Category: newsagency management

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.

---

 

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.

---

 

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.

---

 

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.

Running a local small retail business can be tough, and when things feel slow, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. There are plenty of straightforward, cost-free actions you can take right now to improve your situation. Here are 13 to get you started:

1. Engage Your Entire Crew: Make sure everyone on your team understands how the business is tracking, its needs, and the “why” behind it all. Work together to set achievable goals and outline the steps to get there. Keep the communication flowing and track progress openly.

2. Declutter for Clarity: Spend a day decluttering your shop. You’ll be surprised how the act of physically tidying up can help you see potential positive moves for your business. Do it yourself, and then action those insights.

3. Ditch the Dead Weight: Be honest about slow-moving stock. Whether it’s items gathering dust for six months or two years, dead stock is costs space, time and cash. Anything you can recoup is better than its ongoing drain.

4. Reward the Next Visit: Include a discount voucher on customer receipts that encourages a return visit within a short timeframe – say, seven days. This is a quick win, focusing on immediate repeat business rather than long-term loyalty programs. Think of it as a “come back soon” incentive.

5. Know Your Missing Opportunities: Surprisingly, top-selling items often go out of stock. Your POS system can easily identify these missed revenue opportunities. Fix those stock gaps, and you’ll see an immediate impact on your bottom line. Check your “Insights Dashboard” if you’re using our software.

6. Partner with Your Community: Connect with a well-regarded local community group with a strong membership base. Offer their members a discount and consider donating a small percentage of each purchase back to the group. This introduces your business to new customers.

7. Have a Cracking Time on Socials: Social media is for fun! Entertain your audience. Don’t overthink it – show the fun side of your business and share unique knowledge that sets you apart.

8. Embrace the Freebies: Ensure your Google Business and Bing (yes, it still exists!) listings are up-to-date, engaging, and accurate. These free platforms are crucial for local visibility.

9. Trim Payment Costs: Card payment fees can eat into your profits. While surcharging is an option, exploring alternative payment providers could lead to significant savings. Even if you switch, consider still applying a surcharge.

10. Connect via Email: If you have customer email addresses and purchase history, use this valuable data for targeted email campaigns. Personalised communication can drive repeat business.

11. Re-evaluate Your Pricing: Ask yourself: “What price could I realistically sell this item for?”. Your convenient location or lack of nearby competitors might allow for a higher price point. Most POS systems make price adjustments simple.

12. Chat with Your Suppliers: If you’re feeling the pinch, chances are your suppliers are too. Ask if they have any special deals on inventory they need to move. If it’s stock you can easily sell, snap it up for a better profit margin.

13. Set Your Shop Up for Success: Create an environment that encourages spending: * Inside the front door: Feature a new, bright, optimistic, fun, and unexpected display each week. * At the counter: Place impulse-buy items with strong performance and unexpected finds. * Introduce a scent: Use a pleasant incense or candle. * Play happy tunes: Choose familiar music that customers might sing along to. * Temperature control: Make your shop warm in winter and cool in summer. * Keep things fresh: Move at least one product category each week to create a sense of change.

Implementing even a few of these free and easy actions can make a real difference to your local small business. Start today and see the positive impact!

The future of the Australian newsagency channel rests in the hands of 2,800+ local newsagents, local retailers owning and running these local shops. The choices newsagents make within the four walls of their shops determine the prosperity – or otherwise – of the broader channel.

The decisions that will carry the most weight revolve around the products newsagents choose to stock, the narrative newsagents weave for their businesses, and how they approach selling.

newsXpress helps newsagents in each of these areas. What we offer is a unique set of services personalised to each member business, to help then thrive!

Before we delve deeper, let’s be clear about where the future of the Australian newsagency won’t be found. It won’t reside in the traditional staples of newspapers, magazines, lotteries, general convenience items, tobacco, inexpensive gifts, budget toys, or an overwhelming display of impulse-buy products. Competing with discount variety stores is not the path forward.

The future isn’t something that will be delivered on a platter by suppliers. Despite their historical role in shaping our channel, print media businesses, in particular, appear to have little vested interest in our long-term viability.

Across Australia we are already witnessing fellow newsagents successfully tapping into premium and unique markets. They are focusing less on being the cheapest and more on astute margin management. The enduring wisdom of “find a need and fill it” remains powerfully relevant as we evolve our local businesses.

When we talk about products, consider venturing beyond the typical newsagency fare. Imagine stocking clothing, exquisite gifts priced at $300.00 and upwards, carefully curated books (distinct from remaindered stock), quality cookware, and sought-after collectibles that will draw customers from afar. These are likely products that traditional suppliers haven’t considered for our channel.

Familiar categories like stationery, greeting cards, and other staples will continue to play a part. Their ongoing success, however, will hinge on your discerning selection and intelligent pricing strategies that account for the cost of carrying them. For instance, simply selling stationery to someone who needs it is one thing; catering to someone who truly appreciates and loves stationery presents a far more valuable opportunity, in my opinion.

Remember, there are no prescribed limits or rules. What you choose to sell is dictated by your own creativity and how you present it to your customers.

By narrative, we refer to the underlying story of your business – the compelling “why” that resonates with potential customers. If you simply operate as a shopkeeper placing items on shelves, you’re missing a crucial element. As a retailer committed to a narrative, you enable customers to understand your business’s values, enjoy being within your space, and desire your offerings because the narrative fosters trust and connection.

You cultivate this narrative through your product selection, your in-store merchandising, your social media presence, your website content, and your own personal engagement with your products and customers.

The key to a successful narrative is its capacity to evolve alongside you, the passage of time, and the changing needs of your local community.

The “how” of selling encompasses when and where you sell. In today’s retail landscape, having a robust online presence is no longer optional – it’s essential. If you’re not selling online, you’re operating with a significant blind spot, unaware of the opportunities you’re missing.

Now, if this sounds like a radical departure from the norm, it’s not intended to be. We are currently immersed in an era of experiential retail, where customers seek to feel and experience their purchases. This is where your narrative truly shines. A basic writing pad in a generic newsagency is just that – a writing pad. The very same writing pad in a store with a compelling narrative can command greater attention and a higher price point.

The more your physical shop and your online presence can evoke emotion and create a memorable experience, the greater your chances of success.

Ultimately, the future of the Australian newsagency lies in our collective ability to be sharp, engaged, and innovative. Each of you has the power to transform your individual shop into a thriving local business. It’s unlikely that this will result in a uniform channel, but that’s perfectly acceptable. What truly matters is that you build a locally powerful business that also attracts online shoppers who connect with your unique offering.

To those who choose not to act, who resist change, we wish you all the best. The era of the traditional newsagency is drawing to a close. Time will inevitably catch up, leading to a contraction in the number of newsagency rooftops. While the exact figure is uncertain, current trends suggest a potential loss of 150 to 200 businesses in the next year alone.

For those eager to embrace change, know that there is a supportive community within the channel ready to assist where we can. Reach out. Together, we can ensure the continued relevance and success of our vital local retail businesses, regardless of the diversity of our products and services or what we choose to call ourselves.

Footnote: Some may argue that the traditional “newsagency” name is no longer relevant. While the core product of “news” may have diminished in significance, the name itself matters less than the actual experience your shop offers. It’s akin to the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” What your shop demonstrates itself to be is far more impactful than its name. That being said, Australian newsagencies, being inherently local businesses, are arguably best served by a name that holds local resonance, rather than an impersonal national brand.

Second footnote: Reflecting on what has been written, we acknowledge that a definitive prediction has not been offered. This is because a singular “channel” future is unlikely, and there’s no way to foresee the individual choices each business will make.

In the dynamic world of small business retail, profitability isn’t just a desirable outcome – it’s absolutely paramount. It’s about more than just seeing a positive balance today; it’s about diligently constructing a robust foundation for sustained growth and enhanced future value. At newsXpress, we appreciate the significance of profit and its direct influence on the overall worth of your newsagency.

Here is why profit matters:

Immediate Financial Gain: Profit provides an immediate boost to your business’s financial health, placing crucial funds directly into your account. This empowers you with the resources necessary to reinvest in your operations, manage essential bills, and, importantly, enjoy the rewards of your hard work.

Future Value Proposition: A consistently profitable business is undeniably more appealing to prospective buyers. When the time comes for you to consider selling your newsagency, a strong and demonstrable profit record can significantly elevate its market value.

Here’s how newsXpress supports local newsagents on their profit journey

At newsXpress, our commitment lies in empowering you to maximise your newsagency’s profitability. We focus on a range of key business areas, from astute inventory management to fostering meaningful customer engagement. Here’s a glimpse into how we can contribute to your ongoing success:

Inventory Management: We assist you in optimising your stock levels through insightful analysis of product turnover rates. This enables you to identify opportunities for cost reduction and enhanced operational efficiency.

Supplier Relationships: Our extensive network of preferred suppliers offers you access to competitive pricing, exclusive product lines, and exciting first-to-market opportunities.

Central Billing: Our streamlined central billing program provides you with advantageous delayed billing terms, thereby improving your vital cash flow.

Training and Guidance: Our practical, shop-floor focused training and guidance are designed to help you achieve tangible improvements in inventory turnover, enhance your return on investment, optimise your valuable floor space, and boost labour productivity.

The advantage of being part of the newsXpress community.

By choosing to partner with newsXpress, you can look forward to a range of significant benefits, including:

Increased Profitability: Our carefully developed strategies and comprehensive resources are specifically designed to help you strengthen your bottom line.

Enhanced Business Value: A consistently profitable newsagency naturally becomes a more valuable asset when you eventually decide to sell.

Access to Exclusive Opportunities: Our well-established network of preferred suppliers opens doors to unique products and early access to innovative new offerings.

Improved Efficiency: Our targeted training and ongoing guidance can help you streamline your day-to-day operations and effectively reduce costs.

Profitability forms the very bedrock of your newsagency’s ongoing success and long-term sustainability. By collaborating with newsXPress, you gain access to the essential tools, valuable resources, and dedicated support you need to drive profitability and, ultimately, maximise the inherent value of your business.

No matter the size of your newsagency or whether you are located in the city or country or in a shopping centre or on the high street, newsXpress is here to support you on the big and small opportunity cities and challenges you face in your business. How can we help you?

Please remember that all initiatives and offerings from newsXpress are entirely optional. You always retain complete control over every decision made within and for your local retail business.

Whether you’ve got a traditional newsagency or you’ve already made some changes, understanding your current position is absolutely essential. It’s the very first thing newsXpress focuses on when working alongside newsagents.

Think of it this way: having a clear picture of your business’s present state is the solid ground upon which everything else will be built. It involves taking a thoughtful and thorough look at your operation from all angles. So, what information will be most helpful? Here’s what we consider important:

• A profit and loss statement that reflects the current situation.
• Up-to-date reports on who currently owes money to the business (your debtors) and who the business currently owes money to (your creditors).
• A comprehensive list of all outstanding amounts owed to the business, both through formal invoices and any less formal arrangements.
• A recent stocktake that provides the total value of all the stock you currently hold.
• A specific listing of any stock that hasn’t sold for six months or more (often referred to as dead stock), along with its total value.
• A floor plan of your newsagency that indicates the gross profit percentage generated by each product department or category, as well as the amount of floor space allocated to each.
• The total number of hours rostered per week for all staff members, including yourself, and the total revenue generated per hour.
• A comparison of your revenue across different product categories for the past six months when compared to the same six-month period in the previous year.

While a desire for change is good, it’s equally important to have a clear understanding of your business’s present circumstances and its capacity to accommodate change. The information outlined above will highlight immediate opportunities and provide insight into your ability to invest in making those changes. This is always the initial step in any business transformation we undertake together.

When you’re reviewing this data, we suggest focusing on identifying some achievable early wins to help build momentum. For example, if you find you have, say, $10,000 or more tied up in dead stock that has already been paid for, consider making a concerted effort to move it. Freeing up that capital and the physical space it occupies can have a surprisingly positive impact on your business. Perhaps setting up a designated clearance area with a consistent, reasonable discount, such as 50%, could be a good approach.

As you’re addressing the dead stock, take some time to carefully analyse the rest of your data. This will help you understand your current performance across different areas and identify potential opportunities within your existing product categories. This deeper understanding will provide a thoughtful direction for your initial steps forward.

As you gently explore the data, make notes of any ideas or specific actions that come to mind. You might just uncover some valuable opportunities that you hadn’t previously considered.

Some retailers find it helpful to seek advice from accountants or business consultants. While this can certainly be a valuable resource, it’s wise to ensure that anyone you consult has current, practical retail experience within the newsagency industry specifically.

Remember, this is ultimately your business. You are the one guiding the process of change and transformation. Embrace that ownership.

Begin by gathering this essential data, gently streamlining your operations where possible, and building a strong, clear understanding of your current position. This will thoughtfully prepare you for more significant and rewarding developments in the future.

newsXpress is here to help.