newsXpress shows off marketing collateral at GNS trade shows

nxcollateralnewsXpress has been showing off some 2013 / early 2014 marketing collateral at the GNS Market Fairs. This collateral, A1 double sided, is sent in landscape and portrait format for members to connect with seasonal and other marketing opportunities.

Developed exclusively for newsXpress, this collateral helps our members tell engaging retail stories.

Newsagency marketing group newsXpress funds $60,000+ Father’s Day giveaway

nxsgtabnewsXpress members are participating in Father’s Day in-store giveaways valued at more than $65,000 in Samsung galaxy Tablet 2 devices to be given away.

This is a newsagency channel leading Father’s Day prize pool. It will make many newsXpress shoppers very happy and provide newsXpress members another opportunity to show off their local point of difference.

newsXpress funds the giveaway for members.

newsXpress national conference next week

newsXpress members around Australia are preparing for our second national conference of the year. This time we are meeting on the Gold Coast next week for a day of team building, learning, buying and rewarding. There’s be some laughs, some celebrating and plenty of excitement heading to Christmas 2013 and on into an exciting 2014.

Car in a Can a hit for newsXpress members

carinacanThe Car In A Can product offer form newsXpress is selling very well across our retail network. This funky gift is proving to be an ideal Father’s Day gift as well as year-round.

Easily displayed, the Car In A Can product is selling well from feature displays in-store as well as at the sales counter – generating excellent revenue for newsXpress members.

newsXpress sources good product for members and it backs this with strategies and tactics that can be used by newsXpress members in-store to drive sales for the business.

newsXpress visual merchandising service helps newsagents create successful displays

Visual merchandising in a newsagency is all about creating displays that sell product. An attractive display is useless if it does not move stock in the time necessary.

newsXpress has brought to its members a relationship with a visual merchandising company that will help newsXpress members create stunning and commercially successful displays.

This practical and professional visual merchandising assistance will help newsXpress members break free and drive sales. By using an external team we are able to help our members better compete and more practically enjoy their businesses.

This new visual merchandising service is another newsXpress point of difference.

Terrific GNS trade show in Sydney

nxgnssydnewsXpress connected with some excellent new member prospects at the Sydney GNS trade show on the weekend. Our stand was busy showing off the newsXpress difference – the supplier relationships, business strategies and marketing support from the group that combine to help newsXpress members enjoy their businesses more … financially and operationally. newsXpress appreciates the opportunity from GNS to connect.

newsXpress appoints National Sales Manager

newsXpress is thrilled to announce that Peter Francis is joining our team as National Sales Manager of newsXpress from today.

Formerly National Sales Manager with For Arts Sake and prior to that with John Sands, Peter brings to this senior management role at newsXpress excellent newsagency rooftop acquisition experience along with an energy and positivity for the future of newsagencies from which we are certain to benefit.

Working from a Sydney base and reporting direct to the Directors of newsXpress, Peter’s remit is to bring on newsXpress members nationally.

Coinciding with the recruitment of Peter Francis to this role newsXpress is undertaking a series of marketing initiatives to introduce our enhanced model to the newsagency channel. We will share details of a series of marketing events and fresh marketing literature in the coming weeks.

There won’t be a newsagent in Australia who has not heard from newsXpress at least four times between now and mid October. Each communication will of itself potentially add value to newsagency businesses – we are showing off our point of difference in a practical way.

The ideal newsXpress member is a newsagent keen to grow their business beyond the traditional to a model of strong gross profit and best-practice operational efficiency … and to do this while helping all involved in the business to enjoy it more.

Please join with us in making Peter Francis welcome to the newsXpress family and help him to unlock for newsXpress member growth as we grow our own way.

20 questions newsagents need answered before signing to join or renew with a newsagency marketing or franchise group

Not all newsagency franchise / marketing groups are the same. The devil, as they say, can be in the detail – detail often embedded in a long contract you may not read. Here are 20 questions we think you need to ask at the very least BEFORE you sign a contract or sign to renew a contract.

  1. Will I be forced to take any product? If so, what product and when? What does your contract say?
  2. Is product sent that I do not directly order? If so, please list product sent in the last year.
  3. Can I sell my business when I choose to anyone I want without giving you first right of refusal or having to tell you in advance? What does your contract say?
  4. Can I buy products from any supplier or MUST I purchase through suppliers you approve? What specifically does your contract say?
  5. In terms of your preferred suppliers, do they mark-up product before they give members of your group a discount or is the discount off the wholesale price other newsagents pay?
  6. Please list for me all newsagencies trading under your name that have closed or gone broke in the last two years.
  7. Do you offer an in-store business advisory service? If so, how often and how long are the visits and what is the experience of the person making the visit?
  8. Do you support the newsagency owned GNS for stationery supply? If not, which organisation do you support for stationery and why?
  9. Do you offer a lease negotiation service? If so, is there any extra cost for this? Also, is the lease in my business name without reference to your business at all?
  10. Am I forced to use a particular newsagency software program? If so, what guarantee is there that I get this at preferential pricing, better than if I bought it by myself?
  11. Who owns your group?
  12. Can I contact the owners of your group at any time with any issue at all?
  13. What guarantee do you have that you will not allow another newsagency to join near my business? Is this in writing?
  14. Can I join another group when the contract ends or do I need to wait for some time?
  15. Must I use a central billing service to get supplier discounts or rebates or can I control my own cash-flow?
  16. What happens if my business closes – am I liable for franchise fees?
  17. Do I have to supply you with my sales figures and if so what do you do with this?
  18. Do I have to attend your conference and if so what is the cost?
  19. What is the total cost of joining the group?
  20. What is the full monthly cost of being part of the group?

newsXpress stores loving the car in a can opportunity

carinacannewsXpress members are reporting excellent sales of the car in a can, a newsXpress preferred supplier initiative that is helping newsXpress members play in a unique space in the marketplace – attracting shoppers as well as getting existing shoppers to spend more in the business on this unqiue gift … a perfect Father’s Day gift for a Dad who likes gadgets.

This product brightens the store!

Right across the country in all sorts of newsXpress locations we are hearing of success of the car in a can!

newsXpress stores offering a Samsung Galaxy Tab to promote Father’s Day card sales

nxsgtabnewsXpress stores are offering a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 as an in-store prize as part of our Father’s Day promotion.

With close to $50,000 worth of prizes being given away, this promotion is probably the richest promotion for father’s Day 2013 in the newsagency channel. It’s another example of newsXpress leveraging the value of its network for its members and for the benefit of customers of its members.

newsXpress had a terrific Melbourne GNS Fair

nxpconfThe newsXpress stand at the Melbourne GNS Market Fair was an excellent event from the perfect location of our stand next to the GNS showroom thrugh to the new leads from Victorian newsagents keen to join our proactive community of newsagents.

The newsXpress pitch captured the interest of Victorian newsagents looking for help in navigating change and for someone to help with core issues that are holding their businesses back.

The exclusive deals we have with more than 130 preferred suppliers got some newsagents very excited when they compared what we offer to the margin they make today for similar products.

We’re expecting good membership growth in Victoria as a result of this action-packed weekend in Melbourne.

Newsagents urged to due diligence before joining a newsagency marketing group

A newsagent recently approached newsXpress for help on discovering that the newsagency marketing group they had joined had first right of refusal to buy their business. This other group, no newsXpress, has it in their contract that they have the first right to buy out the business should the owner want to sell. This makes selling then business difficult as it has to be navigated should another party express interest in purchasing the business.

Our view is that such a position  in the newsagency franchise agreement benefits the franchisor as ti is a barrier to the sale of the business and seems to lock the business into the franchise regardless of what purchaser / vendor may want. This could hurt the return a newsagent gets for the sale of their business.

Newsagencies are small businesses. The owners need the freedom to sell their businesses when they want and to parties they want. Other parties, like franchise groups, getting in the way of the sale process risk diluting the value achieved for the sale of a business.

This is another reason newsagents need to carefully look at the franchise agreements before they sign them.

newsXpress members love the free choice they have over products

newsXpress newsagency marketing group members get to choose for themselves if they take on any product. They are not forced to take product from a supplier.

The freedom afforded newsXpress members is a point of difference for the group, something newsXpress members appreciate and enjoy, something they like compared to the rules and demands placed on newsagents outside of newsXpress who are involved in another group.

This is just one of many beneficial differences offered by newsXpress that separated our newsagency marketing group apart from others in the field, just one thing that helps newsXpress enjoy their membership more and to create the business they want based on local needs and local knowledge. This freedom is important as newsagents navigate to a new business model, one that is locally competitive.

Exclusive import products for newsXpress members

newsXpress has announced details of several exclusive import product opportunities for newsXpress group members.

Available for pre order, these products offer newsXpress members a valuable and exclusive product mix point of difference. This is achieved by group buying among newsXpress members only.

These exclusive import products are an opt in opportunity – newsXpress members choose whether they participate. They also set the selling price appropriate to their stores and thereby control margin.

newsXpress newsagency marketing group helps newsagents manage cash flow

Newsagency marketing group newsXpress is offering its members CPA level support and assistance in developing newsagency business cash flow projections. This service will be run as a hands-on group workshop session at the second national conference for the year on the Gold Coast in a few weeks.

Being run by a CPA as well as our own Financial Controller, this confidential small group round table discussion will help participants better manage the cash flow of their business. It will outline how we manage cash in our own newsagencies and explore how others do too in their businesses.

This workshop and one on one discussions on cash-flow are another way newsXpress is expanding its services for newsXpress members to help them build stronger and more successful businesses.

newsXpress plush walls grow plush sales

DSC00275More and more newsXpress members are embracing the plush wall opportunity researched and promoted by the newsXpress group.  Offering plush from three or four preferred suppliers at newsXpress special pricing and packaging this in a format that is easy to setup and operate, engaged newsXpress members are finding plush is generating net new traffic for the business. This is money in the bank since plush customers are valuable not only in terms of the items themselves but also with additional products they purchase.

The plush wall approach is a good example of the newsXpress point of difference. We developed and tested the concept, worked with fixture people and negotiated with suppliers. The results have been shared with newsXpress members as a package. And now with success stories flowing we are sharing the results.  This holistic approach is far more valuable than just telling members to buy product from supplier x.

Win a samsung Galaxy Tab 2 at your local newsXpress

fd-galaxytabMost newsXpress stores across Australia are each giving away a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 as a centrepiece price in a Father’s Day greeting card promotion.

Offering excellent value for a local shopper, the prize is a brand new Galaxy Tab. To enter shoppers fill in a simple form when purchasing their Hallmark Father’s Day card.

newsXpress stores are promoting the prize with professional collateral provided already for in-store use.

newsXpress Beechworth sells division one winning lottery ticket

Congratulations to newsXpress Beechworth on selling a winning ticket in Saturday’s draw. Here’s there Facebook announcement:]

newsXpress Beechworth has done it again, Sold ANOTHER division 1 winner last night!!!!

Lucky person took home a whopping 1 Million Dollars!! Congratulations!

That’s 9 winners in 10 years!!!

newsXpress continues GNS Market Fair tradition

nxphmkgnsperNewsagency marketing group newsXpress yesterday continued years of tradition and newsagent support with a strong and professional presence at the GNS Market fair in Perth.

Visitors to the stand were greeting with the newsXpress pitch, a point of difference among newsagency marketing groups – business marketing and management strategies that have for years been used successful by newsagents to build healthier and more successful newsagencies.

The newsXpress stand at the newsagent trade show also featured wonderful innovation from newsXpress strategic partner Hallmark.

For years newsXpress and Newspower were the only newsagency marketing groups supporting the GNS Market Fairs.

newsXpress members benefit from Korimco / Skansen changes

newsXpress members are already benefiting from the merged representation of products from Korimco and Skansen thanks to excellent head office relationships newsXpress has with both businesses.

Playing an active role through the merging of the representation, newsXpress has been able to deliver to its members a best-practice result enabling members to benefit significantly from the new commercial structure around Skansen and Korimco.

In announcing its leadership position here, newsXpress is documenting what it’s already done rather than talking about something it might do.

newsXpress was first to deliver these benefits for newsagents.