We are appreciating the terrific reaction from shoppers to the placement of single Christmas cards full face on the lease line. While this is one of four placements of Christmas cards in this particular shop, it is the only one on the lease line for attracting passers-by and pitching Christmas cards.
Impulse and early Christmas card purchases are valuable.
We made the stand to have 100% control over what cards are placed here.
This report, from Amanda Meade at Guardian Australia on the closure of Picture and People:
Softcore magazines the Picture and People to close amid sale ban and falling circulation
Exclusive: Hundreds of service stations recently banned the magazines from sale, saying they demeaned women and girls.
Australian men’s magazine the Picture and the 69 year-old People magazine will close at the end of the year, ending decades of printed weeklies featuring topless models and readers’ sex stories.
Publisher Bauer Media was forced to axe the magazines after retailers lined up to ban them from sale at service stations; and readership fell to 0.02% of the population over 14 for People magazine and 0.01% for The Picture. They are already banned from sale in supermarkets.
“Discussions to close the Picture and People magazines have been taking place, as the magazines have lost ranging [visibility], which has affected their commercial viability,” a spokeswoman for Bauer Media told Guardian Australia.
“As closures impact a number of people, including some staff and suppliers, they need to be well considered and timed appropriately.
“The magazines will be closing at the end of the year and we’re working closely with staff to find suitable redeployment.”
I expect minimal impact on the newsagency channel from the closure of these two titles.
The cover price for the UK Autosport magazine has been more than doubled for over the counter purchase in a move that appears designed to drive migration from print to online.
Magazine cover prices need to increase to reflect cost increases for retailers. Or, newsagents ought be paid a higher percentage of cover price.
The price increase for Autosport, however, is nuts.
While there are regulatory processes to play out and finalisation is anticipated to be months away, the news yesterday that Bauer Media and Seven West Media had reached agreement for Bauer to acquire Pacific has captured the attention of plenty in our channel.
Bauer media and Pacific Magazines are the two largest magazine publishers in Australia.
The most common question in emails and calls that I received yesterday from newsagents was what does this mean for us?
I think asking this question now is late. I say this because rationalisation of print media businesses has been happening for some years and has been discussed widely here and elsewhere in our channel.
If you are asking today what it means, you are already behind. If this is you, I encourage you to invest time now to catch up.
If the Bauer / Pacific news has come at a shock and you are wondering about the impact, act now, make decisions that focus on propelling your business forward. No supplier will do this for you – putting your business first in every decision.
While I don’t know what a Bauer acquisition of Pacific will or could mean, we can reasonably speculate that there will be changes over time. It cannot 100% be business as usual.There will have to be changes given the challenges faced by some of the titles involved. One benefit of single ownership of an expanded stable of titles at Bauer would be co-ordinated management of all titles. This could mean less cannibalisation between competing titles through more thoughtful and complementary coverage.
Many of us in the newsagency channel have been actively working on chasing net new traffic for categories outside of legacy product categories for our channel for years. There have been hits and misses through. Such is the experience of chasing change.
There is no doubt we are in a period of extraordinary change in print media. Change is being driven by how news is delivered into our hands, how and when we engage with news and information, what constitutes news and entertainment, what people will and will not pay for, who is a publisher (all of us?) and how print mastheads and stories are packaged and priced.
The Australian market is small. I think that is a factor playing out here too. Print media products need critical mass. We miss that in some markets here.
Thinking about what could change as a result of the announced acquisition… It would not surprise me to see: the days of magazine delivery changed, maybe to one a week; the closure of some weekly titles; the launch of a new weekly title; changes in monthly titles; greater accessibility for over the counter purchase of titles.
What should matter most to newsagents today is focus of the business changing net new shopper traffic, broadening the shopper appeal through new products, driving overall business GP%, growing online sales so the business is less reliant on local shoppers and chasing opportunities through pursuing what we don’t know our businesses can achieve.
The Bauer / Pacific announcement is an encouragement for us to work on our businesses, to pursue change, to make our businesses more valuable in the future.
All of this, of course, means more focus away from the newsagency shingle.
Here is the announcement from Bauer in full:
MEDIA RELEASE
BAUER MEDIA GROUP TO ACQUIRE ICONIC AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND MAGAZINE PORTFOLIO FROM SEVEN WEST MEDIA
Sydney and Hamburg, 21 October, 2019: The Boards of Bauer Media Group and Seven West Media are pleased to announce an agreement for Bauer Media to acquire Pacific Magazines, which publishes a leading portfolio of iconic Australian and New Zealand media brands – including Better Homes & Gardens, New Idea and Marie Claire.
Combining Pacific Magazines with Bauer Media Australia’s existing multi-platform publishing portfolio brings together over 50 highly complementary titles.
The enlarged business will boast deep expertise in the Women’s Entertainment & Lifestyle, Fashion, Beauty & Health, and Food & Homes categories, and be well placed to maximise reach and engagement with consumers while continuing to invest in new, must-have content.
Brendon Hill, Bauer Media Australia CEO, says: “We are delighted to be able to combine our talent and resources with one of our most admired and respected industry peers. More than ever, scale and superior content is emerging as the differentiator of success in publishing. This transaction will bring the Bauer and Pacific teams greater opportunities to innovate, create and collaborate – and continue to delight their audiences.”
Bauer Media Group is a global owner of assets ranging from radio, print and digital content to online comparison platforms and marketing services. This acquisition is in line with the Group’s strategy to capitalize on its leading position in publishing, investing in new launches, concepts and business models around its strong brands, whilst actively participating in the consolidation of the industry and pursuing opportunities in new areas.
The transaction is expected to close during either late 2019 or early 2020, subject to ACCC approval.
-ENDS-
Here is the Seven West announcement in full.
I have been working with a designer on a range of unbranded collateral to express appreciation for local shoppers. I’m frustrated with the usual shop local pitch I see as it reads somewhat entitled / demanding. I prefer a more subtle and genuinely appreciative approach.
This image is part of the series. It’s designed for in-store as well as digital use. I am pretty happy with how this is developing.
I love this clip that I saw on Twitter. It’s a reminder of how good buskers can engage. In a high street situation, good buskers out the front of the shop are awesome. Now to find buskers like these two…
I’ve watched this a lot and it just gets better👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/VwLms3ve3c
— san (@sanosbo1) October 19, 2019
Here is the first crack at Christmas in one of my stores. It runs from this front of store display behind for around three metres. I say first crack because this will change weekly as new stock is added, early hits sell out and the narrative is evolved.
In-store is only part of our Christmas pitch this year. Already Christmas has been terrific with online sales, to people will never see in-store.
For those wondering, this shop does not sell lotteries, tobacco or candy. It is pop culture / card / gift / sarcasm focussed store with mags and papers still represented, but not front of store.
I did a search Wednesday night for newsagents on Twitter and found this post.
While it references newsagents, it specially mentions www.myornaments.com.au, a website connected to one of my shops. Finding it by accident as I did I was able to understand another question – what caused a noticeable spike in sales from October 16.
What happened here is a good example of customer endorsement. It is also an example of the value of checking out what is said. In my own case, it allowed me to respond:
I am grateful for the endorsement and grateful to have found it.
Search your business, and the channel from time to time and appreciate support shown on social media and elsewhere.
On any day in Australia, there are, on average, close to 1,000 searches online for newsagent near me. Yes, that is exactly what they are searching for. This is data I have access through a respected keyword search analytics tool from this morning.
There are three times that many searches for newsagent and newsagency from in Australia every day.
This is useful data for newsagents developing online presences to consider as that search volume could be leveraged to land people on a website from which related product lines could be purchased.
Connecting with browsers online is critical to driving in-store purchases.
I use several tools to understand online searches in the context of several retail business channels and a range of product categories, to ensure that websites serve search needs.
I’ll be at the Bauer Media Connections conference on the Gold Coast next week, from Wednesday afternoon. If you will be there and would like to catch up, please reach out at mark@towersystems.com.au or 0418 321 338.
Too often we in small business discover that suppliers have one approach for us and another for a big business competitor of ours with the approach for small businesses impacting efficiency and, therefore, profitability.
Here are some examples of the types of different approaches that concern me:
These approaches compounds the disadvantage small business retailers encounter on price and service. Any supplier advantaging big businesses in these and other ways need to look at their operations and decide on the retailers they prefer to supply.
Too often, I see small business retailers delivering financial benefit to suppliers that is far greater than their proportion of GP from the total GP pool of the supplier.
This decision to offer a popular magazine title for sale in supermarkets a week ahead of newsagent release does not make sense.
I only know about it because newsagents have pointed it out to me today.
I’d encourage those in charge to reconsider for future issues.
Join me this week for a free online workshop all about selling online – how to, what to watch out for, where to spend money and where not to spend money. 20 have booked already.
I will share a series of non newsagency related examples, from businesses in completely different retail channels to ours, and share what they are achieving, how and why.
The session is this Wednesday: October 16, at 2pm AEST (that is, Melbourne time).
This will be an online session. Access is open to anyone. There is no cost.
At this session, I will focus on how to connect your business to sell online, why, how to rank high in Google searches and what to sell. This last piece is critical as all too often indie retailers think they should putt everything they have in-store online. I will also cover pitfalls, risks and opportunities.
Most examples I will use will be from small business retailers with no connection with the newsagency channel.
The session will be interactive with opportunity for questions and two-way discussion. There will also be opportunity at the end for any topic to be canvassed.
I’ll be setting the meeting up using the Zoom platform, meaning you will be able to access it from any device, anywhere.
To register, please email bookings@towersystems.com.au. The day before the office will send you a link for the meeting.
Having a jigsaw open and on a table for anyone to do will boost sales, and drive shopper engagement in-store.
Sometimes, a photo of part of a cover is more enticing than the full cover. For example, this photo works much better…
…than this photo for a medium as visual as Facebook…
…and that its not intended to be a negative commentary on the terrific Better Homes and Gardens.
I am almost at the end of the series of face to face e-commerce workshops for small business retailers that I have been running in Australia and New Zealand. Based on the experience and feedback, I see value in a session specifically for newsagents. I will do that Wednesday next week, October 16, at 2pm AEST (that is, Melbourne time).
This will be an online session. Access is open to anyone. There is no cost.
At this session, I will focus on how to connect your business to sell online, why, how to rank high in Google searches and what to sell. This last piece is critical as all too often indie retailers think they should putt everything they have in-store online. I will also cover pitfalls, risks and opportunities.
Most examples I will use will be from small business retailers with no connection with the newsagency channel. That said, they will be from businesses facing similar existential and competitive challenges to retail newsagency businesses.
The session will be interactive with opportunity for questions and two-way discussion. There will also be opportunity at the end for any topic to be canvassed.
I’ll be setting the meeting up using the Zoom platform, meaning you will be able to access it from any device, anywhere.
To register, please email bookings@towersystems.com.au. The day before the office will send you a link for the meeting.
Several newsagents contacted me to share frustration with IPS and their handling of the Bathurst program for this year’s event. One suggested I post here to ask how many people use them. Click here or scroll through – it’s one question. I’ll leave it open until Friday afternoon.
With trains continuing to be popular across generations in magazine, jigsaw, calendar, toy, card, gift and other product category formats of the business, it makes sense to pitch a train focussed diary for 2020.
This Great Trains of Australia 2020 diary from the Last Diary Co. is a perfect product for out of store marketing for us, to reinforce the business as a destination for train lovers and those who buy gifts for them.
Our ability to pitch specialisation begins with the product we source. In my own businesses, key questions we ask when considering an individual product or a category are: does it reach a an easily understood and appreciated specialty niche and does it lend itself to o9ur of store marketing.
We are especially interested in fringe interests often ignored by major retailers for it is in this space where we can find valuable shoppers.
GNS has released two planograms that will help newsagents engage with this new and innovative house brand. Stat is putting stationery in play, in a positive way, for newsagents in my view.
Rumour that Bauer could consider acquiring Pacific Magazines has been circulating for some time inside publishing and connected circles has been given oxygen today This from B&T:
According to reports in today’s The Australian, Seven is negotiating with rival Bauer Magazines to offload its Pac Mag business.
Pacific Magazines currently publish titles such as Better Home And Gardens, marie claire, Who, New Idea and Men’s and Women’s Health.
According to Seven’s annual report, Pac Magazines generated revenue of just shy of $130 million for the financial year, down 7.2 per cent from $139.5 million the previous year.
The reverse had been a rumour through late 2017 / early 2018. However, with the latest results from Seven, and a new CEO working on the business, being a seller makes more sense.
If such an acquisition did proceed, there would be implications for all businesses in the magazine supply chain.
For several years, when asked at conferences and when participating in industry panels, if I have been asked I have said that Australia is too small for both Bauer and Pacific, especially with the weekly titles.
When should you put out Christmas? As soon as you get it is our view. You can’t sell stock that is not out. So, get it out and in front of people.
Build toward Christmas.Change your displays as you go, as more stock arrives.
To manage shop floor room, offer and early sale. Consider an earlybird sale. However, if you do this, run it for a limited time. Call it an earlybird sale. Promote it on Facebook.
What sells early? Boxed cards, absolutely. These are followed by a mixture of items, depending on what shoppers in your area look for.
When should you dress the shop for Christmas? We suggest December or late November. Dressing the shop is different to when you start selling items for Christmas.
When should you start to play Christmas music? We suggest two weeks before. The music is what seems to annoy people the most.
EARLY CHRISTMAS LAUNCH IDEAS.
Christmas cheer preview night. Put on some drinks and finger food and let people come in for a closed-door event where you show off Christmas items and make money. This should be done early – before other retailers.
Christmas card writing party. Boxed card deals. Setup tables. People buy cards, write them, drink and have a laugh.
Maker Christmas fun. This is harder work. Have an event showing people how to make Christmas decorations. Have deals in-store at the time. For this to work you must know what you plan to make and have the resources ready.
Christmas storytelling. This is more of a community event. You sponsor it. People come in and tell their most enjoyable Christmas story, in a group setting. Heart-warming. Fun. Local. Not too commercial but it could gently help drive sales.
DEALING WITH PUSH BACK.
Anyone complaining about putting Christmas out early can be a challenge. Be sure what you want to respond with. Train all who work in the business. You could say: people asked for it. Or, we can’t ban Christmas. Or, Bah humbug. Or, people have been asking.
Attached to this advice is a flyer created by our Southland team showing the context they used for going out early with boxed cards.
Getting out early with Christmas matters as it establishes in the mind of regulars that you have product, which hopefully they remember when they are ready to purchase.
In London recently I went to buy a coffee and discovered it was free because it was the birthday of the business. If you are ever in London and near Covent Garden, check out: www.lundenwic.com.
Traditional newsagency businesses have no future if you consider the trajectory represented in the year on year comparison in FY 2018/19 financial year compared to the 2017/18 financial year newsagency fsasleds benchmark study just completed.
The study represents data from 157 newsagency businesses – city and country, high street and mall, banner groups and independent. Note: Each data point below is the average, mean, of all data for the data point.
OVERALL BUSINESS PERFORMANCE METRICS.
CORE PRODUCTS.
SPECIALTY PRODUCTS.
This year on year comparison is worse than we have seen in recent quarter analyses. This is in part due to a broader correction businesses. There is no one dominant group represented or one dominant type of business.
I have assessed each product category in isolation so as to not be distracted by businesses that are dominant in one and not another.
Print media.
Terminal decline. Publishers won’t like that representation. However, it is true if you look at the data from the last five years. There is no coming back from the eventual outcome, an outcome by the way I wish was not the case. In the meantime, we need to support the category and make the most of it, as the publishers themselves are doing.
Growth.
Less than 50% of the businesses that provided data had sales in the categories for which there was growth. This is a problem. There continue to be too many traditional newsagency businesses. That pure traditional model has no future.
There is plenty of good news. Look at Gifts. The average growth is 7%. There are many stores at 15%+ in growth. This is driving up the average. Typically, these are businesses in year two or three of their transition away from traditional newsagency operation and, often, focused on gift categories far removed from what you’d see in 98% of newsagency businesses.
City vs. Country.
Regional and rural businesses continue to perform better. This is across the board. Even when comparing pure traditional newsagency businesses this is true. Location does matter, at the moment. The difference will not last.
Upside opportunities.
Toys, crafts, coffee, books and plush offer update. However, in the traditional category of stationery there is upside too if you engage in a fresh way compared to what has been done in the past. Success requires the retailer being entrepreneurial.
The role of online.
Online should be accounting for at least 4% of revenue now. This is rare. However, I have seen it.
Is a newsagency a good investment? Can you make money?
Yes and yes, if you are good, engaged and focussed retailer. If you want a business that runs itself and ticks over, a newsagency is not for you. If you pine for a newsagency from the past, a traditional business, it has no future.
New traffic, better margin, genuine growth in business valuations all come from focussing on products not recently traditionally aligned with our channel.
I own three newsagencies. I am glad I do. I am pleased with their performance.
As to your situation, that is what matters more thank any benchmark. You are your most important competitor and your most important benchmark.
Mark Fletcher.
Email: mark@towersystems.com.au Website: www.towersystems.com.au Blog: www.newsagencyblog.com.au
M | 0418 321 338
