Category: newsagency management

Negotiating with your landlord can be stressful and challenging. Some landlords make it particularly difficult. Lawyers representing landlords can be argumentative, they can block even reasonable requests.

Then, there are landlords who are a dream to deal with and who support your business. If this is your situation, love it for what it is, appreciate it.

The most common situation for a small business retailer in dealing with a landlord is when it is time to negotiate the rent.

If you want to reduce the rent you pay for your shop, you need to make a compelling business case to the landlord.

Wanting a reduction is not enough. You need to make a fact-based case.

We have negotiated for our shops many times and have used a professional lease negotiator on three occasions. We found we were more satisfied when we did it ourselves. While the negotiators were nice enough, we were never  certain that they put our needs ahead of their relationship with the landlord. In one instance, we felt like we paid them to soften me to agree to terms I’d later be unhappy with.

Here is our advice for small business retailers for negotiating with their landlords for themselves. Gather what you need:

1. Current profit and loss (most recent year or to the end of the most recent quarter) compared to the same period a year earlier.
2. Sales comparison for a recent period (more than three months) to the same period a year ago. This will ideally include a transaction count comparison.
3. Details of every step you have taken to improve traffic and sales, including external marketing and costs associated with each activity. Assemble this in a spreadsheet. This is important, as it shows you’re doing all you can to attract shoppers and maximise opportunities. This makes your case
4. Itemised
5. Numbered
6. Provable.
7. Details of steps you have taken to manage costs. Again, show that you’re professional and thorough in your approach to your business.
8. Changes made to the business over the last year. Assume your landlord has not been to the shop and seen the work you have undertaken.
9. If possible, comparisons with other retail businesses—this demonstrates an understanding of how you compare, especially if it shows you as doing better than most in key parts of the business.

Take your time. Be thorough. The more complete and more professional your documents are, the more notice will be given to your request for assistance.

Once you have this information together, look for a narrative, a story, which supports the proposal you make to the landlord.

By narrative, we mean a case, a story, the reason, to justify your request. The data you have gathered will/should support this.

The clearer a narrative is supported by the data, the better the chance of a positive hearing.

It’s not enough to say you want a better deal, a discount on rent or some other relief. Landlords get that all the time. Your request needs to come with something for them. Be specific and ensure you have the data necessary to justify your claim.

If your financials show your profit’s stable or improving, your case will be hard to make.

If profit’s falling, your case is easier. Don’t manufacture figures to suit your case, though. Look at the accurate data and listen to what it tells you.

If your financials show profit declining or you making a loss, consider what you actually want as a result of this.

Too often, retailers go to a landlord with a problem and not a solution. Work on your solution and use the information you have gathered to justify the solution to your landlord.

The best person to pitch a landlord for assistance is the business owner. While we understand the appeal of hiring someone to do this for you, our recommendation is that you do it yourself.

Put your proposal in writing. Keep it brief and to the point. Focus on facts. Attach the evidence to which you refer. Outline what you want and why, without emotion or accusation. Consider explaining what it would mean if you did not achieve what you wanted. Keep emotions out of this.

Usually, a landlord will want a meeting. Ensure there is an agenda. Go with prepared notes and your evidence. Don’t get side-tracked. Don’t engage in emotive arguments.

Your sole focus ought to be on the outcome you want and the evidence you have that supports this outcome.

Keep your emotions to yourself through the whole process of seeing a better rental outcome. While the situation may feel stressful, exposing your emotions to the landlord is unlikely to help advance your case.

The best position to be in when negotiating with your landlord is to be running a shop they like, a shop they want to keep in the tenancy.

A recurring and distressing issue within the newsagency channel involves legally binding agreements with marketing groups. It is not uncommon for a newsagent to feel trapped in a multi-year contract that is not delivering the promised benefits, after being persuaded by verbal assurances that are not reflected in the written terms. This situation can cause significant financial and emotional hardship.

To avoid such predicaments, we urge newsagents to exercise extreme caution and diligence before entering into any partnership with a marketing group.

The Primacy of the Written Contract

The single most critical step is a thorough review of the contract. Make sure you understand it. Take your time. Push back on pressure.

• Read the entire document: Every clause, including the fine print, must be read and understood. The terms outlined in the document are what is legally enforceable, not what is said in a meeting or on a phone call.
• Disregard verbal promises: A salesperson may suggest that terms are flexible or that an exit is possible if the partnership is not working. Unless this is explicitly written into the agreement, such statements should be considered non-binding. The decision to sign must be based solely on the text within the contract.
• Identify the minimum commitment: Locate the clause specifying the minimum term of the agreement. This is the locked-in period. Newsagents must be certain they are willing to commit to the group for that entire duration, regardless of performance.
• Do not sign under duress or uncertainty: If any part of the agreement is unclear or causes discomfort, do not sign it. The period before signing is the point of maximum leverage. It is better to walk away from a potential agreement than to be locked into an unfavourable one.

Navigating Common Scenarios

The persuasive sales pitch: New business owners are often a target for charismatic sales representatives. It is important to remember that this is a business transaction. The goal is not to form a friendship but to secure a service that will demonstrably help the business thrive. Scrutinise the business value proposition, not the personality of the salesperson.

Buying a pre-branded business: When purchasing a newsagency that is already affiliated with a marketing group, buyers may be pressured to sign with that group to retain the existing branding. A common tactic is to suggest the buyer will be liable for de-branding costs if they refuse. This is often incorrect. The responsibility for fulfilling or terminating existing contractual and branding obligations should rest with the seller prior to the completion of the sale. A buyer should not be misled into believing they must continue with an incumbent brand if it is not the right choice for their business.

Evaluating the True Value of a Brand

Before committing, newsagents should conduct their own independent assessment of the marketing group’s brand.

• Public perception: What does the brand stand for in the eyes of consumers? How is it recognised in the market? Seek answers from shoppers and the local community, not just the group’s marketing materials.
• Brand consistency: It is a known issue in the channel that brand consistency can be low. Visiting ten different stores within the same group may yield ten very different customer experiences.
• Your local brand: Ultimately, the most powerful brand is the name of the newsagency itself and its reputation within its community. The success of the business will primarily be driven by local efforts, service, and engagement.

Signing an agreement with a marketing group is a major business decision. It requires careful, dispassionate consideration. An unfavourable contract can lead to years of difficulty. By reading the contract thoroughly, understanding every term, and being confident in the decision, newsagents can protect their business and their wellbeing.

It’s a story that’s all too common: a newsagent, just a couple of months into an agreement with a marketing group, finds themselves unhappy and wanting to leave. They recall being told they could exit the arrangement if it wasn’t a good fit. However, the document they signed tells a different story: they are locked in for several years. When they raised their concerns, the friendly promises were replaced with threats of legal action.

This situation is a harsh lesson in the importance of due diligence. For many in our channel, especially new newsagents buying their first business, the allure of a compelling sales pitch can be blinding. But a friendly chat is not a contract.

Before you sign any agreement with a marketing group, here are the essential points to consider.

Read the Contract. Then Read It Again.

This cannot be overstated. The single most important document in your business relationship is the written agreement. What a salesperson says, promises, or implies holds no weight once your signature is on a piece of paper that says otherwise.

• Verbal Promises vs. Written Terms: Sign an agreement based only on what is written within its pages. If a salesperson tells you, “Don’t worry, you can leave anytime,” ask them to show you exactly where that clause is in the contract. If it’s not there, it’s not real.
• Understand Every Clause: Be sure you understand what you are agreeing to. If there is any jargon or language you find confusing, seek clarification or independent advice before proceeding. You must be prepared to stand by every term in the agreement.

Beware the Friendly Sales Pitch

They are there to sell you something. Sometimes, faux friendship can be a perfect way to get your signature. A good salesperson is personable and builds rapport. But you are not signing a contract to be their friend; you are entering a legally binding business partnership. The hope is that their group will help your business thrive, but hope is not a strategy. Scrutinise the offer, not the person offering it. If you feel uncomfortable or pressured at any point, do not sign. At this stage, you are in complete control.

Know Your “Locked-In” Period

Every agreement will have a minimum commitment period. Find this section and read it carefully. Are you comfortable committing your business to this group for that length of time? Two, three, or five years (with an auto-rollover) is a long time to be tied to a strategy that may not be working for you. If you are not sure you can make that commitment, don’t sign.

The Pressure of a Pre-Branded Business

A common pressure tactic arises when purchasing a business that is already part of a marketing group. You might be told that you must sign on to keep the branding and that de-branding will incur a significant cost for you.

This is often misleading. The responsibility and cost of de-branding a business should lie with the current owner as a condition of the sale. Do not be duped into joining a group you’re unsure about simply to avoid a problem that isn’t yours to solve. Do what is right for your future business, not what is convenient for the seller.

What Does the Brand Truly Stand For?

Take a moment to step back and assess the marketing groups themselves. What is their value proposition, not from their slick brochures, but from the perspective of the average shopper?

The reality in the newsagency channel is that brand consistency is a major issue. You can often visit ten different shops under the same marketing banner and have ten vastly different customer experiences.

Ultimately, the brand that matters most is your own. Your business name, your reputation in the local community, and the service you provide are what will truly define your success.

Your Signature is Your Bond

An ethical organisation, upon realising a client is deeply unhappy, would work to find an amicable solution. A contract should be a framework for a mutually beneficial partnership, not a cage.

Before you sign any agreement, pause and reflect. Read the document from start to finish. Understand your obligations and the minimum commitment. Only when you are completely satisfied with every term should you consider signing. Your signature is your bond—make sure you’re giving it to a partner you can trust.

The choice of newsagency software can be the reason some newsagency businesses perform better than others. That, and how the newsagency software is used.

The technology that powers a successful newsagency has changed dramatically in just a few years. The needs of our businesses have evolved, our connections with suppliers are more direct, and the tools at our disposal are more powerful than ever. If your Point of Sale (POS) software is still just processing transactions, you are missing out on a truly transformative business partner.

Modern newsagency software has moved far beyond the basics to deliver efficiencies and create opportunities that directly impact the bottom line.

The AI Game-Changer

The single biggest evolution is the integration of Artificial Intelligence. I use it every day, and I cannot imagine running my business without the embedded AI tools now available. These aren’t science fiction; they are practical, accessible tools that anyone can use to save time and drive revenue.

Tower Systems has been delivering AI tools for newsagents since 2022, putting the Tower newsagency software ahead. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Optimised product listings: Generate SEO-friendly product names and descriptions in seconds, boosting your online visibility and attracting more customers.
• Strategic content marketing: Create engaging blog posts to promote products and connect with your community, amplifying your marketing reach with minimal effort.
• Data-informed pricing: Use AI-powered price comparison tools to ensure your strategies remain competitive in a dynamic market.
• Efficient inventory management: Leverage AI-driven stock forecasting to minimise stockouts, reduce dead stock, and maximise your sales potential.

Streamlining every part of the business

Beyond AI, the everyday efficiencies are profound. I am yet to find a supplier invoice PDF that I can’t import into my system in seconds, saving hours of manual data entry each week. Direct integrations with accounting software reduce overheads and simplify bookkeeping.

Robust e-commerce capabilities are enabling massive growth.

The Tower Systems difference

This level of integration and innovation is why Tower Systems now serves more than 1,800 newsagent customers.

Tower is focused on helping smart, engaged retailers thrive, even in rough waters. If your software isn’t delivering these kinds of tangible benefits, it’s time to ask why.

Take a look at what modern, AI-powered newsagency software can do for your business.

newsXpress CEO Mark Fletcher made this video in September 2024 following poor reporting by the ABC about a newsagency that closed in Victoria.

This video explores the evolving landscape of Australian newsagencies, challenging outdated perceptions and offering a forward-thinking perspective on the path to success. Delve into an analysis that moves beyond the traditional view of newsagencies as simple community hubs, and discover how these organisations are transforming into dynamic and profitable retail businesses.

The presentation highlights innovative strategies that successful newsagencies are employing, from expanding their product offerings to include categories like beverages, toys, and gifts, to leveraging the power of online sales to reach a global customer base. Learn how a proactive and engaged approach to retail can unlock new revenue streams and ensure the long-term viability of these essential businesses. This video is a valuable resource for anyone in the retail sector, providing practical examples of how to adapt and thrive in a changing market.

Discover the proactive strategies that are empowering modern newsagencies to not only survive but thrive in today’s competitive landscape. This presentation delves into practical, real-world examples of how businesses are achieving significant success by:

• Expanding product categories to include high-growth areas such as drinks, coffee, toys, and gifts.
• Broadening their customer base beyond the local community through powerful online sales channels, including international shipping.
• Innovating their business models by testing new products online that later become in-store bestsellers.This is essential viewing for any newsagent, retail professional, or entrepreneur looking to understand the keys to profitability and long-term success in the evolving Australian market.

The Australian newsagency is evolving. This video challenges traditional thinking and showcases how savvy operators are finding new paths to profitability by diversifying their offerings and embracing e-commerce. A must-watch for anyone in the Australian retail sector.

newsXpress helps newsagents navigate change, embrace opportunities and love their business more along the way. Our focus is on helping local small business retailers thrive in a time of wonderful opportunity and extraordinary change.

Our ideal newsagency is one owned and run by someone who wants to run a successful local retail business they love.

What’s the future of the Aussie newsagency? Bright if you embrace change and don’t allow yourself to be constrained by legacy thoughts on the shingle.

The Australian newsagency landscape is at a crossroads. While traditional models face a challenging market, a new breed of transformed newsagencies are thriving.

For local small business newsagents across the country, the key to a profitable future lies in strategic evolution, a path newsXpress is dedicated to paving for its partners.

In the competitive world of small business retail, profitability is the ultimate measure of success. It’s the immediate financial gain that keeps the doors open and the foundation upon which future business value is built. For newsagents considering their long-term goals, including the eventual sale of their business, a strong and consistent profit record is paramount.

Recent industry analysis paints a stark picture: the gap between traditional and transformed newsagencies is widening. While businesses clinging to an outdated model are experiencing declines in revenue and foot traffic, those that have embraced diversification and modernisation are seeing significant growth in profitability and overall business value. This transformation is not about abandoning the core of the newsagency but enhancing it to meet the evolving needs of today’s consumer.

Pivoting to Profit: How newsXpress Drives Success

At newsXpress, we understand that profitability is the cornerstone of a resilient and valuable newsagency. Our approach is a collaborative one, providing our partners with the tools, strategies, and support to navigate the changing market and unlock their full potential. We focus on practical, profit-driven solutions that have a tangible impact on your bottom line.

Our commitment to your success is demonstrated through a range of specialised services:

• Strategic Inventory Management: We provide in-depth analysis of product turnover to help you optimise your stock levels. This data-driven approach allows you to reduce carrying costs on slow-moving items and invest more heavily in high-performing products, ensuring your inventory is always working for you.
• Leveraging Supplier Relationships: With a network of over 130 preferred suppliers, newsXpress members gain access to competitive pricing, exclusive products, and first-to-market opportunities. This allows you to differentiate your business from the competition and offer your customers unique and sought-after items.
• Boosting Cash Flow: Our central billing program offers the significant advantage of delayed billing terms. This practical support improves your day-to-day cash flow, giving you greater financial flexibility to invest in new opportunities and manage operational expenses.
• Actionable Training and Guidance: We provide hands-on, shop-floor tactical training designed to deliver immediate results. Our guidance focuses on increasing inventory turnover, improving your return on investment, optimising your retail space for maximum customer engagement, and enhancing labour productivity.

The newsXpress Partnership Advantage

Aligning your business with newsXpress offers a clear pathway to a more profitable and secure future. The benefits of our partnership are clear:

• Increased Profitability: Our comprehensive strategies are all geared towards one primary goal: boosting your bottom line and ensuring the long-term financial health of your business.
• Enhanced Business Value: A consistently profitable newsagency is a more attractive asset to potential buyers. We help you build a strong financial track record that will significantly increase the value of your business when you decide to sell.
• Exclusive Market Opportunities: Our strong supplier network provides you with a competitive edge through unique product offerings and early access to emerging trends.
• Improved Operational Efficiency: Our expert training and guidance empower you to streamline your operations, reduce unnecessary costs, and create a more efficient and profitable business environment.

Crucially, partnering with newsXpress does not mean sacrificing your independence. We believe that the most successful businesses are those driven by the passion and local knowledge of their owners. Nothing we propose is mandatory; you are always in complete control of every decision for your retail business.

The future of the Australian newsagency is one of opportunity. By embracing change and partnering with a group that understands the nuances of the modern retail landscape, you can transform your business, drive profitability, and build a valuable asset for the future.

For newsagency owners recognising the need for transformation but facing challenges with inadequate business data, there’s no need to despair. Immediate, impactful actions can be taken directly on the shop floor to initiate significant change.

In our experience, businesses in this situation often feature a very traditional shop floor layout. The advice we’re about to share focuses on deliberately disrupting your current setup. We’ve found this approach incredibly helpful for retailers, allowing them to view their business with fresh eyes and identify new possibilities. It’s a radical, somewhat rough method designed to significantly shake things up.

It’s crucial to understand that any changes you implement aren’t set in stone. Make these moves, observe the results, learn from them, and be prepared to adjust. Your shop needs to be in a constant state of evolution.

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Confronting the Old Guard: The Newspaper and Magazine Unit

 

If your shop features a traditional magazine fixture running the length of the store, with newspapers facing customers as they enter, here’s what you need to do: remove all the stock and rip the entire unit out. Don’t overthink this; just get it done.

That prime central space is valuable retail real estate that should be dedicated to products yielding a gross profit of 50% or more. Allocating this high-visibility area to products with a 25% gross profit or less is simply not a sound business decision.

Tear the whole unit out.

Now, using basic, low-cost shelving – the kind you’d find in any hardware store – relocate your magazines to the back wall of the shop. Whatever was previously in that back wall space will need to be moved elsewhere. Simple strip shelving with adjustable brackets will suffice. Place your newspapers on a low, flat shelf beneath the magazines.

Furthermore, if you’ve been displaying newspaper or magazine posters, it’s time to stop. They don’t effectively increase sales.

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Filling the Newly Liberated Space

 

Find a couple of old tables or some sturdy wooden boxes. Use these to create display areas on the main shop floor. On each of these makeshift displays, tell a story about a specific product category. Bring products to this central part of the shop that customers might not typically encounter.

If you don’t have spare tables, check out your local op shop, your garage, or a discount retailer like Amart. Keep your spending to an absolute minimum.

Resist the urge to use spinners in this newly recovered space. Carefully select products that you are genuinely proud to offer. Crucially, make sure to include some products that you think won’t work for your customers. This is a vital step in uncovering what you don’t yet know about their preferences and buying habits.

Be prepared to completely change these displays within a week if they aren’t generating the results you’re looking for.

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Observe and Learn

 

The initial changes might not yield immediate success, and that’s perfectly okay. If they don’t, make further adjustments and continue experimenting until you see positive outcomes. You might also experience some early wins. If that happens, capitalise on it – do more of what’s working.

If your business still has that traditional central magazine and newspaper unit, we suspect you’ll see some encouraging results from this radical shift. That’s been the pattern in every similar business we have seen try it.

Most importantly, have fun with this process. We know one newsagent who, after making these changes, hosted a Saturday afternoon sausage sizzle specifically so people could watch as they literally used a chainsaw to dismantle and remove the old magazine unit from the shop!

The fundamental aim of this initial move is to disrupt your ingrained view of your business. Yes, the shop floor will be temporarily disrupted, but more importantly, you need to be disrupted in your thinking. That’s why you need to undertake something radical that you’re likely to initially resist. These suggested changes could potentially do more for your personal perspective than for the immediate bottom line of the business itself.

newsXpress helps Aussie newsagents and small business retailers thrive.

newsXpress of course. Click here to access a stockist list.  Note: they may have temporarily sold out.

From easy actionable business advice to advocacy to practical in-store help, newsXpress is helping local Aussie newsagents transform their businesses.

Ten months ago, we embarked on a small experiment: building a POS software connected Shopify website for a local suburban Melbourne newsXpress shop on a tight budget. The goal was to test the waters and see what could be achieved with minimal investment.

That website has, as at the end of April 2025, racked up more than $125,000 in online sales.

What a huge boost to the physical shop!

Starting with a modest product range, the website quickly began generating sales. In just the past seven weeks, this simple online store has raked in over $18,000 without any additional marketing spend or inventory investment. This new video from us takes you behind the scenes on what we have been able to do through the Hugs and Love website integration with our POS software.

The Hugs and Love website (www.hugsandlove.com.au) is a prime example of how seamlessly integrating Tower Systems POS software with Shopify can streamline online sales and fulfilment processes for local businesses. This powerful combination allows businesses to efficiently manage their inventory, process orders, and fulfill purchases both in-store and online.

By leveraging the strength of these two platforms, local shops can:

– Expand their reach: Attract new customers and increase sales beyond their physical storefront.

– Simplify operations: Streamline inventory management and order processing, saving time and reducing errors.

– Enhance customer experience: Offer a convenient and efficient online shopping experience.

The experience with this website has been valuable in helping us take care of the tech for local small business retailers and provide business advice for implementation, advice based on lived experience.

With so many offering website development services, we differentiate ourselves by providing business operational advice and support to make the revenue dream from online sales a reality.

Everything we do in this POS software / Shopify integration space is about maximising profit for the local small business retailers we are grateful to serve. Our innovation with Shopify is part of this.

Profit is vital in any business and especially vital in local small retail businesses.

If you are a small business retailer looking to earn more money from online sales, Tower Systems can help. Our team of experts will work with you to create a customised solution that meets your unique needs. We can demonstrate our POS software and demonstrate integrations like with we have done with Shopify for many of our customers. Better still, we can connect you with many other retailers for whom we have done this already.

Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers.

Here is a video we made five months ago.

If you recognise the need for a transformation in your newsagency but find your business data isn’t up to scratch, don’t despair. There are immediate actions you can take right there on the shop floor to initiate change.

In our experience, businesses in this situation often have a very traditional shop floor layout. The advice we are about to give is all about deliberately disrupting what you currently have. We have found this can be incredibly helpful for retailers to see their business with fresh eyes and identify new possibilities. It’s a radical and somewhat rough approach, designed to shake things up significantly.

It’s crucial to understand that whatever changes you implement aren’t set in stone. Make these moves, observe the results, learn from them, and be prepared to adjust. Your shop needs to be in a constant state of evolution.

First: Confronting the Old Guard – The Newspaper and Magazine Unit

If your shop features a traditional magazine fixture running down the length of the store, with newspapers facing customers as they enter, here’s what you need to do: remove all the stock and rip the entire unit out. Don’t overthink this; just get it done.

That prime central space is valuable retail real estate that should be dedicated to products yielding a gross profit of 50% or more. Allocating this high-visibility area to products with a 25% gross profit or less is simply not a sound business decision.

Tear the whole unit out.

Now, using basic, low-cost shelving – the kind you’d find in any hardware store – relocate your magazines to the back wall of the shop. Whatever was previously in that back wall space will need to be moved elsewhere. Simple strip shelving with adjustable brackets will suffice.

Place your newspapers on a low, flat shelf beneath the magazines.

Furthermore, if you’ve been displaying newspaper or magazine posters, it’s time to stop. They don’t effectively increase sales.

Second: Filling the Newly Liberated Space

Find a couple of old tables or some sturdy wooden boxes. Use these to create display areas on the main shop floor. On each of these makeshift displays, tell a story about a specific product category. Bring products to this central part of the shop that customers might not typically encounter.

If you don’t have spare tables, check out your local op. shop, your garage, or a discount retailer like Amart. Keep your spending to an absolute minimum.

Resist the urge to use spinners in this newly recovered space.

Carefully select products that you are genuinely proud to offer.

Crucially, make sure to include some products that you think won’t work for your customers. This is a vital step in uncovering what you don’t yet know about their preferences and buying habits.

Be prepared to completely change these displays within a week if they aren’t generating the results you’re looking for.

Three: Observe and Learn

The initial changes might not yield immediate success, and that’s perfectly okay. If they don’t, make further adjustments and continue experimenting until you see positive outcomes.

You might also experience some early wins. If that happens, capitalise on it – do more of what’s working.

If your business still has that traditional central magazine and newspaper unit, we suspect you’ll see some encouraging results from this radical shift. That’s been the pattern in every similar business we have seen try it.

Most importantly, have fun with this process.

We know one newsagent who, after making these changes, hosted a Saturday afternoon sausage sizzle specifically so people could watch as they literally used a chainsaw to dismantle and remove the old magazine unit from the shop!

The fundamental aim of this initial move is to disrupt your ingrained view of your business. Yes, the shop floor will be temporarily disrupted, but more importantly, you need to be disrupted in your thinking. That’s why you need to undertake something radical that you’re likely to initially resist. These suggested changes could potentially do more for your personal perspective than for the immediate bottom line of the business itself.

newsXpress helps Aussie newsagents and small business retailers thrive.

If you’re serious about transforming your retail newsagency or any other local small retail business with which you are involved, whether it’s a traditional setup or one that’s already evolving, the journey begins with a clear understanding of your current position. It all starts with your data.

Knowing exactly where your business stands is the bedrock upon which all future progress will be built. This means taking a comprehensive look at your operations from various angles. You need to gather the following:

• An up-to-date profit and loss statement. This provides a snapshot of your recent financial performance.
• A current debtors report and a current creditors report. These show who owes you money and who you owe money to.
• A complete list of all monies owed by the business, both formal loans and informal debts.
• A stock listing showing the total value of your current inventory.
• A dead stock listing, detailing all items with zero sales recorded in the past six months or more, along with the total value of this stagnant inventory.
• A floor map illustrating the gross profit percentage contribution by each product department or category in relation to its allocated floor space.
• Your total rostered hours for a typical week, including all owners regardless of whether they draw a formal wage, alongside a calculation of your revenue per hour.
• A revenue comparison down to the individual category level, comparing the most recent six-month period with the same six months from the previous year.

Simply stating a desire to transform isn’t enough. You need to deeply understand your current situation and the business’s capacity for change. The information listed above will reveal immediate opportunities and provide insights into the business’s ability to fund the costs associated with transformation. This list is the essential starting point for any business I work with on making significant changes.

As you delve into this pool of data, my strong recommendation is to first seek out easy wins that can pave the way for a more focused and productive approach moving forward. For instance, if you discover $10,000 or more tied up in dead stock that has already been paid for, get rid of it! The freed-up cash and valuable space will give you an immediate boost. To clear this stock effectively, consolidate it into a designated clearance area – perhaps a table or a few tables. Apply a consistent discount across all these items; I suggest a straightforward 50% reduction.

While you’re tackling the dead stock, simultaneously work through the rest of your data. Aim to understand the current performance of your business and carefully examine the comparison report for any readily apparent “green shoot” opportunities within your existing product categories. This could reveal a simple first step you can take.

As you analyse your data, compile a comprehensive list of ideas and potential action items. You might uncover some easy wins you hadn’t previously recognised or had been overlooking.

Over the years, we have spoken with retailers considering business transformation or improvement who have been tempted to rely on their accountant for guidance. Unless your accountant has current, hands-on retail experience specifically within your type of shop, we believe this is a misstep. Others have been keen to engage business consultants. Similarly, unless they possess current retail experience in your particular sector, We would advise caution.

The key takeaway here is that this is your business. You’ve reached a point where you want change, a transformation. The next steps are yours to take and are best executed by you, ensuring you have ownership of the changes.

This initial phase begins with diligently gathering your data, cleaning out the stagnant aspects of your business, and getting your business “fit” for what lies ahead.

All of this groundwork is about preparing you to be “match fit” for the more substantial changes that will follow.

newsXpress helps local small business retailers thrive.

Let’s talk about labour costs and how they impact your newsagency or any retail business. The newsagency benchmark suggests aiming for a labour cost that sits between 9% and 11% of your total revenue – that’s your product sales plus any commission you earn from agency lines.

To put that into perspective: if your combined revenue from products and commissions totals $1 million, your total labour expenditure should ideally be around $110,000.

It’s absolutely vital that this labour cost calculation includes a fair market value for the time you, as the owner, invest in the business. Too often, we see newsagency owners clocking up a staggering 60 to 80 hours each week, and frankly, a significant portion of that time isn’t generating productive outcomes.

Think about it – a small business simply can’t afford unproductive management time. Your larger competitors don’t carry this overhead, and neither should you.

This is why we strongly advise against having a dedicated back office, or if it’s absolutely unavoidable, to keep it small and certainly not a comfortable space. There’s a hidden advantage to this lean approach: it naturally pushes pricing and other administrative tasks out onto the shop floor. Embrace this shift, and you’ll likely see your revenue increase.

While the dream of business ownership often involves stepping away from the frontline, remember that the shop floor is where the money is made. That’s where your best people should be, and arguably, where you should be spending a significant portion of your time too.

Allocate your “boss time” strategically, in proportion to the size of your business. For a typical small retail business turning over $2 million or less annually, we suggest limiting your dedicated management time to no more than around five hours per week. Of course, this depends on how you utilise that time. If you’re handling bookkeeping yourself, thereby saving on external costs, then a bit more time might be justified.

Here’s a more practical way to visualise the impact on your bottom line: simply cutting three hours of paid adult labour each day, from Monday to Friday, can directly boost your business’s profitability by over $20,000 per year.

If you’re thinking that’s not achievable in your situation, take a hard look at where you’re currently spending your “boss work” hours. Could some of those tasks be done at the counter or while you’re on the shop floor? By effectively multi-tasking, you could potentially reduce your paid labour hours. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you’re committed to making your business more profitable.

Consider the experience of one newsagent who heeded this advice. They successfully cut their labour costs by a remarkable $50,000 in a single period, and during that same time, their revenue actually increased by 6%.

Gaining control of your labour costs and ensuring they align with the benchmark starts with a well-thought-out and efficient roster.

This is more advice from newsXpress a marketing group that helps local small business newsagents thrive.

Discovering a suspicion of theft involving an employee under the age of eighteen requires a particularly cautious and considered approach. It’s crucial to take a step back and plan your actions thoughtfully before confronting the individual or even initiating a formal investigation. An ill-conceived approach can have significant and challenging consequences for you, your business, and the young person involved.

Our advice is that the moment a suspicion arises, arrange a meeting involving the young employee and their parent or guardian. It’s also wise to have a second person, ideally independent of your business, present as your witness during this discussion.

In the meeting, present the evidence you have gathered in a calm and factual manner, and then provide an opportunity for them to respond. It’s paramount that you remain civil, stick to the facts, and avoid letting emotions cloud your communication. Actively listen to their response and take it into consideration.

Be prepared with a reasonable course of action if they ask what you intend to do about the situation. If there is agreement on your proposed resolution, you can then move forward accordingly.

However, if there isn’t agreement on your proposal, or if the young person denies the theft, you must have your next steps ready. This subsequent action should be fair, reasonable, and primarily aimed at uncovering verifiable truth.

If there is an admission of theft and the employee is casual, our recommendation is immediate termination, ensuring all legally owed entitlements are paid out. It’s often best to draw a line under the matter at this point and move forward. Avoid discussing the situation outside of your business. In close-knit communities, particularly outside major cities, constantly revisiting such issues can be incredibly damaging to your reputation.

If an agreement cannot be reached, ask the other party what resolution they propose. It’s possible that even while denying the theft, they may be willing to part ways with the business. If this isn’t the case, you could suggest mediation as a way forward. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s office may be able to offer assistance in this area. Alternatively, you could suggest that both parties report the matter to the police.

It’s vital to understand that once you involve parents or guardians, you need to be prepared to see the matter through to a reasonable conclusion.

The key message here is that handling suspected theft by someone under eighteen demands careful consideration and thorough planning. This will help ensure that you, your business, and the young person involved are all treated fairly and safely throughout the process.

This advice is provided by newsXpress for the benefit of all local small business retailers who stop by here. We are a marketing group that helps local retailers thrive.