Author: mark

I am a Director of newsXpress, a marketing group for newsagents keen for a bright future. You can reach me on +61 418 321 338 or mark[at]towersystems.com.au

How does the newsXpress newsagency marketing group help newsagents?

newsXpress is an Australian owned marketing group that serves Australian newsagents.

newsXpress is not a franchise or anything like a franchise, it does not fall under the franchise code of conduct.

newsXpress is a marketing group created to help local independent retail newsagents run more enjoyable and profitable businesses. For a modest monthly fee, newsXpress helps newsagents in many different ways.

Here is how newsXpress helps Australian newsagents:

  1. It leverages the common ownership of Tower Systems (the most widely used software in the newsagency channel) and newsXpress for evidence based guidance to more profitable business decisions. Through this, it also offers half price websites.
  2. It offers innovative pricing for EFTPOS, lower cost than least cost routing.
  3. newsXpress offers bias-free data-based card performance analysis that typically results in an increase in card sales of 15% or more.
  4. Member businesses benefit from an exclusive $1,000+ a year per store in-store marketing campaign – provided at no cost to the members.
  5. newsXpress runs a national in person conference with free accommodation for 2 nights and all meals covered.
  6. newsXpress helps newsagents with practical business advice, in-store support, awesome supplier deals and plenty of new traffic generating exclusive products.
  7. newsXpress directly owns and runs shops as testing grounds for innovation, sharing results with members.
  8. newsXpress direct imports good margin products.
  9. newsXpress is the only group to have authorised account access to four different Mints for access to new coin releases.
  10. newsXpress has suppliers who otherwise will not supply newsagents.
  11. newsXpress provides in-store visits from a business development manager.
  12. newsXpress provides visual merchandising materials including posters and on-location call-outs for all major seasons.
  13. newsXpress have access to a member only portal with a fully populated knowledge base and extensive business development resources.
  14. newsXpress members have access to a digital collateral library and cloud based resources for easy store level customisation.
  15. newsXpress members have access to a full video library of social media collateral and easy access to store level customisation.
  16. newsXpress offers signage and graphic design services at no cost.
  17. Rather than access to an Are Media account manager we provide a whole of magazine category problem resolution service. For free.
  18. Rather than a free postage for Christmas cards offer we provide free exclusive high-quality cards for Christmas for captions not covered by card companies.
  19. Each member has access to a dedicated and retail experienced business development manager.
  20. newsXpress helps with Google Business, Bing, and various maps profile setup and maintenance.

What newsXpress does for each member depends on their situation and what they want from from their engagement with newsXpress. Every business is different. Every business owner has different needs.

While all newsXpress members have access to our preferred suppliers, network wide connected websites, seasonal collateral, digital assets and networking opportunities, it is in our personal, business-specific, help where value can be found for plenty of newsXpress members.

We assess your business data as we prefer to offer advice based on evidence. Often when we do this we discover opportunities missed, low hanging fruit to be picked.

The approach is whole of business, considering location, product mix, financial resources, people resources and what you want and need from the business.

While we have members who prefer to do this work for themselves, we have others who appreciate a more engaged approach.

How much or little newsXpress members and our head office team members work together is entirely under control of each newsXpress member.

Nothing is required or mandatory.

When it comes to in-store retail though, we help you with the everyday:

  • Buy price. We help you buy better.
  • Stock turn. We help you sell products sooner.
  • We help you reduce the cost of theft.
  • We help you cast your business differently, to help improve shopper stickiness.
  • New traffic. We help you attract people not shopping with you today.
  • We help you tame them.

We help you make things happen by being actively engaged.

So what does newsXpress do for newsagents? It does all of this and much more, and it’s been doing it since 2001.

newsXpress members are loving in-store business advice and assistance visits

Here’s what one newsXpress member said yesterday:

It was great to have you visit. Your visit just highlighted how beneficial it is to actually have somebody on the floor with you to discuss our thoughts/ plans and to receive your/their feedback and suggestions. Your visit has lit a flame and inspired us to do the card review and ultimately the removal of the magazine stand which is something that we had talked about previously but done nothing about.

Advice for anyone considering buying a newsagency

Plenty of newsagency businesses are changing hands. We think that is in part because the channel had a good Covid. Retail businesses in our industry are looking sweet, and there’s some cracking opportunities out there.

A common question we get asked is, “What should I ask for when I’m looking to buy a newsagency?”

The question itself shows how green a prospective buyer is when it comes to buying a business. My first piece of advice is to get your head around the newsagency business of today, so you know what you’re getting into. And, I do mean today. The newsagency of today and into the future is not the agency focussed business of the past.

Here’s a list of data we suggest prospective newsagency buyers request from the vendor or their representative:

  • The accountant’s P&L for the last two years. Not a spreadsheet that’s been created for the purpose. You need the real P&L.
  • A list of add-backs used to calculate the profit figure on which the asking price is based.
  • Tax returns for the same two years. While not always appropriate given business structures, they can be used to cross-check the accountant’s P&L.
  • Sales data reports from the POS software for the last two years. This is the key data to verify the income claim.
  • Sales data reports from the lottery terminal to verify the income claim.
  • BAS forms to confirm the data in the P&L.
  • A list of all inventory in the business, including the purchase price and date last sold for each item. And copies of invoices that you can randomly select to verify.
  • A copy of the shop lease.
  • A copy of any leases that the vendor expects you to take on board.
  • A list of all forward orders placed on behalf of the business.
  • A list of all employees, including their name, hourly rate, nature of employment, start date, accrued leave, and accrued long service leave.

This is all basic information that any buyer should have access to in order to assess a business. A business for sale for which this information is not readily available is not, itself, ready for sale.

Once you have the information, analyse it yourself. You should not outsource your decision as to whether a business is a good business to buy or not.

newsXpress is making things happen for newsagents in 2024

At the start of 2024 we set this year’s theme as MAKING THINGS HAPPEN.

It was a commitment to action, growth, success and enjoyment for newsXpress members.

Mid way through this year we are seeing terrific results.

We have helped members attract new shoppers with several exclusive new product ranges.

We have newsXpress members recording double-digit card sales growth because of our exclusive store specific card performance data project.

We have helped stores recalibrate their commitment to magazines to make this low margin category work, freeing high value space for better margin product.

Our retail insights trip to Berlin and London was a terrific success with excellent in-store initiatives flowing as a result.

This is what MAKING THINGS HAPPEN is about.

Nothing we pitch is mandatory. We are not a franchise.

We’d love to help if you are keen for it.