Christmas | newsXpress Blog

newsXpress Riverlink wins display award

Congratulations to newsXpress Riverlink for being voted the best decorated store in Ipswich for Christmas – both indoor and window.

Well done to everyone involved in earning this award. newsXpress is thrilled to have been involved in creating a stunning look for newsXpress Riverlink for this Christmas.

While awards are wonderful kudos, the real benefit is reflected in sales. newsXpress Riverlink is having a terrific Christmas thanks in part to the excellent visual merchandising in their window and in-store.

Gift refresh at newsXpress Gladstone Park

newsXpress Gladstone Park (VIC) last week benefited from a refresh of the gift department to make the most of sales in this last week before Christmas.

A newsXpress visual merchandising expert worked on-site with the store to create a fresh look for the range of gifts in store – including many from newsXpress preferred suppliers.

The refresh included careful planning which focused on the goals of attracting more shoppers to the gift displays and achieving a deeper and more efficient shopping basket.

The photo shows just a small part of the work done during the newsXpress VM visit to Gladstone Park last week.

Christmas at newsXpress Australia Fair

newsXpress Australia Fair (QLD) has Christmas on show from the front of the store , facing into the mall. A key feature of the display is the Hallmark recordable storybook – The Night Before Christmas – which has been a feature of the national TV campaign being run by Hallmark.

The Hallmark recordable storybook range has been a hit for newsXpress Australia fair and right across the newsXpress network. newsXpress members have had access to excellent marketing collateral, special pricing and value-add opportunities which have combined to deliver to our stores a unique selling proposition … making it a logical choice for hero product this Christmas.

Christmas at newsXpress Kingaroy Mall

newsXpress Kingaroy Mall (QLD) is promoting Christmas right across the front of the store and deep into the business. Packed with great Christmas cards, wrap, and gifts, the displays attract shoppers and drive good business.

As the photo shows, the team at newsXpress Kingaroy Mall is making great use of newsXpress preferred suppliers as well as newsXpress collateral like sale tablecloths to support Christmas promotions.

Christmas at Glendale (part 2)

newsXpress Glendale is also promoting Christmas gifts on this gift table placed right at the entrance to the store. This is in addition to displays elsewhere throughout the store including the display we wrote about a couple of days ago.

The display in this photo presents a bright and changing face for newsXpress Glendale and represents a key factor in their excellent year on year growth in gifts and other high margin product categories in their business.

newsXpress Jamison driving impulse business

newsXpress Jamison (ACT) has been driving good impulse Christmas business around the newsXpress book offers with this display facing customeers as they enter the store. The photo was taken a few weeks ago while there was still reasonable stock from the book offer.

The Christmas and other books have been heavily promoted in the newsXpress Merry Giftmas catalogue which newsXpress members have bene using in-store as well as being distributed to homes nearby.

Shopping at newsXpress better value than David Jones this Christmas

This Doggy Bank has been a hit this Christmas for newsXpress stores. Our catalogue price is $29.95. This provides our stores with a good margin. Our national pricing decision has also resulted in excellent sales and stores reordering stock.

The David Jones price for the same item is $39.95. A check with their flagship Sydney store yesterday indicated that it has not been selling all that well.

The newsXpress pricing approach and our external and in-store marketing have combined to make this product a hit.

Margin percentage is great … for dreams. Margin dollars are what matter … money in the bank.

newsXpress members are better off with the newsXpress merchandise strategies than they would be if they followed the David Jones approach.

The Doggy Bank is another example of the great value of shopping at newsXpress and the benefit for newsXpress members of the work put in by our marketing and merchandise teams.

Christmas in Glendale

Customers entering newsXpress Glendale see this high impact aisle end display packed with dolls from one of our newsXpress preferred suppliers.

This doll range has been a hit of Christmas, not just for newsXpress Glendale but for stores right across the newsXpress network.

In addition to good sales of traditional Christmas items of bon bons, decorations, cards and wrap, newsXpress stores like newsXpress Glendale have been enjoying good sales from the broad newsXpress Christmas offer.

Promoting Christmas in Leongatha

newsXpress Leongatha is promoting Christmas throughout the the store including this display on the dance floor.

All of these Hallmark branded items have been sourced through the Hallmark / newsXpress strategic partnership relationship. The products appeal to a broad range of customers and are selling well on impulse … from Hoops and YoYo through to the Disney mugs and plaques.

newsXpress Leongatha is leveraging the Hallmark brand connection with additional collateral created specifically for the stand.

Christmas outpost at Wetherill Park

newsXpress Wetherill Park is another newsXpress store running a busy outpost for Christmas. Offering cards, gifts, wrap and decorations for Christmas, this is a wonderful extension of the newsXpress Christmas offer.

The Hallmark recordable storybooks are a special feature of the outpost, leveraging the TV campaign supporting this innovative product.

newsXpress supports outposts as an excellent revenue boosting opportunity for members. We help by working with landlords, sourcing product, providing range advice and collateral with which to dress the outpost.

Christmas success for newsXpress newsagents

newsXpress newsagents across the country are reporting excellent sales with products featured in our exclusive Merry Giftmas catalogue. While many products have done well, the stand out hero products are:

Doggy Bank. A fun and interactive gift! Stores are selling out and reordering.

M-Cups. Price competitive with major retailers. Taps into interest in food.

App Magnets. Funky. Great for guys and gadget lovers.

Hallmark recordable storybook. Great TV campaign. Traffic generator. Great margin dollars story.

Christmas trees with baubles. The instant Christmas decorations. These are selling well to offices and people with small places to decorate.

Christmas bon bons. Our quality range is a hit with customers.

Junior MasterChef cooking set range. While not in the Christmas catalogue, this range was sourced for Christmas gifts. It is selling like hotcakes (excuse the pun).

Tamarr plush animal babies. Cute looking plush selling out right across the country.

Lipsmacker tins. Great gift for girls. Selling well at the counter.

What a wonderful Christmas for newsXpress stores!

The success with this Christmas range is further proof of the value newsXpress brings to members. Our merchandise team has sourced excellent deals, backed this with professional cut-through marketing and delivered valuable margin dollars to our members.

Christmas book sale selling well!

The Christmas book sale which is running in many newsXpress newsagencies across the country is selling very well. Christmas books, activity books, cook books and all sorts of other titles are performing very well for our newsXpress members.

Promoted in our catalogue, the sale drawn new traffic. It also builds basket efficiency through generating excellent impulse purchase business.

newsXpress members make the most of the high margin book sale opportunity by constantly refreshing the display, promoting in a high traffic location on the dance floor and co-location titles where appropriate.

The newsXpress preferred supplier arrangement delivers book sale opportunities to newsXpress members on highly competitive terms and backs this with excellent external marketing opportunities.

Hallmark recordable storybooks at Wetherill Park

newsXpress Wetherill Park is promoting the Hallmark recordable storybook range with this aisle end display.

Notice the screen above the display? This is playing the TV commercial which Hallmark is running nationally to promote this innovative range.

The TV campaign is driving traffic to newsXpress stores right across Australia – people are visiting asking specifically for one or more of these products. What a hit!

Treasured memories are a perfect Christmas gift.

The playing of the TV commercial above the display is a smart move by the folks at Wetherill Park.

Crayola Glow Explosion a hit

newsXpress Knox is enjoying good sales of the Crayola Glow Explosion pack from this impulse purchase display on the dance floor.

Placed in front of the main magazine aisle and promoted in the Merry Giftmas catalogue, the simple display has been very effective for the Christmas season.

The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. The store is close to selling out of this item … another great newsXpress Christmas merchandise success story.

Christmas at newsXpress Merrylands

newsXpress Merrylands, one of our new stores in New South Wales for 2010, is having a wonderful Christmas with an excellent range of gifts, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, wrap and other products on show in-store.

They are making terrific use of the specially designed promotion tables on their dance floor, a flexible space located in front of their main counter and facing shoppers as they enter the store.

The in-store Christmas activity is supported with the newsXpress catalogue which has been sent to hundreds of thousands of homes surrounding newsXpress stores – like newsXpress Merrylands.

Doggy Bank fun at newsXpress Beechworth

newsXpress Beechworth is enjoying sales of the Doggy Bank which is part of the newsXpress Merry Giftmas Christmas catalogue promotion. Displayed in a high traffic location and with one out and of show for customers to play with, the Doggy Bank is a perfect customer interaction opportunity.

Our merchandise team picked the Doggy Bank many months ago when planning the Christmas offers. It ticked a number of boxes: award winning, great for in-store theatre, unique, good margin dollars and extending the reach of what a newsagency looks like to shoppers.

Promoting the Hallmark storybook

newsXpress Knox is making excellent use of creative marketing collateral provided to promote the Hallmark Night Before Christmas recordable storybook in-store.

Facing shoppers as they enter the store, the large display cannot be missed.

The goal is to connect with the TV commercial which is currently running promiting this and other recordable storybooks from Hallmark. Note the other storybooks on the right side of the Christmas display.

The display, created by a newsXpress visual merchandising expert, also promotes other products from the newsXpress Christmas offer – leveraging off the storybook interest.

The oversized storybook is helping newsXpress stores to promote this product in innovative and commercially successful ways.

newsXpress stores are reporting a very happy Christmas.

Christmas in Beechworth

newsXpress Beechworth is promoting Christmas throughout the store including this terrific display promoting the Hallmark Christmas recordable storybook range in a high traffic location.

The continuing TV campaign being run by Hallmark promoting their storybook products is helping drive good traffic and sales for our stores. It is proving to be a good product around which to build Christmas.

newsXpress Beechworth dominates Christmas offers in town thanks to the excellent variety of cards and gifts available to the business.

Spectacular Christmas Tree at Mt Pleasant

newsXpress Mt Pleasant has a wonderful Christmas tree on display, adding a beautiful and different touch to Christmas in-store.

By playing against the usual multi coloured and visually noisy decorations, this quality tree draws attention to the Christmas offers below.

What an excellent point of difference!

newsXpress stores across our network are reporting wonderful results this Christmas, strong sales for cards and gifts including the newsXpress Merry Giftmas catalogue lines.

Christmas at Wetherill Park

newsXpress Wetherill Park has been decked out for Christmas including this wonderful power end display. The display faces shoppers as they enter the magazine and greeting card aisles of the store.

Capped with our Merry Giftmas newsXpress marketing collateral and featuring an excellent range of gifts and decorations, the team at newsXpress Wetherill Park is making a terrific splash this Christmas.

As a visit to Wetherill Park in NSW will show, Christmas is about fully embracing the season, having lots of fun and truly offering something for everyone – throughout the store.