Month: October 2009

Halloween at newsXpress Riverlink

riverlink.JPGBelinda and the team at newsXpress Riverlink are scaring up a storm with their Halloween range.  Besides the display in the photo they have a terrific display using cobwebs and our newsXpress collateral at the entrance to the store.

The range at newsXpress Riverlink makes them the go-to store in the area for Halloween and this will drive excellent word of mouth business.  The newsXpress merchandise team has helped drive this by sourcing excellent, competitively priced, Halloween product for this year’s season.

Twilight merchandise now (almost) in store

twilight_poster.jpgnewsXpress has prepared collateral for use by its members in promoting the range of Twilight themed products available in-store.  Our marketing campaign ties in with the soon to launch New Moon movie.

The maketing collateral from newsXpress includes an A0 colour poster which announces that merchandise is available in store.

Months ago, the newsXpress merchandise team sourced a range of Twilight related items for members.  This included two items which were new to newsagents and helped us position ourselves alongside the majors in this lucrative market segment.

Twilight is a natural fit for newsagentsgiven that many magazines we sell have Twilight content regularly.

Halloween at newsXpress Upper Coomera

upper-coomera2.JPGnewsXpress Upper Coomera has Halloween products on the shelves and terrific displays all around to draw attention.  Having had success with Halloween previously, they understand the value of strong support for the season.

In addition to the hang-sell display in the photo, they have our newsXpress Halloween posters out and appropriately scary cobwebs ahanging from the ceiling.

Halloween is about retail theatre and at newsXpress Upper Coomera it’s on show.

Halloween at newsXpress Sunbury Square

sunbury_square.JPGSomeone at newsXpress Sunbury Square is getting into the fun of Halloween early judging by the photo.  They are showing off one of the fun Halloween costumes they have on sale.  In addition to costumes they have other Halloween product including pitch forks, candy baskets, witches hats … all sorts of things to celebrate Halloween and have a good time and all available through our newsXpress preferred supplier relationships.

The folks at newsXpress Sunbury Square have gone all out and had a lot of fun creating their retail displays and engaging with customers in the lead up to Halloween on October 31.  We love this!

Local Area Marketing workshop

_mg_2600.JPGnewsXpress National Marketing Manager Trent Shields hosted a well attended workshop on Local Area Marketing at our conference last week.

Trent provided outlined a range of local marketing initiatives which better connect retailers with the local community.  This is an area of particular interest and experience for Trent.  It is also an area where he helps newsXpress members on a day to day basis.

It was good having a newsXpress resource like Trent on show for members and suppliers to see as it demonstrates the added value newsXpress brings to its member relationships.

Why Brands Matter!

_mg_2562.JPGDavid Haskard, National Marketing Manager with Hallmark Cards presented a workshop called Why Brands Matter! at our conference in Melbourne last week.  David provided an insight which connected with Hallmark, the leading card brand in Australia, newsXpress, the leading newsagency brand in Australia and many other brands we sell in our businesses.

The conference hosted six different workshops, providing atendees with opportunities to learn in a smaller format interactive environment .

The feedback on the value of the workshops demonstrates they were a valued part of the conference.

newsXpress Trade Show a hit

nx_conf09_trade.JPGThe Trade Show which accompanied the newsXpress Conference in Melbourne last week was spread over three adjoining rooms at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne.  The photo shows part of one level.  We had stationery, gift, greeting card, confectionery and services suppliers showing their products to newsXpress members and other newsagents who attended the conference.

Meal and other breaks were taken in the Trade Show area, providing excellent opportunities for good business to be written and for conference attendees to network around products.

newsXpress is grateful to its suppliers for their support of the conference and the Trade Show.

Relaxing with newsXpress members

nx_conf09_dinner.JPGThe 2009 newsXpress Awards Dinner held last Thursday evening at the beautiful Plaza Ballroom at the regent Theatre was a wonderful night of laughs, great music and recognition for achievement.  The night was hosted by the very funny Michael Pope, hilarious magic was provided by Matt Hollywood and great music was from Funky Town Express.

The evening was a perfect end to the first day of the conference, a great way to relax and enjoy an evening with friends.  The entertainment was supplemented with a gourmet meal and fine Victorian wines.

newsXpress is proud of how well the night worked and the professional way our brand was represented.

Warrick Hosking: newsXpresser of the Year

nx_warrick_newsxpresser.JPGWarrick Hosking was announced 2009 newsXpresser of the Year at our Awards dinner on Thursday evening. Warrick embraces everything newsXpress stands for. He pursues change at newsXpress Gympie relentlessly and aggressively. He understands our brand and all we stand for.  He is passionate about newsXpress and never misses an opportunity to share this. His passion is driven by the success he achieves in his business with newsXpress initiatives. Warrick is the newsXpresser of the year because he is a great ambassador for the newsXpress brand our mission.

newsXpress Singleton heights: newsXpress Retailer of the Year

singleton.JPGnewsXpress Singleton Heights was announced 2009 newsXpress Retailer of the Year along with newsXpress Whittlesea at our Awards dinner last week.  We could not separate these two businesses for engagement with newsXpress and their embrace of offers, promotions, business operation initiatives and all things newsXpress. They have done this with terrific energy and achieving excellent results. They seek out change and push it to the limit. They drive newsXpress to help them in many exciting and challenging ways.  Jarryd Moore has demonstrated what a Gen Y business can achieve.

Jarryd is photographed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall and Krista, a manager from the business.

newsXpress Whittlesea: Retailer of the Year

whittlesea.JPGnewsXpress Whittlesea was announced as 2009 newsXpress Retailer of the Year along with newsXpress Singleton Heights.  We could not separate these two businesses for engagement with newsXpress and their embrace of offers, promotions, business operation initiatives and all things newsXpress. They have done this with the backdrop of being in the heart of a region of Victoria devastated by bushfires earlier this year. Throughout, they have remained focused on building their business through proactive engagement with newsXpress. From our in store BDM presence to our product offers, they are making the most of newsXpress. Congratulations to Neil and Robyn Ritchie from newsXpress Whittlesea.

Neil and Robyn are photographed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall.

newsXpress Wetherill Park: Card Retailer of the Year

wetherill.JPGnewsXpress Wetherill Park has won the 2009 newsXpress Card Retailer of the Year Award. They achieved great sales growth through carefulattention to the card department and a close relationship with suppliers. Theirresults are a true stand out and based on an already strong sales base.Their success proves what can be done through proactive engagement with cardsuppliers and in-store through displays and promotions. Congratulations to Ginella Di Franco and Antonella Postaj and their team.

Antonella and Ginella are photographed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall.

newsXpress Woden: Calendar Retailer of the Year

woden.JPGnewsXpress Woden took out the 2009 newsXpress Calendar Retailer of the Year award at our Awards dinner last week. o Nic and Anthony from newsXpress Woden in Canberra have wholly embraced the calendarXpress range and strategies from newsXpress. As a result, they have achieved excellent year on year sales growth in unit sales aswell as in revenue. The growth achieved is truly stunning – and all on the baack of newsXpress initiatives.  Congratulations to Anthony and Nic McCormack and their team.

Nic and Anthony are photographed with newsXoress Director Graham Randall.

newsXpress Eli Waters: Magazine Retailer of the Year

eliwaters.JPGnewsXpress Eli Waters took out the 2009 newsXpress magazine Retailer of the Year Award at our Awards Dinner last week. On the back of a tough year for magazines, the team at newsXpress Eli waters has achieved for themselves an excellent year of double digit growth. They embraced the newsXpress principles of beacon Branding, Co-location and the newsXpress Magazine Club Card. They attribute their success in the magazine department to these newsXpress initiatives. Congratulations to Allan and Stella Wickham and the team.

Allan and Stella are photograhed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall.

newsXpress Beechworth: Stationery Retailer of the Year

beechworth.JPGCongratualtions to the team at newsXpress Beechworth for taking our the 2009 newsXpress Stationery Retailer of the Year Award. newsXpress Beechworth has been awarded for sales revenue growth in the stationery category, not including ink, on a same store year on year basis. newsXpress Beechworth in Victoria has achieved excellent results from within the business in a tough climate for the town. This award honours that sales growth and the commitment of the team atBeechworth to newsXpress stationery strategies. Congratulations to Ian and Tracey McVea and Vaughan and Kerrie Lawrence.

Ian is photograhed with newsXpress Director Graham Randall.

Ron delivers a smooth professional conference

_mg_2310.JPGRon Thorpe was MC for the newsXpress conference last week.  Ron was MC for our first conference last year on the Gold Coast.

Ron brings years of experience working with newsagents and this is evident in his interaction with delegates at the conference.  Ron is also our greeting card expert in the newsXpress team. He has been a resource of tremendous value to newsXpress members over the last two years.

Ron professionalism kept the conference flowing and housekeeping to a minimum.  This ensured a smooth event for all attendees.

Supporting the Lighthouse Foundation

nx_conf09_lighthouse.JPGIn the spirit of putting something back into the community, newsXpress ran a silent auction during our Gala Awards Dinner on Thursday evening.  We raised $5,000 for the Lighthouse Foundation, an organisation which provides a safe and nurturing environment for young people.

Suppliers and some newsXpress staff generously provided items for auction and the entire proceeds go to Lighthouse.  We had watches, wine, a laptop, a gourmet hamper, chocolates and a giant Hallmark Forever Friends bear.

newsXpress is committed to supporting the community corporately and at the store level – it is the community which provides our future.

In addition to supporting Lighthouse at the Awards Dinner and with our Father’s Day promotion, we have also supported the SIDS Red Nose Day campaign as well as the RSPCA Happy Tails campaign.

We are grateful to everyone who bid of Thursday night for the items up for grabs.

The importance of a good magazine product

nx_conf09_nickchan.JPGNick Chan, CEO of Pacific Magazines was an important speaker on day two of our newsXpress Conference in Melbourne this week. The heart of Nick’s presentation and his answers to questions from the audience and James Manning from MediaWeek was that the product itself is key to the success of a magazine. While cover price discounts and tip-ons may drive sales spikes, long-term consumer support is achieved through a consistent product which serves the target demographic.

Having Nick available for the conference and to take questions provided newsXpress members and other newsagents attending an opportunity to talk directly with the CEO of an important supplier to the newsagency channel. This is an opportunity not available to many newsagents.

The newsXpress conference brought together an excellent panel of speakers offering diverse views which will benefit the attending newsagents for months to come.