Category: newsagency marketing

newsXpress helps suburban newsagency business to grow card sales 36% year on year

A small high street suburban newsagency for which we have seen comprehensive live data has had a good Corona. 2020 was way up over 2019. Better still is the growth in 2021 over 2020.

Working with this business, the card offer has been re-cast in terms of range, placement and in-store engagement. This has all be done with thoughtful guidance from the newsXpress team.

The sales results speak for themselves.

This data is for January through March only. The data for the two and a half months since show even better results.

Any newsagency business in any retail situation or any size and with any capital situation can easily achieve double-digit growth in card sales. The foundation to achieving this is in your business data, not supplier data, your data. It will show you what is possible, what to do.

For the newsagency mentioned above, there has been no capital expenditure on fixtures and a reduction in capital expenditure in inventory.

The biggest barrier we see in our newsagency channel to any business and the channel overall achieving more growth from cards is lack of active engagement with the category in-store.

What it comes down to is: do you want to grow your case sales and do so while spending less? Of course, the answer has to be yes every time to this.

This is where newsXpress helps local retailers grow their businesses.

We are keen to work with newsagents who want success, a more valuable business, and a more enjoyable business life. We help achieve this through encouragement, education, negotiation and support.

We know we are not for everyone. That’s why we say if you don’t think we are a good fit for you, let’s wish each other success, and go our own ways.

We joined newsXpress over 10 years ago to take the business to a level we could not achieve on our own. Not only has newsXpress opened doors to suppliers and deals that were beyond us on our own but the family like community of newsXpress has supported us in ways that go beyond a purely business relationship.
Our thanks to Mark and the team and all the other members.
Brendan and Rita Mason, newsXpress Sunbury Square, VIC.

newsXpress helps local newsagents with advice on pop-up retail

newsXpress helps local newsagents to run more engaged, interesting and fun retail businesses. We do this in many ways, helping local newsagents to discover the new and exciting.

When it comes to pop-up retail, we have plenty advice for newsagents including:

LOCATION.

With a pop-up shop you don’t have time to find your customers. The location needs to already have good traffic passing daily, traffic you can easily leverage. Even more so than in fixed-location retail, location is critical.

The best locations are shops that have good passing traffic that is of interest to you and that have been vacant for a while where a landlord might be happy with something rather than nothing.

OCCUPANCY COST.

Negotiate the lowest rent cost possible. Some landlords see pop-up offers as a reason to charge a premium. Only sign up for a price you are 100% happy with. If it is expensive and does not work financially, don’t sign hoping it works out, because in retail it rarely does work out better. In a pop-up business you have less time to see if it works out. Also, preferably, no contingency deposit.

LABOUR COST.

Staff the business with a lean roster. This shop is about selling. that means, products placed for a price proposition rather than beautiful displays that take time to maintain. Every staff member is there to sell and maximise revenue from every shopper visit. There is no room in the roster for fat.

FIXTURES AND FITTINGS.

Don’t spend a cent on fixtures and fittings. That needs to be your starting position. It’s a pop-up shop. People expect it to be  efficient, cost-effective. Using tables and boxes adds to the feel of the shop feeling low-cost and that can help drive sales. Suppliers can be a good source for loaned fixtures.

INVENTORY.

Ask suppliers to offer consignment stock or special clearance deals they’d like to move fast. Go for items that can be sold out of a box, to make display and ranging easier. In-box displays of particularly cheap items can work very well.

PRICING MODEL.

Price to sell. This means being below usual retail. Price to understandable price points. For example, you might have a $10 table, a $20 table and so on. Consider bundling items into packs, which make price comparison difficult.

PROMOTION.

Don’t spend money on sign writing or marketing. Use social media and bargain websites and anywhere similar where you can list the store and its products.

Host an opening party. List this as a local event on Facebook.

MANAGEMENT MINDSET.

Your mindset in managing the pop-up shop needs to be different to a fixed-location retail situation. Pop-up shops are about low cost, low overheads, low prices. Be ready to do deals. Those working in the pop-up shop needs to be different to how they would be in the fixed-location retail business.

SPEED.

You need to move fast. From the moment you sign a lease or agreement, the clock is ticking. Ideally, you’d open within 24 hours and when you are done, closing and clearing out the shop is done in 24 hours or less. This is all about maximising the time for income-production.

Newsagents are ideal retailers to create and run local pop-up shops.

newsXpress is grateful to support local newsagents to be smart, engaged and fun local retailers.

newsXpress offers AC/DC boxed mint coin set

More than 100 newsXpress stores sell coins from the Royal Australian Mint. Today, at 8:30am AEST our stores started selling the AC/DC box set. This beautiful set features AC/DC albums in wonderful replicas that each feature a beautiful coin from the Mint.

See the AC/DC coin box set here in this video where we show off everything in the box set:

newsXpress is thrilled to offer this AC/DC box set for AC/DC fans and coin collectors. It is a perfect gift as well as perfect buy for yourself treat.

Included in the AC/DC mint coin opportunity is also a beautiful $1 silver frosted circulated coin. Here it is, in its very special packaging:

How newsXpress is helping small business newsagents through Covid and more

Almost all newsXpress stores did not qualify for JobKeeper because revenue is up. Even better, many newsXpress stores have experienced good GP% growth as more higher-margin products are in the pool of products growing.

Through unique supplier relationships and commercially valuable terms, newsXpress can help its member retailers attract new shoppers, achieve a more bigger basket value and reach an above average GP% for the business.

newsXpress serves newsagency businesses of all sizes. Most are in regional Australia or suburban high street situations. Many are in small towns. Less than 10% of newsXpress members are in shopping centres.

At newsXpress, nothing is mandatory. Size and location do not matter.

Here is some of what newsXpress has done in 2020 with and for its members:

  • Early access to state and territory grants. Even where they did not quality for JobKeeper newsXpress helped plenty make the case for grant funding.
  • Rent relief. Direct and practical helping achieving rent relief, which has ranged from 25% off rent for 6 months to 75% off rent for 6 months.
  • Bonus GP%. On top of newsXpress preferential pricing, 51 suppliers provided an additional 5% of GP April through June on all purchases.
  • First with jigsaws. In February newsXpress pitched jigsaws as a growth category in a Covid world. newsXpress members grabbed inventory, and achieved excellent sales. One rural business went from selling $500 in jigsaws a month to $3,500+ a month for several months.
  • Online with jigsaws. In March newsXpress turned on a national jigsaw website connected to newsXpress stores to win delivery and click and collect sales. It’s been a hit.
  • First with nesting. In March, newsXpress identified nesting as a popular growth category. Members following the advice added thousands of dollars in revenue.
  • New suppliers. newsXpress has added 20 new suppliers in recent months, almost all of whom have not previously dealt with newsagents.
  • Half price website development. With Tower Systems newsXpress delivered beautiful POS software linked Shopify sites for individual stores for $2,500 (inc. GST).
  • Daily email. Sent each morning, by 7am with updated supplier deals, to-do tips for staff and more. Designed for a fast, time-efficient, read.
  • Mask access. From June, newsXpress offered masks through several suppliers.
  • Subsidised online sales. newsXpress launched subsidised shipping for online sales connected to 100+ local newsXpress stores. The websites deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars across participating newsXpress stores annually.
  • Click and collect. From March newsXpress offered practical advice and guidance on how to do click and collect, to win new business. It’s been a hit.
  • Daily Zoom meetings. These started March 15 and have run Monday – Friday ever since. The sessions are filmed and 75+ members watch the videos daily. In the sessions newsXpress meet with suppliers, stay on top of news, motivate each other and more.
  • Sunday drinks. Every Sunday @ 4pm. This is a more relaxed chat.
  • Engaging social media campaigns. Five months ago, newsXpress launched Storytime, exclusive daily social media targeted stories that provide an emotional narrative members can use on social media.

This list is not complete, newsXpress helps and supports in many other ways.

2020 has been a year of opportunities. Newsagents embracing the opportunities are recasting the GP%, shopper traffic and operating overhead cost basis of their businesses for a brighter future.

This is newsXpress – a free live newsagency marketing workshop

Today, we are hosting an open forum @ 10:30am to outline what newsXpress offers and how it works.

With interest in newsXpress among newsagents and suppliers strong, it feels like a good time to offer this session.

Here are the details for joining in – anyone is welcome:

https://zoom.us/j/99657147413?pwd=dmhaa2VHK0pyb1M1bHZSeUxOMDNLUT09
Meeting ID: 996 5714 7413 Passcode: 081628

In the meeting we will be joined by a new products expert who will speak to net new traffic generating products, a millennial shopper expert who will speak to attracting that type of shopper and a data expert who will speak to how data can drive profitable business decisions.

newsXpress is grateful to have welcomed new members to the group over recent months, adding to this community of newsagents keen for new ideas and happy to embrace a culture of optimism.

How newsXpress is helping its members through Covid and other 2020 challenges.

Here is some of what newsXpress has done in 2020 with and for its members:

  • Early access to state and territory grants. Even where they did not quality for JobKeeper newsXpress helped plenty make the case for grant funding.
  • Rent relief. Direct and practical helping achieving rent relief, which has ranged from 25% off rent for 6 months to 75% off rent for 6 months.
  • Bonus GP%. On top of newsXpress preferential pricing, 51 suppliers provided an additional 5% of GP April through June on all purchases.
  • First with jigsaws. In February newsXpress pitched jigsaws as a growth category in a Covid world. newsXpress members grabbed inventory, and achieved excellent sales. One rural business went from selling $500 in jigsaws a month to $3,500+ a month for several months.
  • Online with jigsaws. In March newsXpress turned on a national jigsaw website connected to newsXpress stores to win delivery and click and collect sales. It’s been a hit.
  • First with nesting. In March, newsXpress identified nesting as a popular growth category. Members following the advice added thousands of dollars in revenue.
  • New suppliers. newsXpress has added 20 new suppliers in recent months, almost all of whom have not previously dealt with newsagents.
  • Half price website development. With Tower Systems newsXpress delivered beautiful POS software linked Shopify sites for individual stores for $2,500 (inc. GST).
  • Daily email. Sent each morning, by 7am with updated supplier deals, to-do tips for staff and more. Designed for a fast, time-efficient, read.
  • Mask access. From June, newsXpress offered masks through several suppliers.
  • Subsidised online sales. newsXpress launched subsidised shipping for online sales connected to 100+ local newsXpress stores. The websites deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars across participating newsXpress stores annually.
  • Click and collect. From March newsXpress offered practical advice and guidance on how to do click and collect, to win new business. It’s been a hit.
  • Daily Zoom meetings. These started March 15 and have run Monday – Friday ever since. The sessions are filmed and 75+ members watch the videos daily. In the sessions newsXpress meet with suppliers, stay on top of news, motivate each other and more.
  • Sunday drinks. Every Sunday @ 4pm. This is a more relaxed chat.
  • Engaging social media campaigns. Five months ago, newsXpress launched Storytime, exclusive daily social media targeted stories that provide an emotional narrative members can use on social media.

This list is not complete, newsXpress helps and supports in many other ways.

2020 has been a year of opportunities. Newsagents embracing the opportunities are recasting the GP%, shopper traffic and operating overhead cost basis of their businesses for a brighter future.

Storytime: Happiness…

Storytime:  A few weeks ago, young Jess bought from us a bunch of sheets of different colours of A4 paper. “That’s a lot of coloured paper Jess,” I said. “I want to make people happy,” Jess said with a wonderful smile. “I am going to make paper cranes and give them to people.” “Cranes, huh?” I said. “It’s a symbol of happiness,” Jess said. “The crane makes people happy.”

After Jess left, I looked it up online. Sure enough, she was right. Handmade paper cranes are a symbol of happiness.

I’m sharing the story now because Jess was back in a couple of days ago. She left me a beautiful yellow paper crane, made from a sheet of the paper I sold her. I put it on a shelf in my office, at eye level, so I see it every day.

We have the most wonderful customers.

Helping small business newsagents have a terrific 2020

newsXpress is a newsagency marketing group that helps small business newsagents in Australia to run more enjoyable, successful and valued local retail businesses.

Most of our newsXpress newsagent member businesses are in regional Australia, on main streets, serving local shoppers and local community groups.

newsXpress newsagents are local families with kids in local schools, hiring local people, serving the local community.

Our local newsXpress newsagent businesses can be found in all states and territories of Australia. We are national but all of our newsXpress newsagent businesses are locally owned and locally run.

This is why no two newsXpress businesses will look the same. They sell products in service of their local community. They are responsive and engaged.

newsXpress helps its members to find products appropriate to their businesses preferencing Australian made because of what this means for local jobs because here in 2020, local jobs do matter.

Helping small business newsagents in this way, to run moire locally focussed and successful and safe businesses is a core part of the newsXpress newsagency marketing group mission – in service of all in the local newsagent business who rely on the business for income.

Here is a small part of what we have done with and for newsXpress newsagent business members already in 2020:

  • Early access to state and territory grants. Even where they did not quality for JobKeeper we helped plenty make the case for grant funding.
  • Rent relief. We have helped many newsXpress members with rent relief, which has ranged from 25% off rent for 6 months to 75% off rent for 6 months.
  • Bonus GP%. On top of newsXpress preferential pricing, 51 suppliers provided an additional 5% of GP April through June on all purchases in an exclusive
  • First with jigsaws. In February we pitched jigsaws as a growth category in a Covid world. Our members grabbed inventory, and achieved excellent sales.
  • Online with jigsaws. In March we turned on a national jigsaw website connected to newsXpress stores to win delivery and click and collect sales. It’s been a hit.
  • First with nesting. In March we identified nesting as a popular growth category. Members following our advice have added thousands of dollars in revenue.
  • New suppliers. We have brought on 15 new suppliers in recent months, almost all of whom have not previously dealt with newsagents.

There are many more items on this list, many more benefits delivered to local newsagency businesses as 2020 has rolled out and there is plenty more to come, in service of local communities around Australia.

How newsXpress helps small business newsagents run more valuable retail businesses

newsXpress is a newsagency marketing group focussed on helping small business newsagents top run more successful and enjoyable retail business.

By understanding what is important to us you can discover what we focus on for newsXpress members. Based on our work with newsagents, here are the top things we hear in 2020 are important to small business newsagents.

  • Helping you save money. Because, cash is king.
  • Exclusive products. Through which to differentiate your business.
  • Helping you find customers you would not usually reach.
  • Helping you enjoy your business because enjoying your business is key for you and all who working the newsagency business.
  • Change is inevitable. COVID-19 brought about urgent change and newsXpress was engaged from the outset, supporting, guiding, helping … providing confidence.
  • Good business data can help reveal trends. newsXpress has been first with advice to leverage fads and when to exit.
  • Brands support newsXpress and member businesses. We put brands first.
  • We love to see and hear newsXpress members talking with each other, sharing experiences and insights. Great ideas have been discovered on a shop floor.
  • The journey. We prefer to focus on the steps we take today rather than where we might be tomorrow because we know in small business, in retail and in newsagencies, tomorrow is an unknown. We focus on what we know and the next step we will take.
  • New traffic. We chase products and opportunities to drive new traffic, people you do not usually see in your business – ideally, new traffic that will return.

Newsagents are demonstrating their value to local communities, value in helping keep people informed, helping people connect and helping people get through challenging situations.

Newsagents are core to local communities and newsXpress is core is its focus of support for newsagents. Every day we work with newsagents to help them, in practical and valuable terms, to help small business retailers in the newsXpress newsagency community to run better businesses.

Better can be a subjective term. To us it is a business that is more enjoyable, more profitable and more valuable.

The help newsXpress offers is personal and nuanced to local needs, based on what the newsXpress newsagent says they need or what the objectives are for their personal situation

newsXpress helps Australian newsagents turn their situation around

newsXpress has plenty of experience in turnaround situations, helping newsagents. While we will not reveal details of our strategy here, we note that it takes time, commitment, honest communication and a wish for change. We start by understanding the truth of a situation. We dig deep into the newsagent business data to get to the facts. This provides a basis for advice we provide.

Our turnaround work can consist of as little as suggestions on changes or as much as developing a comprehensive long-term plan.  Each newsagent turnaround situation is different – hence our position that a turnaround starts with understanding the situation of the business and the business owners.

We actively work with newsXpress members to understand the needs of their newsagent businesses, working individually, practically and locally.

This is another service from our engaged newsagency marketing group, helping newsagents create more valuable and sustainable retail businesses.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US?

By understanding what is important to us you can discover what we focus on for newsXpress members. Here are the top things we think are important:

  • Helping you save money. Because, cash is king.
  • Exclusive products. Through which to differentiate your business.
  • Helping you find customers you would not usually reach.
  • Change is inevitable. COVID-19 brought about urgent change and newsXpress was engaged from the outset, supporting, guiding, helping … providing confidence.
  • Good business data can help reveal trends. newsXpress has been first with advice to leverage fads and when to exit.
  • Brands support newsXpress and member businesses. We put brands first.
  • We love to see and hear newsXpress members talking with each other, sharing experiences and insights. Great ideas have been discovered on a shop floor.
  • The journey. We prefer to focus on the steps we take today rather than where we might be tomorrow because we know in small business, in retail and in newsagencies, tomorrow is an unknown. We focus on what we know and the next step we will take.
  • New traffic. We chase products and opportunities to drive new traffic, people you do not usually see in your business – ideally, new traffic that will return.

Newsagency of the future workshops encourage growth

Opportunities for new shopper traffic, higher GP% and greater per visit value.

We invite you to a new free business management workshop for newsagents where I will share an insight into trends in current trading data, trends for core categories overseas and opportunities for growth as we all recast our businesses.

We will ask some tough questions and through these navigate to challenges that sit at the root of some newsagency channel core categories and work through, with you, several opportunities growth in these.

What we explore together will be relevant to any newsagent in any situation, large or small, city or country. The sole focus will be on creating a brighter future, even if that means for you your own business exit strategy.

You will receive valuable takeaways you will be able to use right away as well as thought-provoking questions each of us in retail will have to answer.

While some examples will be newsXpress related, this is not a newsXpress sales event. It is a continuation of our Newsagency of the Future Workshops, which we first ran in 2004 and have evolved ever since.

I will also share newsXpress case studies where business owners have recast their businesses through change. These will include city and country businesses. Large and small.

Please, join us as we invest in a stronger, but different, newsagency channel.

  1. May 6. 9am Melbourne. Book now.
  2. May 7. 10am Sydney. Book now.
  3. May 8. 10am Brisbane. Book now.
  4. May 10. 10am Adelaide. Book now.

These are the only dates, because of commitments for the next few months.