mark | newsXpress Blog

newsXpress Beechworth: Stationery Retailer of the Year

Congratualtions 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

Ron 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.

newsXpress announces 2010 conference

newsXpress announced the details for its 2010 conference on Friday, the last day of this year’s conference. The 2010 conference will be held in Sydney from Wednesday the September 8 through to Friday September 10.

Planning has already commenced for this important event for newsXpress and all newsagents.

Off to the Caulfield Cup

A group of newsXpress conference attendees spent yesterday at the Caulfield Cup to round out their trip to Melbourne. We caught some of the group for the photo outside the Hyatt Hotel before they left. We reckon they scrub up pretty well!

The importance of a good magazine product

Nick 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.

Supplier engagement at newsXpress conference

Russell Parker, the Managing Director of Hallmark Cards, was a key speaker on the first day of our conference yesterday. Many managing Directors would have left it at that – the conference presentation, – and gone. Russell stayed and actively participated in conference sessions and break-out workshops, adding tremendous insight into issues up for discussion.

newsXpress members and other newsagents participating have enjoyed this level of interaction with Russell and executives from other key suppliers to our group. This interaction is an important benefit from conferences such as this.

newsXpress Awards Dinner and dancing

After the fun of the formalities of our gala Awards Dinner last night, newsXpress members, suppliers and staff hit the dance floor and kicked up their heels long into the evening. Michael Pope was our MC. Michael was fantastic, hilarious and very professional. He helped us relax and ensured made the evening moved along well. Matt Hollywood had us in in tears (of laughter) with his comedy / magic act. Funky Town Express sang and grooved.

Here are the award winners:

newsXpress Employee of the Year Andrew Frith , newsXpress Margaret River and Chloe Liddle, newsXpress Sun Valley
newsXpress Stationery Retailer of the Year newsXpress Beechworth
newsXpress HOT ink! Retailer of the Year newsXpress Melton
newsXpress Card Retailer of the Year newsXpress Wetherill Park
newsXpress Magazine Retailer of the Year newsXpress Eli Waters
newsXpress Calendar Retailer of the Year newsXpress Woden
newsXpress Retailer of the Year newsXpress Singleton Heights and newsXpress Whittlesea
newsXpresser of the Year Warrick Hosking

We will publish more about the awards and more photos over the next few days.

Shane Jacobsen opens newsXpress conference

Shane Jacobsen (the guy behing Kenny, one of the top grossing Australian movies) openes the newsXpress conference yesterday morning with an excellent presetation about being skilled setting traps and having fun. He kicked off the conference in a perfect and relevant way. The setup for the rest of day one was excellent. Shane is photographed here with newsXpress Founding Director Graham Randall.

Cooking with “fast” Ed

Cooking a terrific appetiser with “Fast” Ed Halmagyi from Better Homes and Gardens last night at our conference opener was Kylie Watt from newsXpress Ascot Vale and Shelley Petersen from newsXpress Sarina. It was a lot of fun watching them under the pump in the kitchen at the Grand Hyatt and their work being televised throughout the welcome function venue. We are all lining up for Kylie and Shelley to cook for us again!

Thanks Pacific Magazines

Pacific Magazines hosted the opening evening of the newsXpress National Conference last night in Melbourne. A feature was cooking and chatting with “Fast” Ed Halmagyi from the Better Homes and Gardens TV show and author of Better Basics which sold very well in newsXpress locations earlier this year.

Ed is pictured here with Vicki Rossi, Pacific Retail sales and Circulation Director, Jane McIlhatton, Pacific National Merchandising Manager and Jessica Batt, Pacific Trade Marketing Manager.

Spring Racing Carnival marketing

newsXpress has sourced marketing collateral for members keen to dress their stores for the popular Spring Racing Carnival. This collateral and other support from newsXpress and newsXpress suppliers will help participating newsXpress locations have fun with the carnival socially and commercially.

While not a major season in the overall scheme of the newsagency year, this Spring racing carnival support is another way newsXpress helps members connect with all interests in their customer community.

Heading for Melbourne

newsXpress members, other newsagents and newsagent suppliers have started heading for Melbourne to participate in the National Newsagent Conference which starts tomorrow.

For some, the conference tees off ith a Golf Day. For most attendees, the conference starts tomorrow night with a tastes of Melbourne dinner at the Grand Hyatt hosted by a popular TV chef who’ll cook and entertain.

Today, the entire newsXpress team gets together for a national staff meeting which will include planning for the next year.

We have a busy few days ahead.

First Halloween at newsXpress Cooma

Halloween products are available in Cooma in New South Wales for the first time thanks to the team at newsXpress Cooma. From witches’ hats to devil’s horns to candy buckets, the newsXpress Cooma team has put together a good mix of fun products to help people in town enjoy the fun of Halloween. They have done this with the help of newsXpress.

It can be daunting going into a season like Halloween for the first time. Our newsXpress merchandise experts guide the ordering process as well as in-store visual merchandising.

Halloween fun at Watergardens Town Centre

We have had Halloween products on sale at our Watergardens Town Centre corporate newsXpress store for more than a month. Sales have been excellent. Customers are drawn by the stunning display right at the front of the shop created by renee and maintained by our team. Customers are coming back for more, they love the range. We have been fortunate to purchase enough stock for this repeat business, especially given that Halloween is still two weeks away. Everything is selling well including the most expensive costume and party items. Halloween is hot at Watergardens!

Enjoying Halloween at newsXpress Ascot Vale

Halloween party goods, dress-up costumes and other Halloween themed products are on show at newsXpress Ascot Vale in Victoria in a terrific in-store display.

From the witch flying between the posters to the bright products on the display units, this is truly great visual merchandising – the photo does not do the in-store display justice.

Walking into newsXpress Ascot Vale, you know you are in a shop where everyone is having fun, not just with Halloween but with general business. This is retail excellence on show.

From our newsXpress national merchandise team to our on the road Business Development Managers to newsXpress store owners and team members, everyone is working well together to drive an excellent Halloween season. The photos in this series, including this one from Ascot vale, show what team work can achieve.

newsXpress Harbour Town enjoys Halloween

The halloween display inside the entrance to newsXpress Harbour Town in Queensland is bold, bright and fun. The display shows off the newsXpress sourced products and creates a ‘vibe’ at the front of the store which is ertain to help drive other sales.

The harbour Town team has done a terrific job creating this display and giving customers such a good shopping experience.

newsXpress is pleased to see so many newsXpress members embracing Halloween and enjoying the commercial and social opportunity.

Halloween ‘scares’ Main Street Pakenham

newsXpress Pakenham has a terrific Halloween display fronting the busy Main Street. This display draws customers in.

Once inside the shop, customers are presented a wide variety of excellent (good margin) Halloween product. The displays give the shop a great vibe and this translates into good business – not only of Halloween product but other products too.

newsXpress members know that retail is all about theatre. Halloween is a great season to show off embrace the newsXpress point of difference.

Halloween hits Forest Hill in Victoria

The team at newsXpress Forest Hill in Victoria has created a stunning window display full of Halloween product from masks to costumes to cobwebs and delicious chocolates. facing out into the mall, the Halloween display is drawing in customers and generating some excellent sales – proving that even with an older demographic as they have at Forest Hill, Halloween works well.

newsXpress ‘owns’ Halloween in the newsagency channel. The fresh marketing collateral provided free to members and the excellent product helps stores create bright displays and tell a great Halloween story.

Halloween fun at newsXpress Goulburn

Halloween is on show at newsXpress Goulburn with a range of products from the newsXpress suppliers and use of our Halloween marketing collateral. This is a reasonably new season for Goulburn – but one with which they are embracing and enjoying.

The Halloween product on display at the front of the shop, facing the mall, draws new shoppers into newsXpress Goulburn. This traffic boost is one reason newsXpress is so strong in embracing Halloween.

As newsXpress says on the collateral provided free to members: Scary can be fun!