A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Christmas Window plush

fhn_win_nov07.JPGWe have created the first of several Christmas displays in our recently opened Christmas window – this was a boxed in Window and now we have removed the slat-wall backing it has brought the shop into the window.

To start our Christmas theme we have selected this range of premium plush. Jane created the display Thursday and already sales are strong. By remaining low we are aiming to share attention with the range of cards and bags beyond the plush display.

It is likely we will have three displays as part of the Christmas season in this window.

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newsagency marketing

Shrunken magazines get lost

This small size Glamour magazine appears to be drowing in traditional magazine fixturing:

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I understand that they are publishing in this format for other retailers, in the meantime we have to find a way to make their preferred size work – as we do for the growing number of small format magazine titles.

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magazines

Preference from greeting cards over on line

greet_card.JPGUsing the Ask500People website I posed the question: Do you think online and text greetings will replace print greeting cards? As you can see from the graph, 70% said no. As with earlier survey questions I have mentioned here, there is no demographic information, making the poll of passing interest only. Still, I was expecting stronger support for online/text from an online community.

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Greeting Cards

NAB pays to win on Derby Day

The advertising department has trumped editorial again at The Age. This stuck-on ad for the National Australia Bank obscures the promotion of a derby Day feature. So much for The Age supporting horse racing in Victoria.

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At least the stuck-on ad technology being used now means less ads are likely to be ripped off by customers to litter newsagencies and surrounds. However, when you do take off the ad you;re left with a mess:

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Ar the folks at The Age newspaper people who respect the masthead or bean counters only interested in the dollar?

It is sad to see the advertising team win over editorial.

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newspaper masthead desecration

Magazine merchandising

pools.JPGPublishers pay merchandisers to dress up their titles in newsagencies. Too often, this work requires them to take space from other titles as this photo shows. While it looks good for Lifestyle Pools, it detracts from the titles on either side. It’s disappointing primarily because it happens when your back is turned. I don’t want to stop the merchandisers from visiting but rather have them engaged in work which respects the other products we have.

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magazines

The great wall

window_open.JPGIt looks like we made a mistake with our shop fit three years ago at Forest Hill when we created a boxed in window in front of our card areas.

While it was nice to have the window space for wonderful displays, sales growth of cards and related items since the wall of the window was removed two weeks ago tells us we made a mistake. We thought this might have been Christmas related but data analysis shows this is not the case.

Whereas in the past customers saw a boxed in display, now they see through to the shop. Now I am asking myself – what were you thinking?!!!

We are still feeling our way with the new space – we have spinners in the window at present to stop our customers walking into the glass … yes they have been, ouch!

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Greeting Cards

The things people do

When the Hallmark merchandiser was refreshing the stock at our newsXpress Watergardens store she noticed a Nanna birthday card from another card company. Since Hallmark is the only brand in the store it was an odd discovery. Either someone stole a card from somewhere else and dumped it in our store or they purchased (or stole) from an other store and replaced it with one from our store.

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Greeting Cards

Are print newspapers a relevant medium today?

Do you think print newspapers are relevant medium in today’s world? This is a question I posed through the new Ask500People website. 100 people voted from across the globe. 66% voted yes and 34% voted no. Here is a visual snapshot of the results:

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My interest was in trying out the new Ask500People site. I like the idea of an instant polling facility even though the results are unscientific. It is interesting to see, visually on the Google map and in a tabular form the location and vote of each of the voters.

Years ago, in the days of more personal and fearless contact, retailers took the pulse of the community as did taxi drivers. Today, in a faster world with barriers blocking personal contact, it will take sites like Ask500People to do this.

As for the question I put, I expected that the early adopter types using Ask500People would produce a resounding No result. The Yes result is a strong vote for print newspapers, something I find encouraging – even though it may reflect more desire than thoughtful analysis.

Ask500People is like the ask the audience option on a TV quiz show. If you want a view from the masses, you may get it here. It is an interesting social media site in that beyond the questions is the opportunity for interaction with those responding and from this, who knows, maybe new friendships are formed.

So, what does this mean for newsagents? Not much except that Ask500People is another example of changes in how we interact with each other. Our businesses are personal. We have a generation fast rising which has not experienced the personal contact around which our businesses have grown. We risk irrelevance to them. We cannot run set and forget businesses. Our newsagencies need to change to maintain relevance an this means navigating a less personal world.

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Media disruption

Special interest titles driving growth

spec_interest.JPGAt our Watergardens location, a greenfield location open not even two months, it is interesting to see that the growth in magazine sales is coming from special interest titles more so that the weeklies.

While we have the weeklies in prime position, visitors seek out the special interest titles which they cannot find in our part of the shopping centre. It reinforces the importance of magazine range as a point of difference and is providing us with an opportunity for promoting this new business.

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magazines

I love Cadbury singles

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I love Cadbury singles … on many fronts. Yes, I love the chocolate, that is a given. I also love the way they are pitching the product – 99 calories. I also love that it is priced so that I can sell this to soak up change from a newspaper purchase. This is the perfect up-sell for a newsagency.

Would you prefer a chocolate in your hand to some silver? Chocolate of course! Good retailers will make these Cadbury Singles work beautifully for them. We hope to.

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confectionary

Wellington bear found

wellington.JPGI passed on carrying Wellington Bear when I first saw this new offer from Hallmark. We were committed to Forever Friends and didn’t see the need for another plush story from Hallmark.

Two weeks ago, I took the time to listen to the Wellington Bear story and, finally some would say, I got it. I got that this bear was different. Wellington has a back story – printed on every Wellington product except the cards. This story provides context and helps us (me) better understand those likely to purchase Wellington.

With so many new products pitched to newsagents, invited and uninvited, it is challenge to pay sufficient attention to each. Of course every supplier says this is the one, the product which will beat all others. What I am more interested in is the purpose of this product. This is why I (belatedly) like the Wellington story.

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Greeting Cards

Christmas magazine display

christmags.JPGThis is the new magazine feature display at one of our register points created by our team at Forest Hill. They have brought together a good range of Christmas themed titles from a variety of categories including food, craft and home/living.

Since we do not have a shelf displaying magazines along the counter, this stand is our main magazine impulse purchase opportunity at this counter. It is proving to be valuable space for us.

By displaying this range of magazines we not only connect with Christmas shopping – which is well under way – we also demonstrate the breadth of our magazine range – something we take every opportunity to achieve.

We change this stand every 7 to 10 days – Christmas titles will get two shots.

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magazines

Kudos for Handle magazine

handle.JPGKudos to the folks at Handle magazine for placing their latest issue in a resealable bag. This way, browsers can browse the magazine and the accompanying DVD package and put it back into the bag.

At least the facilities are there to keep the product merchantable – as opposed to the many other magazines in sealed bags which are ripped by browsers wanting to try before they buy.

It is good to see a publisher attuned to the needs of newsagents and their customers and prepared to try alternatives.

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magazines

Boxed cards all year

boxed_cards.JPGThis photo shows a small part of the range of boxed cards we are selling from our Sophie Randall store.

Settling on the range was a challenge given that traditional card suppliers do not have the broad rang we wanted for year round giving.

Now that we have the range and sales to match, I am confident that at least some of the range would sell in newsagencies if presented appropriately and located between social stationery and greeting cards.

Boxed cards are big in Europe and the US all through the year while in Australia, in most stores, they remain a Christmas focus.

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Greeting Cards

OH&S claim for newspaper delivery driver

I’ve heard that a newsagent is facing a workplace claim for shoulder injury from a newspaper delivery. driver. The newsagency is located in a state where overweight newspapers is a known problem. If the threatened claim eventuates I’d expect to see the matter quickly escalate to include an industry wide review of practices.

The challenge with this issue is accountability. While the proposed case I heard of would be against the newsagent as the employer, I’d expect the publisher to be involved somehow since they create the fat newspapers and know of the OH&S challenges these create.

Publishers make money from the advertising which drives the weight. Newsagents are on a fixed income no matter what size the paper and this is where inequity in the current arrangements start.

While the case may settle before going any further, there will be others. This is a hot issue among newsagents and people who work for newsagents.

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Newsagency challenges

Rove hot

Rove McManus is hot in the eyes of magazine editors with four covers this week. Judging by sales from several newsagencies I have seen I’d say the editors are right. Woman’s Day is doing especially well.

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magazines

Time to review newspaper supply arrangements

With newsagents selling their newspaper home delivery businesses in unprecedented numbers, publishers and other stakeholders ought to review how they view and engage with the retail newsagent.

A common situation I see is that when a newsagent sells their home delivery round to concentrate on retail, they drop to being a second class citizen in the eyes of the publishers. This does not happen every time but I have seen it enough to record it as a problem. (I note that this has not been my experience – I am commenting of what others have told me.)

I’d like to see the retail newsagent have a robust direct publisher relationship. This is essential is maximum sales are to be achieved. Too often I have seen inadequate support to the retail newsagent for promotions such as DVDs, posters and the like. A direct relationship could avoid this and actually help the newsagent achieve higher sales.

Publishers invest heavily in subsidising home delivery subscriptions. Equal effort spent on the retail network could reap excellent sales growth. Just because I sold my home delivery round a year ago does not mean I care less about newspapers. In fact, the contrary is true – I see the importance of newspapers from a pure retail perspective. This focus is good for the publishers – if they wish to engage more deeply with retail only newsagents.

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Newsagency challenges

E Ink evolving

Engadget reports on some E Ink developments which were shown off at a trade show a couple of days ago. Some say E Ink could replace print newspapers. The challenges are battery power, portability and durability. Various publishers are investing in this and related technologies.

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Media disruption

Good Food Guide goes mobile

The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald have each opened free mobile phone access to their highly successful Good Food Guide listings. Given how the Guide is used by diners, I’d expect the mobile service to attract many users.

How does this affect newsagents? Every newspaper connected franchise which moves to online distribution channels is a challenge for newsagents – I hope they (we) are taking notice.

On a technical note, the team at Fairfax may want to make sure that links on The Age page reflect that. The FAQs talk only of the SMH.

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Newspaper marketing

Will newspapers survive?

Jeff Jacoby writing at The Boston Globe over the weekend writes about this. It’s a thoughtful piece – in a newspaper of all mediums. Howard Owens and others have some interesting observations on the same topic at his blog.

Discussion of the future of newspapers is important yet pretty much neglected here in Australia. Either we’re in denial or the challenges playing out overseas will pass us by.

Given the importance of newspapers to newsagents, it is vital we engage in the conversation about the future of the product in its current form. Such engagement will, hopefully, guide our commercial considerations about our own future. Our retail and distribution businesses were, after all, created by publishers to serve their needs.

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Media disruption

Cheap stationery from China

At a Hong Kong trade fair yesterday I saw stationery from many China based factories. Some items were familiar to me – they are sold in Australia under a house brand. Given the prices offered, I was left wondering why newsagent house brands can’t be more effective than they are. Surely those newsagents who want a house brand strategy can buy better, sell for less and make more than is achieved today.

Based on the prices of some items I saw in Hong Kong, current pricing for house brand stationery offered to newsagents in Australia could be off by between 25% and 50%.

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Stationery
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