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Stationery

Promoting pens outside of stationery

This stand pitching Pentel pens outside the stationery department is working a treat. It is connecting better with browsers rather than the pen placement usually in the stationery department that would work only for destination shoppers.

I am grateful to Pentel for their work not only on the stand but also for their engagement to help drive success of the stand. Dealing direct is a dream for these and other shop floor initiatives that drive shopper engagement.

5 likes
Stationery

GNS Chairman writes to newsagents

This correspondence was emailed to GNS newsagent customers today:

Dear GNS levyholders,

Firstly, on behalf of the GNS Board of Directors, let me thank you for providing the working capital that has enabled GNS to provide its services for so many years.

The levy, collection of which was ended on 30 June 2016, enabled GNS to provide low prices and serve you – our newsagent customers.

The levy amount now held by GNS is of the order of $6.5m.

Your own levy balance will appear on your statements from next month.

Many of you have asked for access to your levy sooner than when you leave the industry – currently the only way your levy balance can be reclaimed.

In response to this we are now preparing to offer levy holders the opportunity to convert their levy balance to a mix of credit against purchases over a two-year period and shares.

Of course, you need not do anything and your levy balance will be paid out in accordance with the agreement when it was charged i.e. paid when you exit the industry.

The offer however will be designed to reward levy holders by allowing you to use your balance to buy GNS products and become shareholders. Shareholders of course enjoy any capital growth in the share value, any dividends that are paid and access to share buyback when exiting the industry.

Full details will be available after July this year once GNS’ audited financials are completed.

Martin Hartcher
Chairman GNS Ltd

4 likes
Stationery

The future of GNS the topic newsagents ask most about

Every couple of days I get asked what I think of GNS and whether I think the business has a future. If I can getting these questions others must be as well.

Whereas a year or two ago such a question was along the lines of GNS being a supplier, today the question usually relates to share value and sale options.

Unless there is communication in the marketplace I have not seen, GNS needs to arrest the concerns being expressed by outlining a leadership strategy that newsagents can feel connected to and optimistic from, strategy that breaking into tactical opportunities with which individual newsagents can feel connected.

I am posting about this today in response to a call yesterday afternoon from a concerned newsagent. They asked I put this post up to see how people here comment. So, here it is.

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Stationery

Stationery brands prepared to deal direct with newsagents

It is good to see more stationery brands prepared to deal direct with newsagents rather than going through the traditional wholesalers.

The closer the connection between these brands and retail newsagents the better for both those parties.

Stationery sales tell us that a shake up was necessary and from what we have seen over the years, the needed shake up was unlikely to be at the wholesaler level.

The more brands that deal direct with retailers the better as this should improve the investment by brands in the retailer relationship and investment by retailers in the brand relationship. Yes, a true win win.

No, I am not going to name brands here as that is not the point of this post.

My goal today is to acknowledge that change inn this space is occurring and to record my opinion that I think it is a good move. I do this hoping more stationery brands will explore direct relationships with newsagents, turning their back on the expense of wholesaler relationships that may not benefit them as needed.

There are opportunities for stationery growth in newsagencies and the best parties to work together to make this happen are newsagents and the supplier brands.

14 likes
Newsagency management

Learning about future opportunities in stationery

I have been at Paperworld in Frankfurt this week. Paper world is the largest stationery related trade show in the world. To provide perspective, here is a video I shot in the quad panning around the buildings that hold the event.

This was my first time at Paperworld. It was well worthwhile, on many fronts. I saw new trends, new products and plenty of opportunities.

Most important to me was getting a better understanding of the supply chain, the produce products go through from manufacture to our stores.

While the products that make up the evolving department of stationery are changing, the opportunities remain strong for newsagents who change with the opportunities. As with so much in newsagency businesses, traditional is not for the future. Suppliers and retailers who are slow to adapt will miss out.

At this event, you could be sharing the aisles with individual small business owners through to buyers from some of the largest retail chains in the world. I certainly gained a better understanding of stationery related strategy of some of biggest competitors.

I don’t plan to go into detail here about the specifics of what I saw.

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Stationery

GNS to acquire WA Stationery

GNS announced yesterday the decision to acquire the WA Stationery business:

Hi there,

I’m writing to you this morning to let you know that GNS Wholesale has agreed to acquire WA Stationery Wholesalers (“WAS”) from its owner, Rik Thornton. As part of the agreement, effective 1 February 2017, GNS will combine its WA-based operations with those of WAS. Our goal is to guarantee the future strength and reliability of the wholesale supply chain in the stationery and office products market in WA.

Working closely with the current management of WAS, GNS intends to combine the best of the two businesses to deliver a stronger product and service offering to customers, build business scale and generate cost efficiencies.

We value our relationship with you highly and I’d like to personally thank you for your ongoing support of GNS.

Further details are in the press release attached, and we will keep you closely informed as we progress. Do feel free to contact me or any of the team if you have any questions.

All the best,

Paul Yardley
CEO

5 likes
Stationery

Read about the business that represents a big threat to newsagents

Typo is an extraordinary business. Yet it defies description.  Is it a gift shop? A stationery shop? Who knows?? However, Typo is popular because of the design of its products.

The Age two days published a terrific article that takes you behind the scenes of the company behind Typo. I urge all newsagents to read the article.

“We really believe in developing product that people love, that they can afford,” he says. “Not the cheapest, not the most expensive but always on trend, that’s our place.

The article is an excellent read.

I have written about Typo here before. My view remains that Typo is a major threat to newsagency businesses. They have made stationery fun and chic for a demographic hitherto ignored in our channel.

I urge newsagents to go to a Typo store and prop outside for an hour or so and watch how people engage with the store and what it sells.  While I have seen plenty of Typo stores, the one on the mall in Brisbane is the best for this type of watching.

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Stationery

The back to school price challenge of the 5 cent 48 page exercise book

I got out of doing back to school around ten years ago, because there was no evidence of it being profitable for my suburban Melbourne newsagency.

Sure, revenue was good. Margin was trimmed to the bone. People bought on price. They were not loyal through the year. So I got out of it.

I talked to people at GNS at the time and disagreed with them on the value of the season, that the traffic generated returns through the year. It’s like the theory of trickle down economics – nice to hear but not reflective of what really happens.

Screen Shot 2017-01-08 at 9.33.19 PMThe current Officeworks catalogue is reminder of the challenge of back to school in the open buy space – where you chase business from walk-in shoppers without a specific school endorsement. The page 1 hero product is the 48 page exercise book, priced at 5 cents. This is the cheapest price I can find by far for this. Further in the catalogue are more compelling deals newsagents in this space will be frustrated with.

I can understand parents being price conscious, especially when a comparable product from a local small business retailer is as much as five or ten times the price. The Officeworks advertising on price pays off especially at this time of the year.

But back to school is not lost for the newsagency channel.

I know of many newsagents who do well from back to school. They either have strong local school support, contracts with local schools based on booklists or are located in regional situations.

In capital city suburban situations, newsagents doing well from walk-in (as opposed to the more structured booklist) back to school business is rarer today than a few years ago – thanks to the loss leader pricing of Officeworks and the tremendous competition from K-Mart and similar.

In my own shopping centre based businesses this time of the year while we have stationery, we prefer to focus on other seasonal opportunities.  Calendars remain strong as are diaries.  Plus, we have another non-traditional season built around full margin product that works a treat in January.

GP is the key for me. We must maintain above a percentage goal for the numbers of the business to work. Gone are the days of years ago of thinking that selling cheap today will drive loyalty and pay for the discount with revenue volume over time.

30 likes
Competition

GNS CEO apologises to newsagents

Paul Yardley, the new CEO of GNS wrote to newsagents last week:

Hi everyone,

I am writing to introduce myself as the new CEO of GNS. This is my sixth week in the job and I have been fortunate enough to meet some of you already on my travels around the country. I hope to meet many more of you in time.

Let me start by saying “sorry”. GNS is owned by, and operated for, you – and we have not been doing a very good job. If you’re a customer of ours, our service levels have been poor. If you’re a shareholder, our profitability has been unacceptable. That needs to change, quickly, and I have already taken some important steps to start that change.

The stationery market is under intense and sustained pressure. The trends are clear: overall revenues are fragmenting to a broader retailer base and continuing to decline, margins are under pressure and costs continue to increase. We all must evolve to stay relevant. Each part of the industry needs to examine how (and whether) they create value relevant to the end purchaser of the products we make, import, distribute or retail.

I believe GNS has some real strengths – a large, loyal, interested and passionate customer base; employees with many decades’ experience of the industry; a nationwide distribution capability; and a strong balance sheet. These position us really well for the future.

But GNS has to do better. My priorities for us to do that in the short term are:

• We will refocus on our core promise so that orders are fulfilled on time and in full by eliminating delivery delays and out-of-stocks;
• We will put the customer at the heart of everything we do by listening, acting on feedback and understanding how needs differ, so we can service based on those needs; and
• We will drive out all unnecessary cost, wherever it occurs.

Earlier in November we completed a major refinancing of the business whereby we sold (and leased back) our NSW warehouse, enabling us to substantially reduce our bank debt and re-invest in inventory. That refinancing has put GNS on a financially secure footing and will support our ongoing improvement.

Over a slightly longer horizon, GNS needs to evolve into a highly efficient logistics business fit to support 21st century retailing. That means GNS needs to change substantially from where it is today, where our current operating model owes more to legacy and history than it does to being “fit for purpose”.

What that means is GNS must become a highly efficient, low-cost operator. We have made a simple task (buy, sell and ship stationery) far more complex and costly than it needs to be. So we will look to simplify our business, automate processes, reduce unnecessary costs and eliminate inefficiency in everything we do. And we will reinvest rapidly in the areas that will add to the end customer: great value product, customer-facing functions, and technology.

I do understand that some recent changes have caused angst, for example the closure of Cash & Carry, but I am committed to listening and responding to concerns on these. While hugely necessary to create the DC efficiencies that will allow reinvestment, I will implement ways to have customers access our warehouses periodically and see new product such as regular open evenings, an annual ‘Market Fair’-type event etc.

We have also overdone the centralisation of some functions vs a state-based approach, and we will look to make some changes to this shortly.

I know the industry has many questions for us as we start our transition. Some of those we can answer today but some require more work. To that end, we are undertaking a major review of all parts of our business and I will update you on the outcomes of that in the first quarter of 2017.

This is a critical time for the industry and for GNS, and it’s an exciting time for me to start working here because I believe the opportunities for GNS far outweigh the challenges. With our refinance complete, a refreshed focus and priorities, and renewed commitment to being the wholesale partner of choice for you, I am looking forward to the future.

I wish you very successful trading through the peak period and assure you of our ongoing support.

All the best,

Paul.

7 likes
Newsagency management

Cloud based school booklist software for newsagents helping newsagents win school books business

Months ago my software company launched Booklist, a cloud based school booklist management solution designed to help newsagents more effectively compete against big businesses chasing school book list business. The goal was to provide newsagents a facility through which they can be seen by customers as more up to date and through which they can cut the time it takes to manage booklist orders.

Newsagents have had direct input into the facility as it has been enhanced over the last couple of months.

Using the site, newsagents can:

  1. Setup a school.
  2. Setup classes in a school and load all the booklist requirements.
  3. The booklist items could be loaded by a CSV file. You would record item description, price, supplier and supplier stock cost.
  4. You would setup order close dates.
  5. Plus you would have the ability to note when an order is ready for collection.
  6. The site would allow for you not having stock, thereby adjusting the amount to be collected.
  7. Share a link for parents to sign up and add their kid(s) to a class and to either take the whole booklist or select what they want.
  8. The site would allocate logins to parents so they would have access to their order.
  9. Receive payment from the parents.
  10. Alternatively, the site would give the transaction to your Retailer software for payment by the parents in-store.
  11. Export a file of all items required to fulfil booklists, by supplier and by school. CSV you could load into Excel.
  12. Report on total revenue by school and class.
  13. The site would be accessible by desktop, tablet and phone.

In addition to the per year fee there is a small card processing fee, on a cost recovery basis, for payments made online.

Here are the enhancements guided by newsagents:

  1. Category Sorting to enable easier management.
  2. Picklist production for product picking.
  3. Group products by category in the store booklist page.
  4. Display the store ABN on the store page, and allow store to edit their ABN from store backend
  5. Allow store to adjust the display order of products in the store booklist page
  6. Allow store to create different prices to booklist per school
  7. Display store contact phone and fax number on the store page
  8. Allow store to manually create/update category from the store backend
  9. Allow store to manually drag and drop the marker on Google Map to the correct position, if the store location is not showing correctly on Google Map
  10. Allow store customer to reset their login password via forgot password page
  11. Added validation to Pin Payment API Keys field to indicate store if invalid API details entered
  12. Added “Booklist Review” step, before store confirm to create the school booklist.
  13. Fixed the website URL from frontend.booklist.com.au to www.booklist.com.au

From this project it is clear there is no one approach to managing school book list sales. The developers at my company and sought to address the most common and commercially viable needs to provide a cost effective solution for newsagents.

To access the preview please follow these instructions.

  1. Go to the website: http://www.booklist.com.au.
  2. Click on login.
  3. Enter user name: demo.
  4. Enter password: booklist.
  5. Any questions, email help@booklist.com.au

If my first job in a newsagency decades ago I packed school book orders. I remember the manual accounting process well. My hope is this cloud based facility encourages more newsagents back into this area newsagents once owned.

13 likes
Newsagency management

Officeworks pushing hard for Back to School

IMG_1095Officeworks is making their usual big noise about back to school for the 2017 year. Their centrepiece claim is the price match offer – to beat the price on a booklist by 20%.

Many schools enter into booklist fulfilment arrangements as a means of raising funds for the school. Parents buying outside the preferred arrangement can reduce funds available to the school, meaning they may end up paying the gap through other fees.

This is why I see the Officeworks 20% discount offer as being false economy. It all depends on the school funding arrangement in place with the booklist partner, which is often a local family run newsagency business that invests back in the school and the community.

Newsagents doing booklist fulfilment work need to more actively talk about their financial support for the school and the community – to counter the Officeworks 20% saving claim.

Discounts by big businesses come at a cost somewhere but I suspect usually not at a cost to the big business. We hear about the pressure supermarkets place on farmers and other suppliers – they fund the supermarket discounts that the supermarkets claim to give to consumers.

This 20% discount offer by Officeworks on school booklist items feels like that – a discount that is not real as someone somewhere ends up paying for it. It could be the parents who actually pay over the course of the year.

My advice to newsagents doing booklists and who offer a rebate or other benefit to the school – be open about this, let parents know the good being done by supporting your business.

9 likes
Competition

Simple counter offer for stationery

Going through some photos from a couple of months ago, I found this one from a counter offer at a Ryman store in the UK. This is a good simple stationery pitch at the counter.

IMG_2929

Vary smart, easy to do and difficult for others to price compare. Ideal for a newsagency.

7 likes
Stationery

Changes at ANCOL in South Australia

ANCOL, the newsagent owned stationery wholesale business and local shareholder in Newspower, issued this statement two days ago:

We have conducted  a review of the ANCOL Group’s operational requirements.

As a result of this review the position of ANCOL Sales Manager has been made redundant, effective immediately.

Your existing Account Manager will continue to call and be responsible for the day to day needs of your business. There are no changes to call cycles and the Account Managers will continue to provide the exemplary service levels the Co-operative currently provides.

If you need additional assistance with an issue, query or problem do not hesitate to contact the Operations Manager, Ben Myles or myself.

In my opinion there will be a rationalisation of stationery wholesale in South Australia as the changes under way at GNS play out. South Australia is too small for ANCOL to help newsagents to source stationery on competitive terms.

13 likes
Newsagent representation

Paper Mate Woolworths stand would work in newsagencies

IMG_0709I love this Paper Mate stand in Woolworths supermarkets. The only problem is they have it and our channel does not. It is a no-brainer that newsagents should have this state, in every newsagency, in the same location in-store at the same time and with the products on the stand offered at the same price, nationally. That we don’t have the stand is a failure that needs to be corrected before Woolworths takes more stationery revenue from our channel.

4 likes
Stationery

Inspiring marketing from Moleskin

It is one thing to market products and another entirely to inspire people so they love your products. This sign on a wall in a Moleskin outlet can be seen from outside the shop. I stopped when I saw it. I saw other people notice it, stop and smile. I say the sign is inspiring because of what we can learn from it.

IMG_0474

Any of us selling items that rely on a love on handwriting would love this sign.

5 likes
newsagency marketing

How I see masking tape in the newsagency has changed forever

14691308_1782072638715162_5187235907114334199_oIt was a thrill to see the Masking Tape Exhibition in Hong Kong this week. It really has changed how I see masking tape forever.

On show are extraordinary works of art from many different people, representing many different interests and techniques.

Here is this humble stationery item we have in our businesses that in some countries is used by artists to create inspiring works.

Okay, plenty of the masking tape they use is different to the packaging tape we sell. However, it is called the same thing.

Here is an example of masking tape in one retail business I visited. This display faces you in one of the entrances of the business.

IMG_0469

And the range you can see in the photo is around a quarter of the masking tape range they carry.

While some businesses in Australia sell tape like this, not many do from what I understand. It is a specialty interest, one that could be served by enterprising newsagents who source a broader mix of tape and cater to the interests of the maker movement and local artists who make for fun and pleasure.

What struck me about the Masking Tape Exhibition in Hong Kong was the passion for this craft and how logical it is for some in our channel to be connected to this hobby.

Our future is all about seeing things differently, very differently in fact. There is no future in the traditional for any of the product categories for which newsagency businesses are known. We have to seek out different products and opportunities and we have to do this in a way that is related to but then quite different to what has been traditional for us.

One way to get into this head space of seeing opportunities beyond the traditional is to put ourselves into situations where we see possibilities like I have seen this week with masking tape.

No, I am not saying everyone should jump on the masking tape craze. There is no one-size fits all for our channel any more in any category. I am saying – be open to unexpected opportunities that may work in your neck of the woods.

8 likes
newsagency of the future

Looking for products to attract Gen Y and Millennial stationery shoppers

IMG_0459I have been at the Mega Show in Hong Kong this week looking at products with which to attract the stationery shoppers we see in Tyro, Kikki.k and similar stores that target Millennial and Gen Y shoppers.

This show and the follow-up next week and coupled shows in Guangzhou this month and earlier this year are the go to events for retail groups wanting to be ahead of the trend for it is at events like this that you can see what Australian wholesalers don’t pick up. You also get to see new product being previewed ahead of release in the new year.

One supplier showed me a range five times the size of the range chosen by their Australian distributor to bring into the country. I think the product failed in Australia because the importer did not bring enough to enable retailers to tell a story. Seeing this first hand helps me to encourage importers.

It has been a crazy two days with more than 12km of walking each day as I worked my way around the aisles of the massive Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition centre.

There are two types of suppliers at these events – those that focus on cheap products where prize is what matters above all else and those that focus on design and quality believing that they matter more than price.

When you are looking for a specific design aesthetic, the second type of supplier is more important. The right relationship will last a lot more than a few products. The right relationship will be long term as you go on a journey together. So over the last two days I have been looking more at overall suppliers and their focus on design and quality more so than specific products.

I have already shared information with a couple of suppliers back in Australia. I would prefer to support an existing good and respected Australian importer to expand their range than take on a direct import relationship that competes with existing importers.

It has been good to see more design-centred manufacturers. While they are in the minority, there are enough to present opportunities for an exciting 2017.

12 likes
Stationery

Opportunities for selling journals in newsagencies

IMG_0291In this pop culture obsessed world we are in good times for selling journals and other stationery items that are branded for the top-selling licences. It is amazing what a brand can do. Take this Star Wars journal – the base journal without the branding is a journal to be sold as stationery only whereas with the Star Wars branding it can be sold as a gift for a Star Wars fan of any age.

Licences offer us an excellent opportunity for growth in stationery item sales. There are several suppliers already playing in this space. My experience is quality matters to real fans of licences. Cheap China product does not cut it.

2 likes
Stationery

Advice for small business newsagents on how to win more diary business

Newsagents used to be the biggest retailer of diaries in Australia. That has not been the case for some years.

You only have to go into an Officeworks to see an extraordinary pitch for diaries. Calendar Club, too, are in this space. Plus we have Typo, Kikki.k, discount variety stores, K-Mart, Target and supermarkets. Then there is online – from websites in Australia and overseas.

Looking online, I found diaries for a raft of special interest niches available at less than Australian recommended retail and with free delivery from overseas websites.

It is a tough challenge for newsagents to win back the diary business. But we have to try. The channel has to try. The alternative we we mark this down as another loss for us. We should not stand for that.

Here are some management and marketing tips for newsagents to win back diary business:

  • Display differently. Create something beautiful, eye-catching. Colour block.
  • Feature diaries, showing off features in a creating way to grab attention.
  • Use social media. Run a series of posts showing information about diaries, show off your knowledge. Pitch yourself as the local expert.
  • Pitch range. Show your range in a way that pitches you as having the biggest local range.
  • Use a secondary location. Near weekly magazines or newspapers. Get your regular shoppers considering diaries thanks to tactical placement in-store.
  • Offer multi-buys. Consider packaging multiple diaries in a pack to make price comparison difficult. For example, a small pocket diary with a desk diary.
  • Host a diary party. Some people are very committed to their diaries. If you can find them this could be a fun event. Put on some drinks and food to make it special. Can you think of any other business nearby hosting such an event? Probably not. And this is the reason for you to do it.
  • Run a short term sale. For, say two days. 25% off. Run it now and call it an early bird sale. This is particularly useful if you have shoppers who may, later in the season, purchase elsewhere.
  • Feature new diaries in store now. As you get new product, shout out about it to show your range has expanded.
  • Train your staff. Make everyone a diary expert.
  • Find the oldest diary. Ask your customers for the oldest diary they have and get ti in-store for a promotion.

My hope is these ideas get you thinking of ideas for yourself.

Diary sales growth is here for the taking for small business newsagents. If you do what you usually do your results will be in line with your past trajectory. If you are happy with this, don’t change. If you want to do better then you need to do better.

Good luck and let’s all work to win more diary revenue for newsagents this season.

13 likes
Diaries

New CEO for GNS

Newsagent owned Group Newsagency Suppliers stationery wholesale business announced the appointment of a new CEO today:

Paul Yardley has been appointed CEO of the GNS group of companies.

Paul’s most recent role was CEO of WH Smith Australia, one of the country’s leading news, book and convenience retailers. His time in that role saw –

  • Increased earnings and market share
  • Acquisition and integration of Supanews and other businesses
  • Implementation of key retail systems including inventory controls

Previously, he worked in retail consulting roles and has developed wide experience in business transformation. Starting his career in merchant banking, he saw the light and moved into retailing as Managing Director with video game retailer GAME Australia. He has a wealth of senior executive experience and is well versed in corporate transformation. Paul and his family live in Sydney.

Paul commences with GNS on October 17th and is looking forward to working with the newsagent and stationery businesses to forge a company well positioned for the future.

– Martin Hartcher
   Chairman
   GNS

5 likes
Leadership

Lego at Officeworks

IMG_2639 (1)While independent toy retailers including newsagents struggle to get the Lego products they want, Officeworks has a range of Lego stationery. I saw it in the Sydney CBD store, at the front of the business in prime location. This range wold be ideal in newsagencies.

4 likes
Newsagency challenges
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