partworks

It’s good to see four new partworks heading for newsagents:

• Agatha Christie Books –  on sale Mon 18^th June. Part 1 – $3.95.
• Marvel Graphic Novel – on sale  Mon 2^nd July. Part 1 – $7.95.
• Art Of Quilting – on sale  Mon 9^th July. Part 1 – $2.95.
• Dora The Explorer – Little Cooks Collection – on sale 6^th August. Part 1 – $2.99.

All are being distributed by Gordon & Gotch. All will be supported with TV campaigns.  Allocations have been done by Gotch on the basis of sales of similar titles.  Stock will be sent with A2 posters. There will be limited floor stock for newsagencies sending sales data through XchangeIT.

Based on the UK experience, Dora The Explorer – Little Cooks Collection is expected to be the top seller. It’s hitting at a good time with food continuing in popularity on TV and in print.

Each of these partworks is a terrific opportunity fore newsagents as the TV advertising and other marketing will focus on driving traffic to our shops. Yes there will be some who wonder about whether this is about driving subscriptions. Maybe, maybe not. The reality is the TV will drive traffic just for us. It’s not often we see that.  This is an opportunity to embrace.

I was pleased to see a new artwork launch this week. While The Hood will not be another Baked & delicious, the launch will hopefully bring in some new traffic from fans for this type of build your own partwork.

As newsagents are the go to retail outlets for artworks, I hope that this launch will be promoted on TV or in some other forum which taps into the interests of the likely customers for the title.

I’d remind newsagents that artwork shoppers have historically been more efficient for us, delivering a deeper basket than non artwork shoppers.

We are promoting the re issue of the Art of Knitting with this display which faces shoppers as they enter the newsagency.

While some newsagents are concerned about the reissue of partworks I’m not. We are now on our third order of the issue 1 of the reissue of Real Life Bugs. We expect to sell out of this – that will take us to sales of three times the initial allocation.

I expect the Art of Knitting to be a hit. It’s being backed by TV and it has excellent market awareness off of which to build from the first time around.

Sales of part 2 of the Baked & Delicious partwork have been strong in the first few days on sale.  Our shoppers love the practical items which come with this.  They can be used right away as opposed to being another part in something they have to build over a long period of time.  This helps shoppers drift in and out of the part series.  While this may not be ideal for the publisher, shoppers do like it.

We are promoting part 2 of Baked & Delicious at the counter, along with some remaining copies of part 1.

We are promoting the reissue of this bugs part series.  We’re not going all out because of space and because it is a reissue.  We will watch supply and space carefully.  With Father’s Day under way, then Halloween and then Christmas, display space in just about any newsagency is at a premium right now.  I’m not against the reissue, just concerned about whether it is too soon.

Issue two of any part series is a moment of truth for the future of the series.  This is true for the Hello Kitty partwork.  We are displaying it in the same location from where part one sold out in our newsagency.

I think the two mugs which come with part two will help drive sales, they will certainly appeal to Hello Kitty collectors and fans – hence our placement at the counter.  It;s not as if many shoppers will visit looking for this product.

There are significant changes occurring in partwork supply in Australia this year.  UK publishers are more engaged directly locally.  I am not sure yet whether this is a good or a bad thing for newsagents and their position in the partworks supply chain.

We are promoting the new Hello Kitty partwork series at the front of the newsagency in prime position facing into the mall.  We expect it to sell well and that we will sell out of the small allocation we have received for part 1.

Our team chose to promote in this prime location as ours will be the only store in the centre with this product being promoted facing into the mall.  It gives us an excellent opportunity to demonstrate a point of difference.

This practical support we are providing for the launch of a partwork series is far more than you would see if partworks were sold in outlets other than newsagencies – as is the case in the UK.

Despite considerable promotional effort including a behind the counter display and this high traffic location impulse placement, we have been unable to move any serious quantities of the Ferrari part series.  11 copies out of 70 in fact.  Had this title been released outside of the Easter / Mother’s Day business and away from other part series launches it may have done better.  While I understand that this partwork has sold well in some locations, it’s not worked for me.

We now have too many new partworks being launched at the same time.  The drought has turned into a flood with the launch last week of Build Your Own Tiger Tank.  We are doing our best to promote the new title but space is at a premium.  Also, the total cost of building the tank, in excess of $2,000, has already been mentioned by customers as a challenge.  That and the highly special interest nature of this title.  We have Build Your Own Tiger Tank on display behind the counter – space shared with another part series.

Publishers who really want engagement from newsagents on partworks will:

• Fix the supply chain to ensure that we can satisfy customer orders.
• Fix the problems with back orders.
• Enable newsagents to offer the free gifts to lock customers in.
• Help newsagents pre-order based on their assessment of the title.

Partworks can work well if better managed and if there was a more common sense approach to release schedules.

We are promoting the first issue of the Precious Rocks and Gems part series behind the counter at one of my newsagencies.  The display looks stunning (better than indicated by the photo) and it is driving good sales.  With most purchases on impulse I’m happy with that.

We are helped by having a rear counter wall built and lit for this type of feature display.

We are promoting the new part series, Precious Rocks, Gems & Minerals with this power end display facing onto our dance floor.  We expect it to sell well since Treasures of the Earth sold well and this latest partwork is similar to that.

While this title may not generate the traffic of Art of Knitting or other stellar partwork successes,  I expect it to garner a good following from existing shoppers and to drive some new traffic for us.

As newsagents are the only retailers, those of us who promote the title well are set to generate good business.

My sales benchmark data continues to show that partwork customers are 30% more like to purchase other items in store than a regular magazine customer.