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Supplier engagement at newsXpress conference

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

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

newsXpress Awards Dinner and dancing

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

Here are the award winners:

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

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

Shane Jacobsen opens newsXpress conference

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

Cooking with “fast” Ed

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

Spring Racing Carnival marketing

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

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

Heading for Melbourne

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

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

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

We have a busy few days ahead.

First Halloween at newsXpress Cooma

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

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

Halloween fun at Watergardens Town Centre

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

Enjoying Halloween at newsXpress Ascot Vale

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

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

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

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

newsXpress Harbour Town enjoys Halloween

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

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

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

Halloween ‘scares’ Main Street Pakenham

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

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

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

Halloween hits Forest Hill in Victoria

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

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

Halloween fun at newsXpress Goulburn

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

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

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

Halloween comes to newsXpress Bairnsdale

Gina from newsXpress Bairnsdale has created a great display promoting Halloween products in-store. It is in-store theatre like this which excites customers and makes the shop a bright and happy place. This type of display is key to driving sales.

From the newsXpress provided marketing collateral on the back wall to the hanging skeleton to the bright orange pumpkins, this display looks great. newsXpress Bairnsdale can be proud!

newsXpress has been driving Halloween opportunities for members for years. 2010 looks like it will be the best year yet!

Corporately, we are thrilled with the engagement from members. Right across the country, we have newsXpress locations presenting a professional range of product in an exciting and fun way and driving great sales.

Scary newsXpress Seymour

The fun of Halloween has been embraced by the team at newsXpress Seymour where ther have a wall full of Halloween product – which is seeling well already. The product range and the free newsXpress marketing collateral, tells a great story about this fun season. The bright display sets is a beacon in the shop and provides visual excitement noticed by the customers.

Halloween at newsXpress Scotts Lismore

The team at newsXpress Scotts Lismore confront customers with a range of fun products the moment they step into the shop on Woodlark Street Lismore. From witches hats to pitchforks to other costumes, newsXpress Scotts Lismore is showing how to have fun with Halloween. They love leveraging newspaper and magazine traffic into a good margin Halloween sale. Their bottom line benefit is the newsXpress difference on show.

Halloween at newsXpress Eli Waters

You can’t browse magazine at newsXpress Eli Waters without passing their stunning Halloween display. On show is a range of fun products with which to enjoy Halloween. This connects with the newsXpress theme of having fun with the Halloween season. A great Halloween display brings fun to the shop and drives sales in other departments. Just the team at newsXpress Eli Waters.

newsXpress Glendale embraces Halloween

The team at newsXpress Glendale has embraced Halloween right at the front of their store with a great display of Halloween product, appropriately dressed for this fun season. The display is capped with some of the A2 posters newsXpress has provided to members for dressing the display and connecting with the fun of Halloween. The best place to celebrate Halloween in the Glendale region in NSW is newsXpress Glendale.

Professional newsletters for newsXpress members

newsXpress has released a professional newsletter template for newsXpress members to easily customise and use locally to promote group-wide offers. The newsletters are designed to be placed at the front of newsXpress locations to promote the businesses and the brand.

As the above example shows, we are promoting the Hallmark sound acrd range, O’Bon environmentally friendly pencils and social stationery, our magazine club card and our exceptional HOT ink! deals.

This newsletter is another free service from newsXpress for members.

Fresh Halloween creative from newsXpress

newsXpress has provided members with fresh Halloween marketing collateral. These double sided A2 posters tap into the fun of the Halloween season. This collateral will be used by our members to promote Halloween product displays including party goods, costumes, cards, gifts, magazines, calendars and Halloween party cookbooks.

newsXpress has Halloween covered. From small country town newsXpress member businesses through to large shopping centre locations, newsXpress is the best place to shop for Halloween fun this year. We have an excellent range of fun merchandise at terrific prices.

newsXpress has built Halloween from a small campaign five years ago into a major season which drives traffic and delivers excellent sales with a healthy, above average for a newsagency, margin.

Most important is the fun of Halloween. The new newsXpress marketing collateral taps into this and helps newsXpress members and their teams let their hair down and have a good time in business.

This material has been provided free to all newsXpress members.