CTC stores selling ‘hempers’ of ‘licenced’ product
A CTC store I visited this week sells hempers (SIC) of licenced products. I’d love the Australian licence holders to ensure they are genuine licences for if they are, the licence owners may want to see how their licences are represented. A couple of the licenced characters looked off to me, like a cheap copy, but that could be my eyesight.
Licences are expensive to obtain, making licenced products sold in-store more expensive than similar unlicensed product. This is why suspicions can be raised when you see cheaper than expected licenced product.
Lovers of a licence deserve to be provided an authorised licenced product and not a knock-off. Any retailer of genuine licenced product would be interested in cheap off looking product.
CTC is on my radar as they are cigarette shops using kid-targeted plush and other items to attract shoppers. I am surprised landlords who claim to be focused on family shoppers welcome them to their centres.
Attention to detail drives plush sales
Attention to detail is vital in driving product sales in the modern newsagency. Putting products out on display can work but making products look the best they can is essential.
Take this large graduation bear we have in the newsagency. In the photo taken immediately after he was put on display, he looks okay – nice and big, cuddly, well made. But to me he didn’t look quite right. He looked average, not as alive as I felt he could look, not as appealing to shoppers walking past and glimpsing the display.
I spent a few seconds grooming the bear, around the eyes particularly, and he immediately looked different: alive, more appealing. I hope you can see what I am talking about in the photo – especially when you compare it to the first photo. The face of this bear looks 100% better in my view, more likely to attract shoppers.
This level of attention to detail is vital in retail. Indeed, we have a kit of products we use to refresh products to being them to life – brushes, a hair dryer and more. We use these to make items we sell look more appealing and, through this, to drive traffic and sales.
With sales in the category up well into double digits year on year the attention to detail is paying off. While not the only factor in driving growth, I am certain it is a factor.
This is one area where we have to leave behind being a newsagent and focus on being a special interest retailer as the special interest customers who purchase items that benefit from grooming notice the attention to detail.
Stunning plush sales in the newsagency in August
We have sold more than forty premium plush items each priced at $100 and more in the newsagency so far this month. Also so far this month, sales of $9.99 plush items targeted at girls 8 to 12 are up 22% with sales at over 500 units. A carefully planned and executed strategy attracting new shoppers to the business is working.
I mention this today to encourage all newsagents to plan for and chase new traffic as a key business activity, to encourage your own optimism.
Years ago I used to think I could not sell $200 and $300 plush items. Not I know it is easy with the right buying, planning and execution.
These are the things newsagents could do if they are concerned about falling traffic for traditional items.
This post is not designed to encourage you to get into high end or low end plush. Rather, it is a call to action to chase new traffic opportunities for your business through products and services that are appropriate to your situation and to the needs of your customers. It is about having a go and not sitting on your hands expecting others to find new traffic for you.
We do make our own success.
Top selling Easter product shows newsagents how to grow business
We have sold 84 of this rabbit from our Easter display, putting us on track to get to between 120 and 150 for the season. The success of the rabbit plays beyond its sales though: it attracts shoppers to the business who browse and purchase other items. In the basket data I can see the rabbit sold with magazines, cards and other items. Some of these items would not have been purchased has the rabbit not attracted shoppers.
The success of this one item is a good example of how we can play outside what is traditional for newsagents. This is a branded collectible rabbit which can get kids onto collecting more from the range. Collector kids will bring in parents who will purchase other items.
Letting the plush choose the customer drives sales in the newsagency
The young girl wanted to see all the lamb we had in stock so she could let one choose her. Her parents waited patiently, knowing this is how purchases for her collection were made. Sure enough, one of the lambs made the choice and the sale was processed.
We were happy to get the lambs we had left together so she could make the choice. With forty in her collection she was an important customer. We respect her process as we have seen it from many other collectors, young and old.
The passion of a committed collector is a delight to watch. I am grateful every time I get to see it as it’s a reminder that a sale is more than scanning a barcode and taking payment. It is often part of a bigger thing, something more important to the customer than a few minutes in the shop.
Patience with collectors is vital to winning more business from them.
Coles discounting cheap plush
In several Coles supermarkets this week I have seen their large $20 plush bears cut back to $15. Based on locations I have seen, Coles is offering these products to extend the basket as opposed to making any significant statement to the plush shopper.
I am sharing the photo to show: placement to drive basket depth and their discounting to quit a line. Both are management actions from which we can learn.
While we can’t easily stop supermarkets extending their reach, we can learn from what they do and be smarter ourselves in competing with them.
The odd situations in which we newsagents find ourselves and discovering new customers
In the car park at Westfield Knox City on Thursday I was watched by an old couple as I put Henry in the passenger seat or my car and buckled him if for the ride to the office.
I felt they were judging me as I buckled Henry in rather than tossing him on the back seat with other items from the newsagency.
It turns out they weren’t judging me. They are collectors and knew the collection Henry is part of. They were happy to see me treat Henry as I would a person. We chatted for a bit and they were happy to find out that we have more of Henry’s family available at the newsagency.
The experience was a reminder of how our behaviour outside our shops can be a reflection on the business. In this case I now have a couple, collectors of high-end plush, who could become regulars as a result something they saw me do in the shopping centre car park.
This car park contact could be worth easily $1,000 a year based on their annual collection investment.
It is easy to see what we sell as barcodes (SKUs the majors call them) when, often, they are more real and more emotionally valuable to our customers. It was a trill to see what Henry meant to this couple, to see they joy they have for others like him.
I see plush he sees a dragon
A boy in the shop was drawn to this dragon and while that is not unusual, how it happened piqued my attention.
Mum can I have this dragon please? He casked. It’s like a teddy bear, said his mum. No, it’s a d r a g o n (yes he said it slowly, emphasising the difference).
To the boy, the dragon is not a plush item, not a teddy bear. It made me look at plush differently as they appear different to different shoppers.
It reminded me of the value of listening to customers on the shop floor and seeing what we sell through the eyes of our customers.
Whereas the mum sees the dragon as another soft toy, the kid sees a character to play into his childhood fantasies.
My Little Pony popular
I’m thrilled with the sales of the My Little Pony products we have got in. They are appealing to a different shopper than the other plush we have in store – including the Bronies I wrote about almost a year ago … a non-traditional plush shopper.
We have them on the lease line – to attract traffic in this business school holidays season … and they are doing just that. I wasn’t sure, I thought the current interest may be fading. That does not appear to be the case.
The good news is the traffic they are generating leads into sales of other items.
Wizard of Oz Itty Bittys very popular
We have had the next range of Itty Bittys from Hallmark in store for a couple of weeks and already we have ordered more stock. Our sales are being driven by placement off-location: with cards as well as at the counter.
Dorothy, the Lion and the Tin Man are the most popular. I’ve seen plenty of customers add them to the basket.
A bonus is customers purchasing the set. I’ve seen this happen a few times.
The success of the new Itty Bittys is a reminded of the importance of well-known brands in driving sales for us. These brands are far more valuable than cheap un-branded product. Cheap does not always mean banking good margin dollars.
Dog and cat display update
Further to my post from September 5 about refreshing the dog and cat display at the counter, I can share that the jumbled and more orderly display work almost the same in terms of sales – the orderly display is slightly ahead. The big news is that in two weeks we have sold hundreds of dollars of dogs and cats from the counter. So much so that we’re short of stock until our order comes in so we have dogs and cats in together.
Here’s my message: plush sells at the counter if you display it in a way that is noticeable and that makes sense. We have people purchasing $19.99 items on impulse – with cards, newspapers and or magazines. yes, there have been newspaper customers who have added a $19.99 item to their paper purchase.
Our counter story is not only these dogs and cats – they are of a bigger picture story that is all about overall gross profit and margin dollars per sale.
New dog and cat display inspired by BrettS
Yesterday I had a crack at the dog and cat plush at the counter in response to a comment by BrettS. This layout is neater which should make it more appealing to shoppers. As happens when you’re working with products – customers engage and sales follow.
On the placement of plush at the counter as we have it, it works.
Bringing back the dogs and cats to the newsagency counter
We have plush dogs and cats back at the counter as part of a front of store refresh.
This move was an easy choice as the last two times we had plush dogs and cats at the counter they did very well.
We find shoppers prepared to spend between $15 and $25 extra on impulse lines like these having made their purchase selection and brought it to the counter. I’ve seen newspaper customers spend $25 extra!
We talk about the counter being the most valuable retail space in the shop yet too often newsagents do not stock it as the most valuable location.
Wizard of Oz Itty Bittys popular
We have had the Wizard of Oz themed Itty Bittys from Hallmark for a day and already they are a hit. Yesterday I saw it myself – a customer in love with the Tin Man.
You know when a customer calls out the brand or the movie that they will most likely purchase the range. This is where collectibles work well for us.
We have the stand placed such that it attracts shoppers for us – it’s part of our front of store marketing strategy. This range not only sells well, it attracts card and magazine customers.
A good small brand for kids
The In The Night Garden plush range is a nice counter offer parents like to see in the toy / plush range. It’s a rand they trust thanks to an international TV show that ended a few years ago but still attracts interest.
One thing I’ve learned about plush is that it’s not a fixed department – lost of evolution responding to trends. It’s also a broad appeal department serving shoppers of all ages buying for all ages.
Loving the Grumpy Cat
In a week we sold seven Grumpy Cats – by having fun with the product in line with its representation in social media – on Twitter and Facebook. Notice the call to action signs our team made.
We have the Grumpy Cat at the counter and in our plush department.
We sell cat magazines, calendars and plush so why not the Grumpy Cat? Customers agree. 7 sold in a week!
The Grumpy Cat is from Jasnor. If you want to know more about this beast and the fortune it is making for its owner check here. It’s an example of leveraging a brand that appeals to a valuable shopper and connection with a social media phenomenon at the same time.
Jamie’s cheap plush @ Woolworths
As part of the Jamie’s garden feature at Woolworths is this range of cheap plush being pitched near checkout counters. This plush is of the same quality as $3.00 plush items I have seen in in deep discount stores. At Woolworths it’s priced at $5.00. To me, the price seems high for the quality of what you get.
These gripes from a retail competitor aside, it’s a very clever and well thought out integrated campaign from Woolworths. They have a world renowned celebrity chef running a healthy eating campaign that has plants, plush, books and food being promoted. It’s this broad base across multiple departments that makes it an interesting campaign to watch. Very clever by Woolworths.
As for the plush, a couple of stands I looked at were almost empty so I guess people are buying these things.
How a hair straightener stand can help you drive add-on purchases with greeting cards
This photo shows how we are using a $4.00 hair straightener stand to place Hallmark Itty Bittys with cards in our card department.
We first started using a hair straightener stand to promote plush with cards six weeks ago. It’s won incremental business for us. When we got the new Itty Bitty line we put a second hair straightener stand in place – the photo shows the result.
Every card purchase is an add-on sales opportunity. We have to be engaged, smart and innovative to make more from these opportunities.
The beauty of the stand is that you can see if someone has purchased from it. It’s a great feeling.
The stand reaching out from the card display also helps gets the cards noticed more. I think this is a factor in excellent growth in card sales.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday on product placement, we need to stop the compartmentalised approach to our newsagency businesses.
Free tip on selling plush with cards in a newsagency
Check out how a clever and handy team member integrated plush with cards. Using a $4.00 stand for a hair-straightener they created a platform onto which to place these Ty Halo Beanie Boos that are appropriate to Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion cards.
It’s a few weeks since this was put in place and I can report it’s working. People purchase from here. With a bit of work we are able to better integrate plush and cards.
Our success will come from many small steps, like this one. each step alone will seem almost insignificant but when added and when the compound on each other, the value to our businesses will be tremendous.
New fun collectible plush line for kids
The Itty Bitty characters by Hallmark offer another way newsagents can get into plush and collectibles. The initial range is enough to start collectors – the roll-out plan is timed to bring them back.
We are promoting the range of Itty Bitty characters with this display unit placed at the front of the newsagency, on the lease line, facing into the shopping mall.
The licenced Itty Bittys connect nicely with other products in-store.
Peppa Pig Easter hit
Peppa Pig branded plush, cards, stationery packs and other lines have been a hit through Easter. Our front of store placement attracted new traffic as well as extending the basket of some regular shoppers.
Peppa Pig has been the single most successful brand for us this Easter.
The Peppa Pig brand continues to be strong for us. So far in 2014, revenue from the brand is up significantly on 2013. While we are fortunate to be in a centre where parents and grandparents shop with and for kids, our supp==ccess is due to us grabbing it with in-your-face displays.
Easter plush hit drives newsagency traffic
This cute rabbit Beanie Boo has generated plenty of traffic for us over the last couple of weeks – driving excellent card, magazine and other purchases along the way. Even though we only have one or two left, it’s been responsible for an excellent start to Easter.
This is another example of plush driving success elsewhere in a newsagency business. We were careful to place this item such that it drove purchases of other items including some more traditional newsagency lines.