Month: December 2008

Exclusive Puzzler promotion

newsXpress is participating in an exclusive promotion with Puzzler Collections magazine.  Participating newsXpress members will be provided with newsXpress branded bonus packs containing Puzzler Collections as well as two other Puzzler titles – priced to sell.  This exclusive pack is providing us with an excellent offer around which to promote the crossword category and the Puzzler brand in p[articular in newsXpress outlets in the lead up to the Back To School rush.

With 160 entrepreneurial newsagents across the country, newsXpress is pleased to be able to offer publishers opportunities to promote their brand while delivering exclusive commercially valuable opportunities for our members.

Dressing for Australia Day

austday.jpgnewsXpress has put together a range of marketing collateral for newsXpress members to use in dressing their newsagencies for Australia Day 2009.  Available in kit form, the in-store marketing package includes two large posters, an Australian flag, bunting, ribbon and balloons – everything you need to show you are proud Austraian business in the lead up to Australia Day.  newsXpress is proud to be helping its members embrace our national day and through this better connect with the local community.

Valentine’s Day and beyond

While many suppliers to newsagents are closed right now, the newsXpress merchandise team is in the office this week and busy putting the final touches to plans for Valentine’s Day 2009.  While the core offers for Valentine’s Day were sent to our members prior to Christmas, we have new opportunities we have been finalising to ensure that newsXpress newsagencies have a point of difference for this important season.

Dressing for the SALE

_nx_boxsale.JPGnewsXpress provided members with professionally designed artwork for post Christmas sales last week.  The post Christmas sales can be as important as the lead up to Christmas.  Good artwork helps our members maximise the opportunity and present the newsXpress point of difference, reinforcing that not all newsagencies are the same.

This free artwork and the post Christmas sale supporting strategy is another way newsXpress helps its members sieze every opportunity.

The photo shows how we are using the artwork at our corporate store at Watergardens in Melbourne.  Yesterday, our store looked sensational and sales numbers told us that the marketing worked.

Christmas Eve

Our team is heading off early today to a well earned break with family and friends over Christmas.  Our offices will be closed from this afternoon until Monday December 29.  Our usual after-hours numbers are all available if any member or supplier needs to make urgent contact.

From our family to yours … have a wonderful Christmas!

Branding is everything

nxp-a2.jpgBranding is important to the newsXpress family.  We seek to provide opportunities to brand beyond the traditional newsagency style branding, to promote our unique selling proposition.

We have completed art for posters for use in-store for locations yet to complete a newsXpress shopfit or to supplement existing in-store signage.  These A2 double sided colour posters are also useful when our members need to promote newsXpress outside their business.

We understand that change is important in retail and have committed to providing our members with fresh supplementary branding materials regularly. 

These new posters will be released early in 2009 and are further evidence of our commitment to help our members position their businesses for range, service and smiles.

Driving magazine sales.

dsc05668.JPGnewsXpress has been recently briefed by a major magazine publisher on our same store year-on-year growth.  newsXpress members who embrace our strategies, and that is most, are achieving considerably above industry average growth.  When compared to every other group, we lead in the magazine department in terms of growth.  We are proud of this because it is magazines which account for a significant portion of traffic visiting newsagencies. 

With seven magazine management and promotion strategies exclusive to newsXpress, our member newsagents are well prepared to continue our success in this category.

The newsXpress Christmas card

nxp-back.jpgnewsXpress has created a Christmas card in house to spread seasonal wishes to suppliers and others.  Click on the image to see a larger version.  The most important part of the Christmas card is the back page where all of our stores are listed.  This page is newsXpress – around 160 newsagencies making up the most vibrant and exciting newsagency marketing group in Australia.  The card is also a good advertisement of our in-house graphic design and marketing skills.  Skills which are crucial to the success of any marketing group.

Working with newsXpress members

fnq_nxp.jpgMichelle Caia from our National Merchandise Team and Karen Sutton newsXpress national Sales manager recently toured all Far North Queensland newsXpress stores.  These visits were used to provide newsXpress members with training on newsXpress in-store initiatives, provide a fresh eyes review of the business and to expose Michelle to member requirements in her area of merchandise within the group. 

In the photo you can see Michelle and Karen with Peter from newsXpress Emerald.

Excellent Christmas at Roselands

18th-dec-015.jpgVinay and the team at newsXpress Roselands have created a big bold outpost for Christmas this year.  Their product mix and excellent customer service combine to make the most of the high-profile opportunity.  The range is good and the floor layout very shopper friendly.  Sales are excellent, a tribute to the planning and execution of Vinay and his team at Roselands.

newsXpress appreciates the efforts of members like Vinay who pursue every opportunity in and around their business.  This commitment to entrepreneurship helps our group nationally as well as the individual store.

Intralot ‘gift sleds’ a winner at Mildura

klemms-intralot-christmas08.jpgJohn, Kerry and the team at newsXpress Klemm’s Mildura have the town jumping with the Intralot Christmas Sled this year.

Whilst the product is different to last year, that hasn’t stopped them selling over 600 sleds at $30.00 each with still a week to go before Christmas Day. Intralot have experienced some growing pains since their launch earlier this year but newsXpress Klemm’s Mildura have only concentrated on the positives and as the sales figures clearly show – to the beneift to their bottom line!

The photo to the left features Kerry and Gay with the next order of 30 sleds, packed and ready for pick up.

Planning for 2009

newsXpress is close to finalising plans for 2009 and will share this with members through the private area of our website prior to the end of this year. 

The 2009 calendar will outline our schedule of member meetings, trade days, cluster meetings as well as our national conference. 

The calendar will also document retail and other promotions.  Some exclusive and commercially sensitive information will not be included.  With such a busy year planned and a good variety of activities, advance notice is appropriate so that members may plan their participation.

Countdown to Christmas

christmascountdown.JPGThe Hallmark Christmas countdown is a feature in newsXpress newsagencies across Australia.  It is a bright beacon placed at the front of the shop drawing customers in for some good Christmas shopping. 

Through the course of the year, newsXpress newsagencies receive considerable marketing collateral as part of the Hallmark relationship.  This helps our stores outperform many other retailers in the greeting card and gift packaging categories. 

At seasonal times and through the year, our merchandise team works closely with Hallmark to leverage the relationship for our members and our respective businesses.  Core to this leverage is value, value to our brands and value to the consumer.  Anyone can grab business today with a big discount.  It takes strategy and commitment to build for the long term.  This is the focus of the newsXpress / Hallmark relationship. 

Meeting on Gold Coast to plan 2009

nx_qldteam.JPGSome of our team met on the Gold Coast yesterday to discuss 2008 and continue our planning discussions for 2009.  Group planning and reviews such as this are crucial to developing the strategy which is proving so successful for newsXpress members.  Around the table in the photo is Jeff Walsh from our merchandise team, Karen Sutton our National Sales Manager, Lesley Bortfield one of NSW Business Development Managers, Ben Kay our National Merchandise Manager, Mark Fletcher newsXpress Director, Sonia Ruhland our Group Administration Co-Ordinator, Graham Randall newsXpress Director., Roger Bortfield another of our NSW Business Development Managers and Belinda Adshead our Queensland Business Development Manager.

newsXpress has a strong professional team including several not in the photo.  This team is key to the strength of our group and the success being achieved by our members.

Three new stationery offers for newsagents

newsXpress will be introducing three new stationery seasons for newsXpress newsagents next year.  These details of these secret campaigns will be announced confidentially to members closer to action time.  Our research has identified three lucrative opportunities which will give our members exclusive and valuable revenue opportunities.

Merchandise team meets with members

The newsXpress national merchandise team has been on the road for almost two weeks meeting with members in three states who specialise in product categories we see as growth opportunities in 2009.  Meeting with newsXpress members in their stores has provided our back office team with store level insights which will be reflected in merchandise plans for 2009.

newsXpress appreciates the time given and valuable insights shared by our members in the meetings.  It is through co-operation such as this that we are able to better serve our members and help other members new to growth categories.

Something extra for customers

nx_pads.JPGThe newsXpress Things To Do Today pads developed by newsXpress for members to giveaway tto customers are proving to be a hit.  These pads are personalised to each newsXpress business including full contact details.  Members are reporting wonderful customer feedback when they provide the pad as a gift.  We have some members posting these with their end of year accounts and others handing them to customers over the counter. 

The pads are a low cost high reward mechanism for showing appreciation for custom through the year.  They are exclusive to newsXpress – we designed and executed this project in-house.  The pad project is another way newsXpress helps member newsagents show apprecaition of customers and thereby take another step to building a stronger business.

newsXpress is a big picture newsagency marketing group with plenty of micro focus in execution.  While the pads in themselves are not big picture marketing, they represent a small and vital step in a big picture approach to exceptional customer service and apprecaition.

Success with face to face visits

Two of our team last Saturday completed a grueling seven day trip from cairns down, visiting with newsXpress members in scheduled sessions on strategies for building the business and presenting a better retail story.  This face to face contact, even for remote newsagents, is a key point of difference delivered by newsXpress to its members.

Newsagents can almost bank the results of these practical visits through increased sales, better processes and more a more motivated team.  from Visual merchandising advice to better buying to handling staff issues, our members have access to professional advice in-store to help build a healthier business.

In addition to the benefits delivered through training and practical in-store work, there is a tremendous benefit from sharing stories from other newsagencies along the way.  The sharing of these stories is an important function of our on the road team – connecting newsagents who, usually for distance, are not able to get out of their businesses.

We think this contact and the sharing of business success stories is another reason newsXpress newsagents are more up-beat and proactive.