We did well with Jellycat, Squishmallows and other sugar-free treats this Easter. Card sales were excellent and customers loved the gift bags too. Our social media posts helped attract shoppers. Here are couple of the ready to go gifts we offered.
It is easy when you own a business to get lost in the business, for it to become your whole life, to be solely how people see you.
It’s important that business owners have time for themselves, beyond family even.
This is on my mind today because someone commented to me this week that they think I work crazy hours for my businesses, saying they strive to do that for their business.
I don’t work crazy hours. A typical week is 60 – 70 hours. My recharge is what I do outside of work. It’s refreshing and enjoyable. Beyond family time, of which there is plenty as my commute to the office is 5 minutes each way.
My relax and recharge passion is writing. It has been for many years. I’ve had plays produced here in Australia, the US, Canada and Ireland and a couple of short films made, including Chasing Rabbits, which won a bunch of awards. There was even a musical adaptation of a play, which won a Green Room Award in Melbourne. There have been some awards along the way, which have been validating.
Most recently, my book, Not Dead Yet was published. This was a 4-year project leading up to publishing and then promotional activity following. It has nothing whatsoever to do with my businesses.
If you’re interested in this life outside of business, you could read Visiting Mum in her nursing home was a shock at first. I didn’t expect it to become a joy, an article the folks at Guardian Australia asked me to write for them in December last year, on a topic related to the book.
I am grateful to host David Hunt for the interview we did for The Art Hunter about the book:
And this podcast episode too for the Staying Alive & Rich podcast with host Maria Ugrinovski:
I mention these things to demonstrate activity far away from business, activity that offers other life experiences and perspectives that I find rejuvenating and enjoyable.
While I appreciate this post will read as promotion, which it is, it is primarily here to show that I value a life outside of business. I think all of us who own and run businesses need outside interests that do more to define us as a person than the businesses themselves.
For sure, business is important is provides for so many who rely on it. I guess my point is that you rely on you and allowing yourself to get lost in business is unhealthy.
The recent announcement by Dollar Tree, Inc., the parent company of Family Dollar, to close 600 stores has sent ripples through the retail industry in the US. I am sure it has plenty of Aussie retailers watching on with interest.
Not only are they closing 600 stores, the company announced will also shut down 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores when each store’s current lease ends. That’s a lot of closures for a business that is a significant player in the deep discount space.
This move has many wondering: Is this the end of the deep discount retail model, or just a strategic shift for Family Dollar?
In Australia, deep discount is national represented by the Reject Shop. Locally, the model is represented by the many of what we call $2 shops, or junk retail is , I suspect unfairly, call them.
I think we are seeing a shift in this deep discount space. Online is playing a role, especially Temu from China.
I do note that Dollar Tree itself remains committed to the deep discount market. They’ve emphasised that the closures are designed to strengthen Family Dollar, not abandon the concept entirely. But they have also said they want to drive business financial performance.
It’s possible the deep discount space might be reaching a saturation point. With so many discount retailers vying for customers, some consolidation may be inevitable.
While affordability remains important, shoppers might be prioritising quality over the rock-bottom prices traditionally associated with deep discount stores.
We will have to see what plays out in Australia.
Here’s what we know though – discount variety shops, $2 shops, deep discount shops, regardless of what you call them, focus on selling at the lowest price. That shopper will not be loyal unless your price remains low. So long as there is someone desperate enough to go lower, you’ll find shoppers today gone tomorrow. This is one reason I have never played in the discount space in retail. I don’t see how there is sustainable profitability in it frankly.
I think online, Temu and others, as well as local independent $2 shops will keep pressure on this slim margin channel. I think this means retailers in this space in Australia will find it tough. We can make it tougher for them if we continue to focus on quality products sold at a better price and likely a price that has a lower cost when you consider valuable product lifetime. People notice this.
For me, value is more about quality than the ticket price of the item. They key is for us to communicate this in an understood and cut through way to our shoppers in-store and those we seek to attract.
Pitching solely on price is weak, and we can exploit this.
First up: spend as little as possible with a shopfitter, preferably nothing. Shopfitters only make money from shopfits. What they make is purpose built and, naturally expensive.
Besides the people who work in the business, your products are what matter the most. People notice the products more than the fixtures. Shopfitters will tell you something different, of course.
Years ago, it was common for newsagents to spend $1,500 and more per square metre of leased retail space, and we would do this for fixtures made for the business. magazine specific fixtures, card specific fixtures. There was plenty of noise that the shift made the business, set the business for success. Some groups considered their shopfit to be valuable intellectual property. Even if that was true, it’s not true today.
Today, retail is about the feeling of the shop and nothing achieves feeling like furniture items that look everyday. Even better if they have some scars that bring some lived history to the shop. Indeed, some of the best fixtures I have seen have been found on the side of the road, at an old farm or in an op. shop.
The more fixtures in your shop the are sourced from these everyday situations, the lower the cost of fitting your shop.
Take this table and bench set. It costs only $179 from Fantastic Furniture. I suspect there may be secondhand ones out there for less and other pliers with similar for less.
It’s tremendously flexible. Here it is in the window of one of my shops right now.
The table and benches work hosting these ducks.
The best advice I can provide when it comes to shoplifting in a newsagency or and local retail business is to be frugal.
There are some in our channel who boast about their shopfit, what it cost, what is unique about it. I suspect if they were as open about the financial performance of their business few of the boasters would have must to boast about.
While there are parts of the business over which you have control, like lotteries, there is plenty over which you do have control. Don’t overthink it. If you fit out frugally the cost pot changing your approach is not that much. Also, being able to financially justify constant change can help give the business a feel of regular change, which is good.
Oh, and if you really do need something made specifically for your shop, consider a local handyman (person) as they are likely to cost less.
Anything you spend on fittings or furniture for your shop needs to be fully recouped from sales in absolutely no more than three years, preferably less.
Look at your sales last Easter before setting the newsagency staff roster for this Easter. If you can’t cover your costs, including real labour costs regardless of whether you do the hours yourself or not, don’t open.
Back in the day, newsagents would open out of obligation, as a community service, or because of supplier dictates, or both.
While it is nice to run your business as a community service, that does not pay your bills nor does it support you as you may need.
With penalty rates, a casual employee working on a public holiday is paid 250% of their base hourly rate. Based on the current General Retail Award Rate that would be $57.78 an hour – plus superannuation, taking the hourly cost to $64.14. This is for a Level 3, which would apply if they are opening or closing.
Opening because you think shoppers may expect you to open is not reason enough, nor is opening because you always have. The only reason to open is because it commercially viable.
Now, to newspaper and magazine publishers and staff reading this, you are part of the problem here. Your paltry margins are insufficient on a regular day let alone on a trading day attracting a 250% hike in the hourly cost of labour.
Imagine the shock of seeing a supplier offer products they wholesale to you being offered to consumers for not much more than your wholesale price.
The shock turns to anger when it continues months later, with the supplier competing with you for Google ad positioning. They can spend more since they have more margin with which to play.
Their words of no we are not trying to take business from you and we only want to grow the marketplace don’t land as you see customers you have nurtured for years switch to them.
As I told one supplier representative, what they have done in copying our business and chasing our customers disgusts me.
All of us in business have to put our needs ahead of everyone else and that is what this supplier is doing. The thing is though, they get childishly upset when we reduce our commitment to them having found a more valuable relationship elsewhere.
Maybe it is just meh but it feels like, in these early months of 2024, that we have more suppliers going direct to consumers.
Some suppliers are getting it right. One I spoke with this week who was pitching for our business said up front that they sold direct but at a price that was 10% higher than the suggested retail price they had on their items. What I liked even more was that their products, at their suggested retail price, gave us a gross profit of 62%.
This supplier is smart to structure their retailer relationships and their own online pitch such that it’s a genuine win win for supplier and retailer.
Not enough suppliers think through how to approach selling direct.
Some don’t announce it, they sneak around thinking retailers will not notice.
Some use spin from marketing to make it sound like retailers will benefit.
Some lazily copy what they see their retailers are doing and refuse to acknowledge they have done this.
Where the move has been made poorly, ignorantly and / or selfishly, it is understandable relationships break down. Trust is challenged and retailers who do not trust a supplier will not want to do business with them.
Each of us in business has to make decisions that serve our business and those who directly rely on it first. We need to be honest in our decision-making and respectful of long term relationships – if our decision means a change, we need to be upfront rather than secretive.
In my own case, I am more invested in seeking out direct supply relationships, from manufacturer direct to us rather than through a wholesaler who control a brand in the country. I am also happier working with suppliers who have no commitment to go direct to consumers.
Disruption is here to stay. Our role as business owners is to navigate this to our advantage.
British publishers appear to be more engaged in marketing that pitches retailers than their Aussie counterparts.
WOO-HOO!!! 🤑52,000 reasons to PICK-UP-A-PUZZLER magazine!🤑 The BIGGEST-CASH-COMPETITION in our history is NOW OPEN!!💰 Grab participating mags NOW from SUPERMARKETS, NEWSAGENTS & WHSMITH.👀 Closes 12 June #puzzler #cash #prizes Full T&Cs can be found at https://t.co/uwiIkLg6lf pic.twitter.com/B5PQzoZKy9
— Puzzler (@puzzler_no1) March 20, 2024
Are media and Lovatts are the two biggest Aussie crossword publishers and they each offer cash prizes. This ad above is something they could easily do if they wanted to drive retail sales.
Your May issue is now on sale – and it's filled with bloomin' lovely projects for all!
Pick up your copy today! This issue is available in newsagents and supermarkets. Visit https://t.co/6mjOhMGLoP to subscribe or buy this issue online while stocks last! pic.twitter.com/X8L4Wdoobr
— CrossStitcher (@XStitchmagazine) March 19, 2024
There are many Aussie craft titles for which I can’t see any pitches like the one above.
I can’t figure out why Aussie magazine publishers are so disinterested in newsagents.
The release by the government of the new Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) regulations proposed, the retreat from offering BNPL products is expected to be swift. BNPL businesses lose access to some of their revenue drivers:
We have already seen moves of retreat. Humm, for example.
Click here for the explanatory document from Treasury explaining the changes. Click here to see the draft legislation.
What does this mean for us? BNPL helped people purchase who didn’t want to use traditional credit or LayBy. To retain these shoppers retailers will need alternatives. While the banks have adjusted and are planning more in this space, we could consider refreshing our approach to LayBy. Doing nothing is not an ideal approach.
There are many ways to pitch local in retail: buying from local suppliers, supporting local community groups, speaking to your localness. These are all good ways. certainly, show, don’t tell is a good approach to pitch local. I think people are tired of the lazy social media post from a local retailer asking people to shop local. We need to show reasons.
One way we are doing this in my shops is with locally personalised signs designed to inspire dreams of travel destinations. Here’s the sign i9n the window of our Malvern shop.
No other retailer in Malvern has this. I can say this with certainty since we commissioned the product, choosing the list of cities carefully.
The sign is a talking point, as well as a fun gift for someone who does enjoy travel, or dreaming of travel. It also speaks to our localness without telling people to shop local.
It’s a small move, one already we are seeing working well for the business.
There are so many ways we can be smart about pitching local without overtly pitching local in our shops. The more we do this in smart ways and the less we see retailers calling people to shop local the better in my view. Those social media posts almost begging people to shop local are tiresome. I’m not aware of one ever working in a way that is measurable.
Show, don’t tell really is the best way to pitch local. Locals need to feel it without being told, without it being shoved in their face.
On the sign we had made, it sells for $19.99 and has a GP of 75%, which we are happy with.
Here’s a video I did a week ago for newsXpress members:
I share this video today because I think the content will interest some newsagents and to reflect on an example of insights newsXpress shares with its members. These evidence-backed insights help business owners make decisions that are more valuable to their businesses.
If you stock stationery to serve a functional need, this post has been written for you.
I like pens and have more than 200 of them. Most are unused. When I am in a good stationery shop, I am likely to buy another pen. I go for colour, weight and how it feels across paper.
I also like notebooks and journals and have more than 100 of them. I go for small format, few pages, nice feeling paper and something that I can easily travel with.
I buy these things because I love them, not because I need them.
We all know people like this. Those who walk into a stationery store and emerge with items they did not need, but items they love.
I have a friend who buys stationery by colour, a specific colour. They gave boxes of it, and want more.
I met someone recently who buys sticky notes. They have a collection of more than 400. They want more.
While you can make good money selling stationery to whose who need it, the everyday stationery we all stock, there is this other, sometimes more lucrative market, some of us miss serving.
Here are a few tips on tapping into this opportunity:
Remember, you’re not just selling stationery, you’re selling a feeling. You’re offering a chance to indulge in a little luxury, to spark creativity, and to express oneself through beautiful, well-crafted tools.
When considering buying inventory for this lover of stationery, approach it with a different mindset. Don’t look at it as functional stationery. Look at it as stock items that bring joy to others. Take care. Take your time. There is plenty of opportunity here.
This is a big opportunity for Aussie newsagents.
If you are looking for an Easter card, your local newsagent is the best place to shop and there’s why:
Range matters when buying an Easter card or any card because range gives you choice. Whether is a religious Easter card, a funny Easter card or a money wallet for Easter or an easter card sharing love, your local newsagency has Easter cards for many situations.
Plenty of people use Easter as an opportunity to send a hug to someone they care about. Cards in your local newsagency provide options for this.
A bonus is that many newsagents stock Easter cards that are made in Australia. If supporting Australian jobs and Australian businesses matters to you, buying your Easter cards in your local Aussie newsagency supports this.
Now, if you are wondering why should I send an Easter card this year, here are some reasons:
Remember, the Easter card you send will hole a memory they are likely to cherish for many years to come. Write something memorable, so these memories of you live on years later when they open the old shoebox and find this year’s easter card.
Footnote: I have written this post for Google as people go there to ask where to buy Easter cards.
We’ve all been there. You walk into a trade show looking for ideas about the next hot product. Yet, a nagging doubt lingers: are these trends relevant to my customers?
Too many local small business retailers have a blind spot when it comes to what actually sells in their shops. This can cost the business a chunk of money.
I was talking to a newsagent not long ago who said they can’t sell gifts prices at more than $30. When I asked why that was the case, they didn’t have an answer.
Another newsagent told me that they can’t sell pet related gifts. They, too, could not explain why.
Another newsagent told me that they could only sell cards priced at under $5.00. When asked, they told me they had never stocked cards worth m ore than $5.00.
These barriers we put upon ourselves created the narrative we listen to when stocking our shops. We make decisions that make the narrative in our head true.
You are not your customer.
Listening only to ourselves and surrounding ourselves with people who think like us limits what we see and hear. Sales reps push what’s hot with other stores, trade shows limit who can display and industry publications focus on broad trends. This can create an echo chamber, making it hard to hear the whispers of what your specific customer base truly wants.
Sticking with what’s “always sold” feels safe. Customer needs and preferences evolve. Clinging to the past can leave you with a dusty inventory and dwindling sales.
Data. Numbers don’t lie, but sometimes we don’t listen. Are you analysing sales data to see what moves quickly and what languishes? Ignoring your own in-store intel is a missed opportunity.
How do you fix this?
What we can sell in the local newsagency is not bound by any rules. Play as far and wide as you are able. See how far you can take your business.
Be ready to be surprised. Embrace it.
We tried a category this past week in one of my shops, a category several thought would never work for us. $500 in sales in 5 days. 60% GP. It was an easy and valuable win.
You don’t know what you don’t know!
You are not your customer.
I have noticed an increase over the last six months in approaches by local card makers seeking to get their cards placed in the shop. It’s a challenge with complexities.
Cards are premium margin products in our businesses. To deliver the value we need, they need to sell. At minimum, we need to sell at least 12 of each card each year to break even on space, labour and capital investment cost. This is the benchmark: a pocket turn of 2 times a year, or in the case of these indie maker cards, a turn of 12 of a design in a year. And that is at a minimum.
While many of us want to support local card makers, too many of these makers have not through their go-to market strategy in a way that connects with potential retail partners.
When we say no, some take it personally about their designs, while this is not the case. It makes for a complex conversation.
While I am all for supporting local designers and makers, the arrangement needs to be commercially viable for both sides and have a plan behind it that shows the relationship to be sustainable. There is one card maker I supported years ago who did not have replacement stock when I needed. It took three months.
Here are some things we have done to make it easier for the business to support local card designers:
While there are complexities with local card markers, there are some out there that get it and work to ensure the relationship is mutually viable.
Gift suppliers have mentioned a trend that concerns them. It emerged around just over a year ago. Whereas in the past they would win a customer and receive follow-up orders from almost all of them, over the last fourteen months less than a third reorder.
Most of the suppliers who have mentioned this have good products, sought-after. A few are brand names.
A common reason by the retailer for not reordering is that they want change. This is despite the products performing well. I can’t work out why a retailer would ditch a range after selling through the first order.
In a couple of instances it was because an agent for a supplier placed their products in a nearby retailer soon after the first retailer ordered and before the products had had a chance to show how they would perform. I’d be unlikely to reorder in that situation.
There are legitimate reasons too. For example, a business transitioning to a higher average price point in gifts, or a business reallocating shop space to a whole new category they anticipate will perform even better. these are legitimate decisions for retailers to make.
One supplier is so frustrated by the trend that they have amped up their direct-to-consumer activities. I know a couple of others considering this.
I think this is an interesting topic for exploration between suppliers directly impacted by the trend and retailers, preferable retainers who have stocked those suppliers.
Looking at sellout data for a range of retailers this year, it appears that if product out of stock situations did not exist, retail turnover in those shops would be up between 5% and 10% based on previous sales analysis for that time of the year.
While there is an appeal for change in retail to show the business as evolving, there is the practical aspect of the evidence, data, that indicate certain sales if you have the stock. There is good reporting to demonstrate a trend for a product, so you can know when to cut it.
Suppliers do need to understand where they city in the retail business lifecycle. For example, not so long-ago newsagents focussed on gifts priced at $20 or thereabouts. Today, most engaged newsagents focus on gifts at $100, $200 and even more. While the lower priced gifts have a place, it is not the dominate place they occupied a few years ago.
As I noted, I think these are all things we ought to discuss.
Before streaming services launched, the TV networks decided when we could watch something.
Before podcasts, radio stations decided when we could listen to something.
Before the internet, newspaper publishers decided when we could read news stories.
People love being able to watch, listen and read when they want. They love not having to consume to a time schedule set by a business.
Choice is important.
Appointment retail is retail where you can only shop when the owner decides.
If the shop does not have a website, you can only shop when the doors are open, you miss selling to people who prefer to choose when they do this.
In this video I share some thoughts about appointment retail and provide context for its relevance today.
I first shared the video around a week back. I am re-upping it today with additional context.
Appointment retail matters to newsagents since our channel is one of the slowest to adopt online. This sees many newsagents missing sales. I know because I have websites that have sold things to be delivered a few streets away from newsagents with the same products.
People want to shop when they want to shop and while your shop may feel busy, if you are not online you have no idea what you are missing.
There are other benefits of online:
What has happened with consuming entertainment is happening in retail.
If you say there are not enough shoppers in town, online could be helpful.
If you say this or that won’t sell here, you’re restricting your shopper reach.
If your business o=is not making what it needs for the rent or labour costs, being online can spread the load of carrying those costs.
If people around you are shopping online, which they are, being online can balance that.
Appointment retail is about you being where and when shoppers may purchase what you sell, without deciding when they can do this. It is about you being more flexible, available and ready.
My goal with this short video about appointment retail was to provide a context that gets people thinking about being online. What you do in your business that is up to you.
The UK is falling apart.
Austerity, Brexit and Conservative policies are the reason for that.
Right wing press supported those things.
They are funded by the very people who destroyed the UK, so they don’t want you to know the truth.
That’s why Byline Times travelled… pic.twitter.com/ADMs0WQ2N4
— Byline Times (@BylineTimes) February 26, 2024
The trust matters and if you want to support the truth, buy a real paper.
If you find yourself blaming others or external factors for situations over which you have some level of control, it may be that you have a victim mentality.
While it can be easy to blame others and be self-forgiving, it serves no value to you or your business, though.
Some examples of blaming others are worrying about competitors who you think are copying your business, complaining about employees and things they did did that did not work out, being upset about the rent you pay, anger at being short of cash.
You choose what you stock, you hire and train employees, you signed the lease and you decide what money is spent.
Blaming others for any situation over which you have had some control holds you back; it denies you the opportunity to learn and improve.
Wallowing in self-pity can be destructive; it can lead one to want the comfort of failure, the right to blame anyone but themselves for a negative situation. It can see you seek negative situations, which is an utterly destructive place to be.
I have encountered plenty of newsagents with a victim mentality. In such situations, they miss what could be achieved by spending all their time blaming others.
If blaming others for business situations is something you notice yourself doing, consider seeking professional help. While you can break the cycle yourself, a professional can help you understand why and provide ways to identify and deal with it.
If seeking professional help does not appeal, consider meditation as a way to find calm and stillness and to be less controlled by negative victimhood thoughts.
I am no psychologist or therapist. My recommendation is that you start with a professional. That said, here are things I have done that help me focus on my role and the positive.
Blaming someone else or other factors for something over which you have some control does not help you or your business. It may feel good. It achieves nothing.
We have good results for February in our bigger high street newsagency in Melbourne. It did almost $13,000 in card sales, up 6%. This is good growth in what or proving to be a first quarter of low card sales growth, around 2%.
We also did $1,000 in sales from the cards we direct-imported from the US and UK that we pitch away from our traditional card department and to a younger demographic.
The growth is spread across everyday as well as lifestyle. Valentine’s Day was also good.
Cards remain a vital category for our businesses given the margin and that card shoppers are loyal.
In my experience, the card department delivers good rewards for in-store investment by the business. We work the category on social media as well as in-store with co-location promotion in the window and at the counter as well as the more traditional location.
On February comparison, be sure to look at February 1 through 28, don’t use the extra day as that may provide a rosier picture that is unhelpful for month on month analysis.
Ancol, the stationery wholesale business owned by SA newsagents, is chasing wholesale business outside of South Australia. My experience is they are pushy for a new account, unhappy if you say no thanks.
Their website home page looks like it’s from the 1990s. The mention of the 2021-22 catalogue is unfortunate.
Between, GNS, Razor, ACCO, Ancol and others the wholesale stationery marketplace is crowded. Most of them seem to have not retreated to an online-model only, which I think is key to get the cost of product as low as possible. Reps are an expensive way to sell these days.
I mention online because we are buying plenty of niche stationery, stationery people want rather than the stationery they need from online without ever seeing a rep. It’s good and easy business, helping us expand range and reach new shoppers.
When I was in Perth on Tuesday morning this week I opened TheLott app on my iPhone and purchased a ticket. Lotterywest and Lotterywest retailers should be concerned about this.
Here’s a 15 minute video I shot a few days ago with a colleague at Tower Systems, someone who manages new customer newsagency software installations, helping many newsagents switch. We talk through innovation that benefits newsagents.
Here’s the latest ad from TheLott on TikTok. This is 100% focussed on driving direct digital purchase with no mention of in-store.
While TheLott needs to do what it can to drive sales, and therefore shareholder value, the company places selfish, onerous and restrictive demands on its retailers, denying them the opportunity to maximise opportunities for their retail businesses.
I’d like to see TheLott ease demands and restrictions on its retailers, to allow them to make more profitable use of their retail space. This latest TikTok ad campaign opens an opportunity for this discussion since it is 100% about TheLott’s digital sales.
For those unaware, TheLott imposes tight restrictions on its retailers as to how space is used at, near and leading to the lottery sales counter. These restrictions deny retailers revenue opportunities. One could argue that the rules and restrictions placed on retailers by TheLott are all about branding that, in time, will have played a role in digital migration.
I think TheLott has invested in this TikTok ad because it knows there are shoppers in the TikTok viewer pool they can attract. The restrictions they place on retailers deny them maximising the same opportunity for their businesses.
Lottery purchases will continue to migrate online. It’s convenient for purchase, ticket checking and prize redemption. I am not saying it is over for in-store purchases. Rather, there is more growth opportunity from online I think.
