usual card. The selling feature is the range of cards that you may not find in-store.

The hardware costs around $14,000 in Australia and the initial kit of consumables costs around $1,200.

I don’t have visibility of the licence fee or wholesale cost of each card. They are yet to release integrated payment options for Australia.

It will be interesting to see the take up in Australia. In the UK, where I am at the moment, the Scribbler retail network footprint has enabled a broad roll out to educate shoppers. The company does na excellent job promoting the kiosk cards on the front window of its stores.

While time will tell if this is a disruptor in the creating card space, I do think that this is out in the market is good for cards. I also think it especially works with the Scribbler brand because of their 100% humour focus.

There are a few misses in my view:

  • The paper stock is not ideal.
  • The kiosks I have tried have had some cards that are also in the shop and the kiosk version does not feel as good.
  • There is only one size currently from what I can tell.
  • The shop has to be open to make the purchase in the Scribbler versions I have seen.

The plusses are:

  • The kiosk may broaden card appeal.
  • It can make more products available in less space.
  • You can write on the card from a keyboard.

While I have no knowledge of specific plans in Australia and no connection whatsoever with this product, I expect we will start to hear more about it soon. I expect they’ll have a stand at one or more trade shows to launch.

The innovation by Scribbler and Fujifilm encourages those of us with greeting cards in our shops to innovate, to appeal to a broader range of people and to encourage people to buy more cards.

For more on the kiosk roll out, there was a story by Printweek and a launch announcement by Fujufilm.

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Greeting Cards

Why don’t all newsagents sell lotto?

It’s expected by many that all newsagents sell lotto, or lottery products. The thing is, not all of us do. Indeed, not all newsagents do what many expect all newsagents do do.

Each newsagency in Australia is locally owned and run.

Sometimes, these local retailers make choices outside of what you may expect for a newsagency. There at also situations where a supplier, like a lottery business, may decide a local newsagent is not the right fit for them because they already have another business near by, or for some other reason.

What Australians expect from their local newsagency has changed, and continues to change, to evolve, as the world evolved.

In terms of lotteries being in every local newsagency, while many newsagents do sell lottery products, there are many who do not. It would be wrong to judge them for this situation.

There is no shortage of lottery outlets in Australia. Plus, there is online, where, for example, it is easy to buy syndicate shares for syndicates put together and managed by local lottery retailers, including newsagents. Just because you can’t find a local shop right now does not mean you can’t support a local shop right now.

I’ve posed the question Why don’t all newsagents sell lotto? because I can see people asking this online. I suspect there has been a surge in the question because of the $150M Powerball jackpot.

The answer to Why don’t all newsagents sell lotto? is because either they choose not to or the lottery licence holder chooses to not allow them to.

I’ve chose to not sell lottery products in my own newsagencies for the last 11 years. I used to sell lottery products, from 1996 to 2013. It was good money. But there were many rules, restrictive rules, rules that got in the way offing the best retailer we could be, rules that got in the way of customer service.

Lotteries was not a good fit for me and I was not a good fit for them. But, there are many retailers who are a good fit and kudos to them.

My point is that each newsagency in Australia is different and should be considered that way. There is no common set of products and services we sell, no expectation you should have regarding any newsagency business in Australia, no expectation that products, prices and / or service would be the same in each. The difference between newsagency businesses is something to celebrate, just as every locally owned and run retail business is something to celebrate in the local community.

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Newsagency

Is a newsagency a good business to buy in Australia?

It’s January 2024 and a good time to consider this question: Is a newsagency a good business to buy in Australia?

The answer on whether a specific newsagency is good for you to buy will depend on the newsagency, it’s past performance, it’s specific situation, the prospects for the region, your resources and your own retail skills.

But considering the question Is a newsagency a good business to buy in Australia? broadly, I think the answer is yes.

While what newsagents have traditionally been known for has changed, there is plenty of upside for engaged retailers prepared to play outside those now blurred lines of tradition. There are also excellent opportunities within plenty of product categories, including:

Stopping looking like a newsagency. Aussie shoppers have an expectation that a shop that looks remotely like a newsagency will sell what they think a newsagency should sell and will therefor not visit or visit depending on their assumptions. I’ve seen newsagents grow their businesses by not looking like a newsagency.

Gifts. This is easy and the opportunities are considerable. Whereas in the past gifts in newsagencies tended to be lower priced and bland, newsagents I see having success play in higher value niche spaces, and they do well from this. It takes investment, passion and commitment.

Stationery. Plenty of newsagents are reporting growth in stationery sales both in traditional stationery and with impulse purchase must-have stationery such as fashion forward journals and cool pens. It is in this second area of stationery that there is opportunity for even more growth if you engage with trends and stop thinking about stationery as purely functional.

Cards. With millennials and gen z shoppers we are seeing good card sales. But to win them you need to engage with the category in ways that some of the older card companies in Australia struggle with. I see plenty of newsagents growing card sales by being innovating in terms off where they pitch product and the ranges they offer.

If your question is whether a traditional newsagent is a good business to by where traditional to yo0u means lotteries, newspapers, magazines traditional functional stationery and cards then, I’m likely to say no as that type of business with an overall gross profit percentage of between 28% and 32% is flat or declining. But, that type of business can offer good bones for innovation away from the tradition. Again, the key is to pay a fair price based on the actual profit and loss numbers for the business – beware add backs that don’t make sense.

Newsagencies are changing hands, the businesses are selling. There are sellers and plenty of willing buyers. I think 2024 is a good year to buy a newsagency.

Footnote: I’ve not mentioned newspapers and magazines because these poor margin categories are of less interest to me. Newsagents have little or no control over the range of products they stock, no control over the sale price and are burdened with product management requirements that are rooted in practices that were out of date thirty years ago. These poor practices dictated by suppliers add to the cost of business and suppliers are yet to demonstrate an appetite to modernise despite years of promises and the often repeated claim that newsagents are important to them.

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Newsagency management

Newsagents are dying says a newsagent who just closed their business

It is frustrating reading about a newsagent who has closed their business having sold the building to a developer who bags the channel they are leaving.

Newsagents are dying.

This quote is from Des Higginbotham, the owner of the now closed Ferntree Gully Newsagency in an article the local paper, the Star Mail. Here are some other quotes from Des:

“Newsagencies have changed a lot over the years.

“Ever since they took the newspaper distribution away from us, it changed the whole dynamic.

“We lost a lot of traffic flow, and a lot of cash flow – we used to give tasty trucks 1200 suns a day, with serious money!”

“Newsagents are dying, if it hadn’t been for tax lotto wouldn’t have survived,” he said.

While this may be Des’ experience, there are plenty in the channel who would disagree.

I know of newsagents who felt relief at quitting the distribution side of their business and relishing being focussed 100% on being retailers.

There are newsagents enjoying double digit growth in 2023 over a good 2022.

Sure, there are those in struggling businesses. In many cases this has to do with lack of embrace of change, lack of reaching outside the local area for shoppers. Those challenged today tend to still have the mindset of being agents rather than retailers. Suppliers have a bit to answer for with this.

I wish Des and Linda all the best. Hopefully, they will not talk down our channel any more. Maybe in retirement they could visit newsagencies near where they had their shop and see thriving and relevant businesses in action.

Every newsagent is responsible for their business.

Being a victim is unhelpful.

It is never too late to embrace change.

The biggest growth opportunities for our channel are product that deliver 50% and more gross profit opportunities. Some of these are outside what is traditional for our types of businesses. They help us attract new shoppers.

This is a fun space in which to play. But if you cling to an agent mentality like Des appears to have, you’re unlikely to see these opportunities.

It is disappointing that media outlets give voice to views that reflect on our channel as it was 20+ years ago as if those views are relevant today. All of us in newsagency businesses today should call this old-school view out and talk about the reality of where we are at today, the new opportunities that are working for us.

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Newsagency challenges

What does Christmas 2023 feel like in early November?

I’ve taken a moment to look at data from a mix of newsagency businesses to look for indicators as to the possible performance of the Christmas season this year.

Despite the doom and gloom in the media, especially around the interest rate news, early sales are strong.

Christmas cards, decorations and gifts are selling well. The success is greater in those focussed on the more premium products with Christmas related sales in these businesses up 8% to 10% year on year.

By premium I mean decorations priced at $10 and more. Sone have decorations and Christmas home decor products at hundreds of dollars, and they are selling.

At the lower end, decorations priced to compete with supermarkets and scout variety, sales growth is not and obvious.

In the Christmas card space, boxed cards are strong as are single cards. As is often the case, it’s the fringe captions that are selling well early as they are often bought by regular card shoppers who know what’s what.

Engaged retailers can expect, I think, good growth in Christmas revenue in 2023 compared to 2022. While shoppers talk about inflation and interest rates, I see little evidence of it impacting what’s put through registers in newsagencies.

Christmas 2023 looks good!

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Newsagency opportunities

More newsagents with websites

My newsagency software company, Tower Systems, has delivered more websites for newsagents. Here are some of the recent new websites:

In my own shops we have a number of websites doing terrific business:

All of these are connected to our newsagency software for syncing of inventory and sales between the physical and online shops.

It’s easy to  say no to a website if you don’t have one because you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s also easy if you had one in the past and it didn’t work.

Most websites don’t work. Smart people use a failure to do better next time.

At the core of success of a website is filling needs and wants. While needs and wants are quite different, they compel good online business.

Here are the top reasons why I think every retail business needs a website:

  • Capture sales when you are closed. Typically, more than 50% of online purchases are then the brick and mortar business is closed.
  • Engage browsers when you are closed. You can have chat turned on and answer questions from your phone, or you could really geek-out and have an AI chatbot do this for you.
  • Reach people not currently shopping with you. Typically, 75% of sales are from people located nowhere near your shop.
  • Have a second outlet for quitting stock.
  • Have a place where you can experiment.
  • Playing with a plan B in case your shop finds itself in choppy waters.
  • To learn. A website, especially your first website, teaches you so much, and this is especially. What does it teach you you ask? What people want. What they could pay. Haw awful some people are. How to earn income when you are asleep.
  • To get you out of a rut. If you;ve been in your shop for ages and are mailing it in each day, a website could put a spring in your step.
  • To make your shop more valuable. Having a website, even if it is not fully realised or successful, could make your shop more appealing when you decide to sell.
  • To leverage a secondary brand. This could be the first step in a shop rebrand.
  • To drive traffic to the shop. People will find products on your website and visit as a result, for sure.
  • To give you another source of revenue that is completely unrelated to anything you do in your shop.
  • To harvest email addresses you can market to. Email marketing from Shopify is a breeze.

Now, in case you think I am writing this to get you to use Tower to make your website, I am not. I don’t care who makes your website.

You should go with the web designer you want. Beware tho, web development has some shonky people offering services.

Having a website gives people a landing page from your Facebook, Instagram and TikTok posts. This is important.

A website is a hungry beast, demanding your time daily, weekly, long after launch. It’s not easy. But, if you get it right, it can be tremendously valuable.

The work after launch includes regular blog posts, social media posts and more.

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Management tip

Top reasons local retailers like newsagents benefit from a POS software connected website

It’s easy to say no to a website if you don’t have one because you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s also easy if you had one in the past and it didn’t work.

Too many POS software connected websites for local retailers don’t work. Smart people use a failure to do better next time.

At the core of success of a website is filling needs and wants. While needs and wants are quite different, they compel good online business.

Here are the top reasons why we think every retail business needs a website:

Capture sales when you are closed. Typically, more than 50% of online purchases are then the brick and mortar business is closed.

Engage browsers when you are closed. You can have chat turned on and answer questions from your phone, or you could really geek-out and have an AI chatbot do this for you.

Reach people not currently shopping with you. Typically, 75% of sales are from people located nowhere near your shop.

Have a second outlet for quitting stock.

Have a place where you can experiment.

Playing with a plan B in case your shop finds itself in choppy waters.
To learn. A website, especially your first website, teaches you so much, and this is especially. What does it teach you you ask? What people want. What they could pay. Haw awful some people are. How to earn income when you are asleep.

To get you out of a rut. If you’ve been in your shop for ages and are mailing it in each day, a website could put a spring in your step.

To make your shop more valuable. Having a website, even if it is not fully realised or successful, could make your shop more appealing when you decide to sell.

To leverage a secondary brand. This could be the first step in a shop rebrand.

To drive traffic to the shop. People will find products on your website and visit as a result, for sure.

To give you another source of revenue that is completely unrelated to anything you do in your shop.

To harvest email addresses you can market to. Email marketing from Shopify is a breeze.

Now, in case you think I am writing this to get you to use Tower to make your website, I am not. I don’t care who makes your website.

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Newsagency management

5 common attributes of growing newsagencies

Looking at newsagency businesses that are growing, I can see several common interesting attributes, including:

  • Minimal or no backroom office. Product pricing and related work is done on the shop floor.
  • Good use of tech with accurate, up to date and meaningful business data.
  • Regular introduction of products from new suppliers. Typically, between 5 and 10 each year.
  • The owners have a personal goal and a clear purpose for the business.
  • They are retailers, not agents.

Now, there are plenty of other common attributes, but these are the most interesting to me in that they reflect active engagement in the business. Each attribute reflects a conscious decision by the business owner(s), the last point especially.

I know of plenty of long-term newsagents who have pivoted form the agent approach that was required when they entered the business to be the retailers they need to be today. It’s a thrill to see this, and the success that so often flows.

All of us who own newsagencies make our own choices, we are responsible for our success or otherwise. No one can do this for you, force you, or make your bed for you each morning. It’s up to you.

There are many who support newsagents who can help. It begins with you reaching out.

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Newsagency management

Why are newsagencies closing?

Newsagency closures are on the rise. Not at a concerning level, but a rise nevertheless. We are likely to round out 2023 with around 250 closures, a not insignificant number.

While the owners will have their own narrative around the reason or reasons for closure, there is a common, often unspoken, reason for many newsagency closures.

They have not evolved far enough away from the traditional newsagency model of decades ago, they have done done en ought to make their business more appealing to more people.

Many newsagents have thriving profitable businesses. Typically, these successful businesses have evolved, and continue to evolve. They understand the shingle stands for less now than ever before. They know that what they stock matters most as that sits at the heart of the appeal of their business.

Newsagencies are closing because you can rely on papers, magazines, lotteries and stationery to deliver the traffic you need. Change is vital. And, hundreds of newsagents have shown that change delivers excellent results.

There will be some who will wish I had not written this, that talk of closures is best left for private discussion. The thing is, it’s happening, people see it on the street. It’s something we can stop, if we want.

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Newsagency management

Tower Systems offers newsagents half price websites

A beautiful POS software connected Shopify website for a newsagency costs $7,995.00 (inc. GST).

Right now, my software company, Tower Systems, is offering this full service website development package for $4,000.

Shopify is an excellent choice for newsagents and other local retailers because maintaining the website is easy. It does to require specialist technical skills. Plus, it comes with excellent marketing tools and an easy to have products listed on Google.

Tower has made hundreds of Shopify websites already.

Here is what is included in the half price offer for newsagents.

For ease of reference and clarity, below is a numbered list of all work and tasks included in the above quote and work you will have to do. This is the complete list.

  1. Shopify account. We would use our development account until such time, as we deliver the live site to you. Once this has occurred you will need your own Shopify account and we will transfer the site to you.  We can help with this.
  2. Theme selection. We will guide you through theme selection options. Themes determine the in-built features and layouts throughout your site. You will have a free choice of ONE available at themes.shopify.com. Choose carefully as once we begin the personalisation and customisation process, changing themes will incur additional fees.
  3. Overall design to be applied to the theme selected to customise the look and feel of the site. While there is back and forth involved, the design process is not priced to be an extended back and forth process. It is critical you are clear as to your requirements. Some adjustments can be made within the quote but any major diversion from the original theme may add to the cost.
  4. The site we create will have the following elements:
  5. Including text and images (which you are to provide), and site navigation. We would also recommend including a business location map as this is important so local people can find your store (Google account needed).
  6. Creation of the menus that drive your site.This is as important as the look and feel and should be carefully considered.
  7. Social media links to your: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
  8. About page. Your text, describing you and your business: 150 – 350 words. Well written, clear as to what you and your business are about.
  9. Shipping, returns and other policies. We can use yours or you can edit ours and use it.
  10. Contact us page showing your contact details as well as an enquiry form.
  11. Configured Product Pages. Creation of up to 2 different product template pages, these pages show the images and details about products.  If additional product templates are required, then these are charge at $440 per page.
  12. Shopify Inbox setup, if you want chat turned on.
  13. Blog feed. A blog allows you to publish your own news.
  14. Flat Rate shipping based on Shopify’s inbuilt shipping profiles.
  15. The setup of loading of products into the site via a live link to the Retailer software. We would need you to have this data in Retailer ready for export.
  16. Interfacing to standard gateways: Shopify Payments and Paypal. In addition to credit card payments, Shopify Payments can also connect to Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Please note that depending on required site functionality it may not be possible to use the express checkout options. We will advise if this is the case.
  17. EXTRA COST OPTION: Interfacing to Humm, Zip and Afterpay and other Shopify supported payment methods incur an additional fee of $220 per payment method.
  18. Training: over the phone and usually around two hours. We’d like 2 people from the business there as we have found this helps the business get the most from it.

While this post is a promotion for the newsagency website offer from Tower Systems, it also outlines what’s involved in detail enough for newsagents to be more informed when shopping around for a website.

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Newsagency management

When was the last time shoppers lined up outside the newsagency for a new product launch?

Thursday last week, September 7, at 8:30 in the morning, most newsXpress stores had a line of shoppers, people on the phone and people online.

The majority were new shoppers engaging with the business for the first time.

They were there because one of the newsXpress preferred suppliers promoted newsXpress stores to their massive (huge) email database.

Thursday last week was release day for several coins from the Royal Australian Mint, a partner of newsXpress.

While every shop sold out quickly, plenty of the first time shoppers bought other things, including coins released earlier in the year. A typical shop did an extra $4,000 that day.

Around 75% of the time, coin shoppers purchase other products. They are valuable shoppers to attract, more efficient per visit. Basket depth is prized by retailers as are basket value and margin dollars banked.

One of the items released last Thursday, a $375.00 set, Wass the best seller in part because only 1,000 were made and they had to be split between overseas outlets, the Mint shop, coin dealers, and other retailers, like newsXpress stores. This coin is currently fetching close to $900 on eBay. No wonder it was popular.

The $5 colour frosted World Heritage coin, priced at $30 and in the bottom right corner of the photo, is currently fetching around $300 on eBay.

The key thing that happened Thursday beyond the sales themselves was the new shopper traffic. New shopper traffic is essential for the health of any retail business. It is vital for newsagencies with some tent-pole product categories transitioning from physical retail.

There are ways to leverage vertical new shopper traffic – specific product category driven new shopper traffic. This is where retailers can maximise value from such opportunities – even when such new shopper visits are one-off visits.

I’ve heard some in our channel downplay coins as a valuable category. Such comments are typically made by people who don’t have access to them, or have not tried them.

Thursday last week demonstrated the value. Engagement Friday, Saturday and even Sunday has reinforced it with hundreds of dollars of coin gift products selling each day to shoppers who discovered us in this category because of the promotion of Thursday’s release.

Now, here’s the pitch. remember, I an a Director of newsXpress.

newsXpress works hard to help its members attract new shoppers. We pitch products and back this with in-store advice, social media assets, partner support help selling online.

If you want to attract new shoppers to your newsagency, consider newsXpress. It’s easy to make many times for the $225 a month membership fee. Click here for our latest information document or email our team for more information at: help@newsxpress.com.au.

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marketing

FREE advice for local retailers: Nine one-percenters that could add thousands to the value of your retail business.

One-percenters are small things, easy things you can do for a win.

They are often things others forget.

Today I share nine of what I think are the best one-percenters for any local indie retail business.

I’ve experienced the value of on-percenters like these.

This is free advice. You don’t have to buy anything to access it. I love seeing local indie retailers thrive.

  • Place 2 or 3 products at the counter for impulse purchase. Change weekly, unless they are selling well.
  • If you have a front window, change it weekly. The goal is to stop passers-by and have them notice you.
  • Never be out of stock of popular products. Use your software to predict sales and order so you don’t sell out.
  • Price new stock on the shop floor, located to disrupt shopper traffic, so they notice. People don’t buy from the back room.
  • Use social media to share knowledge and have fun rather than promoting products. Entertain.
  • Have a staff product of the week in a good position with a handwritten note from the staff member explaining the why.
  • Write the value of dead stock somewhere where all staff see it. Update it weekly for a whole of business focus on reducing this.
  • Offer genuine loyalty rewards that don’t cost you the farm and are easy for shoppers to understand and access.
  • Colour block in a prime position. This gives products rarely in prime position to be seen. It shows off your range diversity.

What you do with this is 100% top to you. The thing is, I know these tips work. Combine them and you compound the value you achieve. It’s simple – a small time investment for a terrific return.

I like engaging with small steps. They are manageable, safe, certain. It means you’re not relying on one or two big moves, often costly moves, for your success. By spreading the risk, the load, you strengthen the foundations of the business and position it for more certain results.

Here’s the colour block tip in action. It took half an hour to do, and shoppers noticed while it was being created, they added suggestions too. The result speaks not only to red, but also diversity and to fun we have in the shop by being different.

What you do about the 9 tips is up to you of course, but let me ask you this: are you happy with the performance of your business? If you say yes, great! If you say no, you know you have to make some changes because doing the same things will give you the same results.

The advice in this post originated from newsXpress advice to its newsagency marketing group members years ago. The one-percenters list has evolved considerably, as it should.

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Management tip

Free Zoom workshops: websites for newsagents Tuesday Sep. 5 @ 3pm.

Tuesday September 5 @ 3pm Melbourne time I’ll host a free and open to all workshop on websites for newsagents.

So much has changed in the last few months in terms pop getting online and being easily found. I’ll talk about that, show what some newsagents are doing and answer any questions.

Every retailer I have spoken with who has taken their business online has been surprised at the results. Today in retail, being online is more important than ever – there is plenty of evidence supporting this.

Here’s how to connect:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82707011293?pwd=MnpjSFk2ZUFUL0NHcmlkUFpjdG1YQT09 Meeting ID: 827 0701 1293 Passcode: 199001

Please have your camera and mic on so you can actively participate.

This is not a sales or marketing event. It is practical advice and an exploration of what other newsagents are already doing.

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Newsagency management

Too many newsagency suppliers are clueless as to what we can sell

A supplier earlier this week told me they made sure to stay within what we could sell when pitching products.

What do mean what we could sell, I asked. You know, nothing over $25, they said. Who set that limit?, I asked.

They were stumped. They had no idea how the $25 became a limit in their head, a limit as to what they would pitch.

This discussion became a thing because I could see they were pitching less than a third of the products they had. Whatever set the limit was stopping them pitching $200 and more items I am sure we could sell.

If you are a supplier to newsagents, stop limiting what you pitch based on some price ceiling you think exists as to what newsagents could sell. Let the retailer decide. Be prepared to be surprised by what sells in engaged newsagency businesses.

There are no boundaries to what Aussie newsagents can sell in their businesses. I know newsagents who run full fashion businesses in-store, others with firearms businesses, others strong in the camping space while others offer a deep range of homewares.

We are at a point in time when suppliers likely have little idea on what is possible in a retail business in our channel.

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Newsagency management

Can newsagents sell the $3,700.00 50th Anniversary of the Sydney Opera House 2023 $100 Gold Domed Proof Coin?

The 50th Anniversary of the Sydney Opera House 2023 $100 Gold Domed Proof Coin is a truly beautiful coin, one I am grateful to say we have in stock. It’s only just been released. We had 2 in stock, and sold 1 the other day.

With only 750 minted, this coin is rare, and in demand by collectors. That it features the Memorial Obverse of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, makes it even more sought after.

Newsagents can sell this and other highly sought after, high-priced collectibles. Long gone are the days we focussed on items priced at $20 or less. And, this is my point: it is vital we are not constrained by the agent mentality when choosing inventory for our shops. We need to think about what could be, without the constraints of the agent history.

While I write about this beautiful coin, the post is actually about thinking beyond the traditional, looking for inventory through which to attract new shoppers, to broaden the appeal of the shop. there are so many categories and products through which we can do this. Yes, it’s a risk, but there can be a terrific reward.

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Newsagency opportunities

How important is online to your retail business?

You can’t avoid the importance on online to any retail business today. The percentage of retail sales made online continues yes to grow, and at some cost to physical retail.

While there are plenty of online failures, they are no different to physical store failures. There are plenty of online successes.

The year on year growth of 49% for a website connected to one off my shops is terrific, as this graph from Shopify from yesterday shows.

This business transacts more sales outside usual trading hours for a shop. More than 90% of shoppers are not local – they are people not in easy reach of the shop.

We are not doing anything special here. Indeed, we are following the advice we give to other retailers setting up a website for their business.

I urge newsagents who do not have a website connected to their business to get one – but be clever about it, don’t be constrained by what you do today, treat the website as a start up opportunity.

I have 4 Shopify sites connected to 3 shops and about to setup a 4th. There are many opportunities out there that can add real value to a retail business – as the Shopify graph shows.

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Newsagency management

How to easily identify dead stock in your newsagency

Dead stock is a waste of money and space in any retail business. In newsagency businesses, we tend to see plenty of dead stock in the stationery department. Too often, we see it in the card department too.

newsXpress provides contextual training to its members for sharing with staff. These short, snackable, videos relay training in a way anyone can understand. Here’s the latest (six-minute) training video on dead stock:

Here is a short video on how to easily identify dead stock using the newsagency software from Tower Systems, software used by more than 1,700 newsagents:

Working on dead stock is an easy win for any newsagency business where it has not been an active focus for a year or more. These videos are designed to encourage that engagement to release capital and space for more productive use in the business.

Why am I sharing this today? Primarily, to encourage all newsagents to work on dead stock. I know of one newsagency not that long ago where working on dead stock unlocked $15,000 in cash and a chunk of space. I know of another where the party buying the business contracted for a discount for old stock – they ended up paying less than half wholesale for 25% of the stock in the business.

This advice is designed to help newsagents today to run more efficient and valuable shops.

There is the bonus benefit from freely sharing this information of showing another way my businesses, newsXpress and Tower Systems, help newsagents to run more efficient and valuable businesses. It is important to me to show rather than tell. You can watch both videos without logging in or giving over your details, or signing up to some training course.

If you’re not a Tower newsagency software customer you can find out more here: https://www.towersystems.com.au/newsagency-software.html

If you’re interested in newsXpress, you can find out more here.

Now, if you think you don’t have dead stock, I think you’d be wrong. Every business I have looked at for dead stock has had dead stock. Yes, every business. Often this is because of a attitude of denial. Something does not exist if we deny it, right?!

You can easily see it it’s an issue in your business. In a couple of minutes you can see the value of dead stock. That alone is likely to have you making good decisions in your shop.

If you act and remove the bloat of dead stock you have a fitter, healthier and more focussed business.

But you have to act. As the leader of the business you have to act, even if it is to delegate the work. The videos are designed to be shared that way.

Go.

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Newsagency management

Christmas in July is the new online sales opportunity for retailers with websites

Over seven days we bagged $5,708 in online sales from our Christmas in July promotion. Some of this was product we wanted to quit while some was bought in on a deal for the sale.

We spent nothing on marketing other than a small amount of time on two emails and some social media posts. $0 spent.

Looking elsewhere online in Australia and I can see that Christmas in July is being done by enough retailers online, with enough heft to say it is a thing, something that any retailer with an on line presence should do.

We didn’t pitch it in-store. Rather, this year, we wanted to try online only. We are very happy with the results.

Every purchase was made by someone hours and more away from the shop – to people who would never walk past our front door. This is one of the values of online, it opens the reach of the business, positions you to be less reliant on local even though all of us in local continue to pound the shop local drum.

Online itself is critical in retail today. Spike opportunities like Christmas in July, Black Friday and even Prime Day are opportunities to move stock that slow. They are also opportunities to connect with new shoppers.

In our situation, we won some good business because existing customers referred friends, for which we are grateful. We did this without leveraging are special tech skills or platforms. We use Shopify for the website and it is integrated with our Tower Systems POS software. Sales flow from Shopify to the Tower software and from there to Xero, another integration. For shipping management, choosing the most cost effective, we have an integration there – to reduce not only shipping costs but labour costs too.

These integrations have been closed to reduce labour cost and improve the customer experience – both critical to any online operation.

We have more sales events planned outside of the majors I have mentioned in this post. we have a terrific email database of engaged shoppers as I know if we use that with respect it will deliver more good news.

Footnote: around Melbourne plenty of businesses are pitching Christmas in July, including, of all places, KFC.

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Newsagency opportunities

Language is not the barrier it used to be in the newsagency

Years ago, if we had a card or some other product with a swear word on it, we’d receive complaints all through the day, many complaints. The same product today would attract one, maybe two, complaints a week.

10+ years ago we had a card from Spirit in one of my shops that had a small balloon on the front as the penis. We had a customer who would come in and cut the penis off.

I think what offends people today is different. Swears on cards and other products attract more laughs than complaints. I think the balloon penis would be the same if we had it.

There is a strength in the way swear words are used on some cards, a cleverness, too.

We are careful, of course, to not shine a light on these cards at the counter. rather, they are in the card mix, where you’d expect the shopper likely to purchase this card to look.

The Affirmations card business released their defamations range some years ago. It’s a raunchy range with plenty of swears. It sells very well. Retailers often tell me of the laughs they hear from the part of the store where the defamations products are located.

I guess my point here is that swear words are not the turn off they were 10+ years ago. Today, they will most likely help you win sales, and they will, for sure, make your shop relevant to a wider group of shoppers.

I’ve used cards with swear words on their in social media posts, with success. A common response is people tagging friends in the post.

There are plenty of suppliers now playing in this space. My advice in case you don’t have these types products in store is have a crack as you are likely to find new shoppers.

In the UK, the Scribbler group has built their business on cards like these. You only have to stand in one of their shops and realise the broad age range appeal of raunchy cards – older women, 75+, especially appear to like the humour.

Personally, I am drawn to the more nuanced used of swear words, like you can see on the card included with this post. I think it’s smart and relevant.

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Greeting Cards

The value of playing outside what has been traditional is vital for the health or the local newsagency, or any local retail business

A few months ago in one of my shops we introduced a new product category, something we had never stocked before, something appealing to a demographic we have not pursued with our buying or visual merchandising.

So In the first 16 days of this month we have just clocked over $1,000 in revenue for this new category. This is on the back of a $5,000 investment in inventory.

We are forecasting 12 month revenue at between $20,000 and $20,000 allowing for a seasonal bump, while maintaining that $5,000 inventory investment.

We had no idea if this would work for us. The $5,000 was a gamble we were prepared to take. We thought and hoped it would work, but there was nothing in the store we could point to that would suggest it would work. As I noted, it was new for us.

I’m grateful it is working, that the gamble paid off.

Now that we are around 10 weeks in, we are seeing new shoppers in to shop the category. We know from comments that this is happening because of word of mouth.

What makes the success more enjoyable for us is that we are using a location in the shop that was not performing before.

The whole experience is the reminder of the value for local retailers of:

  • Experimenting beyond what is traditional for your business.
  • Letting your customers tell you what they will buy.
  • Capping your spend.
  • Tracking the results.
  • Relishing every new customer you attract to your shop.
  • Not letting your shingle define you.

We’ve not changed anything in the 10 weeks other than top up stock. The plan always was to let it sit for 3+ months before change. With the results as they are, we think only minimal change within the category is necessary.

Anyone can do what we’ve done. And, it’s not about the products we specifically chose. That’s up to you. My core message with this post is to actually try something different and see what the results are for you. Good or bad, you will gain valuable insights.

Decades ago, back when we were agents others made strategic decisions for our businesses. Today, strategy is yours to determine, and one of the most important is to pursuit of new shoppers for they are the lifeblood of local indie retail.

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Newsagency management

The challenge of winter in retail and how engaged newsagents can thrive

June, July and August are tough months in many local shops like ours. There is no major season, and, it’s winter. Brrr. Some who have been in retail for ages call these months the months of death – because it separates strong businesses from weak.

This year could be tougher because of interest rates and the penchant in newsrooms for stories negative about the economy and the future.

Here are 7 ways you could make these three months work for you.

  • Be happy. Make the shop bright, happy, smelling good and sounding good. Good lighting. Have a candle burning. Have an awesome playlist. Make your shop a place people enjoy. And, reflect this in your social media posts.
  • Pitch your offers consistently: discount vouchers, buy x cards and get a card for free. If you have value offers, pitch them in-store as well as on your socials.
  • Google My Business. Post several times a week. Be found by people nearby searching for what you sell.
  • Christmas in July. Get out any Christmas related stock you have and sell it off. Heck, host a Christmas party to launch it. Load the sale with other stock you’d like converted to cash. Consider a local charity or community group connection.
  • Bring in something new, something you’ve never sold before, something you thought you’d never sell. Challenge yourself to reach new shoppers. Launch it with an event. Put on some drinks and nibbles. Give people a reason to come out.
  • Get a second opinion on your business performance. Gather your data and ask someone to look at what’s working and what’s not. It could be that fresh eyes help clear a better path ahead for you. We will gladly help with this.
  • Pitch occasions like you would seasons. Bring together cards, gift bags and gifts to make it easy for people to celebrate: new home, baby arrival, engagement, wedding, congratulations and, yes, even sympathy. Choose one for a week or two and bring all the options together. Sometimes we have to show people what to do. The best opportunities here are the ones other retailers ignore.

My point with this list is that this valley, June, July and August, separates retailers. Those who do well tend to be engaged, they tend to embrace opportunities to make their own success.

This advice was first shared with newsXpress members as part of a broader regular series of business advice for making the most of every opportunity.

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Newsagency management

If you think closing your newsagency or your retail shop for good is the only option …

I get it. Sometimes, the road ahead can have so many obstacles and the air is so heavy with fog that a pathway can be hard to find.

In the Aussie newsagency channel you can collect a ton of obstacles and feel surrounded by fog if you are drawn to the end is near talk and have your business rooted deep in the past for our channel.

If you feel like closing is your only option, I am writing this for you.

Stop. Collect data – your sales data, your financial situation information, local economic circumstances. Gather all the facts together, and go over them – not the emotion, the hearsay – stick to the evidence, the facts.

Usually, in the evidence, there is opportunity. The challenge is that often opportunities cannot be seen because of the noise of obstacles and fog. That’s why I say stop, get your evidence and sit with that.

My hope is that in your evidence there is sufficient opportunity to find a path forward for the business, and for you.

Turning a situation away from closing is my only option can only come about by one or a mix of:

  • attracting new shoppers
  • getting existing shoppers purchasing more
  • making more from some of what you sell
  • reducing costs

It’s pretty simple when you read the list. The hard part is the action, that’s where retailers can get stuck. I mean, attracting new shoppers is difficult, especially in small business where the levers we can pull are limited.

The best way to attract new shoppers in any local retail business is to introduce a completely new product category, to represent it well in-store and to pitch it appropriately on social media.

Your existing suppliers won’t have helpful advice in this area because they are your existing suppliers. You have to look outside your current pool of advice and influencers and look outside what people know your shop for. Choose a category that is fun, appealing and for sure traffic-generating. Ideally, it will be something not easily found locally, something that interests you. That last bit is important because one way to drive traffic for a new category is to be a bit of a local expert.

I get that it may be challenging to find the energy and money to make things work with a new category. If the survival of your business matters you’ll find a way.

The best way to get existing shoppers spending more is through a smart loyalty mechanic and having a shop people enjoy.

The best way to make more from what you sell is by charging more or buying better, or both. Don’t go crazy. A modest increase in GP% could work wonders.

Key to the success of any turnaround is starting on the road early, before fog and debris block the past. It’s important to all of us who own businesses to be looking well ahead, over the horizon, cultivating assets we can deploy when we think change may be needed.

Before I leave the topic I want to touch on reducing costs. That’s a common approach to saving a business. While it could help, rarely in my experience have I seen reducing costs alone be enough to save a business. Sure, it can be in the mix, but it alone is not enough. And the truth is that a well run business has trimmed costs already.

If you think closing your newsagency is the only option, reach out. There are plenty of us in the newsagency channel who will listen, and offer advice if you’d like it.

You are not alone.

Mark Fletcher
mark@towersystems.com.au mark@newsxpress.com.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fletcher-tower/

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Newsagency challenges
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