Newsagency opportunities

I am undertaking a sales benchmark study comparing January-March 2009 against January-March 2008. Tower Newsagents can participate by sending a Monthly Sales Comparison report: tick the box to exclude home deliveries, and tick the box for a category breakdown. Set your first date range (on the left) to January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2009 and the date range of the right to one year earlier. Once the report is on the screen, click the PDF button to save this as a PDF, go into your email software and send a copy of the PDF to me at mark@tower… Newsagents not using Tower software should click here for a spreadsheet template. I’ll publish the benchmark results here and elsewhere so all newsagents can benefit.

UPDATE (3.50PM): I have now received sales data from 40 newsagencies.  I’d expect to have data from more than 100 by the end of the week.  This will be a good dataset.

Australian newsagents today launch a new magazine to the Sudoku, Addoku, Kakuro and Crossword lovers of Australia. Newsdoku is a new type of puzzle, a WORLD FIRST. Each puzzle will take between four and twelve hours to complete and involves maths, detective skills and pure luck.

Modelled on the newsagents magazine allocations and accounting model used to supply magazine to newsagents, Newsdoku has a sting in the tail in that when you think you have got it right, the rules change and you are back to square one. If your game has not been cancelled in the meantime.  While the usual game will run for a month, some run for six months.  Others come back again and again even when you have done them because everyone knows we cannot get enough of a good things.

You can call the national Newsdoku help line for help but this results in penalty points and the loss of time – and their advice has a 50/50 chance of heading you down the worng path for which you will be responsible and not the national help line.

Ask your local newsagent about Newsdoku. It will be in the back room.

I have been asked by some newsagents who attended my presentation at the QNF State Conference last week for a copy of the slides.  I have loaded them to Slideshare.  Click on the image below to play the presentation.

Unfortunately, without the commentary some slides won’t make sense.  The abridged version is this: we are in the midst of massive change.  Rather than ignoring this, embrace it, do something, change your business. I am optimistic about the future because there are many proactive newsagents building new business models – some of which I discuss in the presentation.

Here are the suppliers who funded the QNF Queensland Newsagent State Conference the event yesterday.

As one who regularly supports such events through newsXpress and Tower Systems, it is frustrating that it is the same suppliers who stump up cash for newsagent conferences, golf days and the like. The best way newsagents can encourage more suppliers to open their wallets is to support the suppliers who fund industry events.

I am grateful to have had an opportunity to speak at the QNF Queensland Newsagents State Conference today. I spoke on Living with Google – how we need to operate our newsagencies in this Google dominated world where the traditional business rules have been abandoned and our core products are challenged. I see our response to the changed world in simple terms:

• Take responsibility. We need to be responsible for our businesses. This means NOT relying on suppliers or others to lead us. We have to lead ourselves – individually and collectively as appropriate to our circumstances. Too many newsagents have bought into the channel in pursuit of an income. Those who have bought in to own and operate a business will fare better.
• Stand for something. Most newsagents stand for vague points of difference – customer service, being local etc. Each of us needs to stand for something of value, something which defines every decision we make.
• Take control of our retail space. We need to reject supplier control of our space – unless they pay the rent.
• Take control of our product mix. We need to control what we sell – suppliers cannot do this for us.
• Take control of our message. We need to be clear in our message and it needs to reflect what we stand for.
• It all comes down to change. Our business model is based on old products and old business principles. While the old products will serve us well for some time, we need to transparently and urgently start to change. We should do this in beta – trial and error – and in consultation with our customers. Our customers will be more useful in guiding our future than our existing suppliers.

I met several people at the QNF Conference who are excited to be pushing the boundaries of their newsagencies. They have every right to be excited.
The biggest challenge we have as a channel is the gap emerging between the newsagents changing their businesses and those who do not understand that change is essential.

I have been contemplating the future of newsagencies in the context of the GEC (Global Economic Crisis) ahead of my speech today to the Queensland Newsagents State Conference. I’ve been reading plenty about the GEC and the likely impact on businesses like ours, about how retailers traded through the Great Depression and other tough economic cycles.

I am optimistic. If we are smart, newsagents have a bright future. The GEC is an opportunity for us, an opportunity to celebrate being small, local (Australian) and flexible.

• Being small. Smart newsagents will exploit the opportunity by making quick decisions big businesses are slow (too big) to make. Decisions like changing range, price and positioning.
• Being local. Smart newsagents will promote their Australianness and the convenience of their location – and do so in the wake of non-locally connected bigger retailers. Newsagencies are in every town yet we do not promote that our excellent geographic positioning saves fuel and time through convenient shopping.
• Being flexible. Smart newsagents will take their businesses from being newsagencies to being – convenience stores, gift shops, stationery retailers, cafes. They will play with the model in pursuit of what is right for their local situation.  Most of all, they will reduce the space allocation for products over which they have no control.

Of course, if we do nothing then we become spectators of the passing opportunity.

We will get more from our businesses if we engage and participate in the GEC.

I am speaking at the QNF Queensland Newsagent’s State Conference on Tuesday next week. I have chosen to speak on: Life with Google: How Google impacts on newsagencies already and how we can embrace the opportunities of a Google world.

While I don’t have the answers, I do hope to open a conversation among newsagents about their future and opportunities of change presented to us.

Google itself is not the challenge, more the catalyst for much needed change in how we structure and operate our businesses.  But rather than speak of challenges, I’ll explore opportunities.  There are newsagents with flourishing businesses – each one of these started with identifying an opportunity.

Check out whsmithentertainment.co.uk and see how this national UK newsagency chain is pursuing online sales of music, films and electronic games.