Promoting Lovatts crosswords

lovatpromo.jpgnewsXpress newsagencies are proactively promoting the exclusive Lovatts bonus package this month.  We also have a free pencil for every customer – crossword customers love using pencils.  To support the promotion, stores are being given marketing collateral as well as plenty of pencils to give away.  The newsXpress exclusive bonus pack includes: Holiday Collections Issue 68, a  Cryptic Collections A4 puzzle book and a handy How to do Cryptic Crosswords booklet, total value of over $16 for just $9.50.  This offer helps us demonstrate again to our customers that we offer excellent value.

Local area marketing workshop

How to use local area marketing is another free online workshop from newsXpress to help its members enhance business skills and network with other newsXpress members on business building topics.  Hosted by our National Marketing Manager, Trent Shields, this workshop will cover the newsXpress range of resources available for Local area marketing and explore how newsXpress members have successfully marketed their businesses in their local community.

newsXpress supports Lovatts Brain Awareness Week initiative

newsXpress is proud to partner with Lovatts, Australia’s premier crossword and puzzle publisher, to support Brain Awareness Week.

Brain Awareness Week is an international enterprise organised by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives to advance public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. This year Brain Awareness Week will be held between 16-22 March.

There is a strong correlation between remaining brain active and restricting the onset of brain health issues so it is appropriate that newsXpress partners with Lovatts to support this cause.

Thanks to Lovatts, newsXpress stores have a great value offer for customers.  Holiday Collections Issue 68 will come bagged with a Cryptic Collections A4 puzzle book and a handy How to do Cryptic Crosswords booklet, total value of over $16 for just $9.50.

Super draw System 20 syndicate participation sell-out

newsXpress members have taken up all available opportunities to sell shares in a newsXpress exclusive System 20 syndicate for the Saturday lottery super draw at the end of March. newsXpress members working together on opportunities like this helps reinforce the strength of our group to ourselves as well as to suppliers.

The opportunity was open for barely more than a day before it was fully subscribed by members keen to sell tickets in the syndicate.  The syndicate opportunity was developed in association with the folks at Golden Casket – sponsor of one of the awards to be given at the newsXpress conference later this year.

Great printer ink deals in Mackay

nx_mackay_hotink.JPGnewsXpress Village in Mackay, Queensland is promoting the latest Hot Ink! offer with a full page advertisement in the Daily Mercury newspaper.  newsXpress has worked with newsXpress Village on the creative for the ad, developing a variation to our successful two-page flyer.  Developing creative like this is part of how we help newsXpress members promote locally and do so in a way which connects with national campaigns.

newsXpress engages government on environmental strategy

newsXpress has written to the Minister for the Environment to outline the challenges for small business retailers under carbon trading arrangements and today’s environmental situation more generally. While our submission is on behalf of newsXpress member newsagents, it usefully opens a discussion which could benefit all newsagents.

newsXpress is committed to helping its member newsagents operate successful best practice businesses. Our engagement with the Federal Government on environmental matters pursues that goal.

Landlords invite newsXpress into their centres

shopfront.jpgnewsXpress is receiving more and more invitations to consider locations in existing and new shopping centres around Australia.

With a footprint of close to 160 locations nationally, attractive businesses, a commitment to professional retailing, national TV and print advertising and good compliance principles, landlords see newsXpress as a national brand they want in their centres.

In response to approaches, newsXpress has developed a set of principles and guidelines for handling invitations from landlords.

  • We do not approach landlords in centres where there is an existing newsagent.
  • We only consider locations which are on the open market.
  • There are instances where we have helped existing newsagents lift their businesses and stay in a centre by providing support services and other guidance to lift their offer and retain their business.
  • We ensure that a newsagent already serving the centre is given the opportunity to open the newsXpress location offered to us by the landlord – we have helped existing newsagents expand in this way.
  • Using our professional lease negotiator, we pursue the best possible terms for the business.
  • We invite existing newsXpress members to consider taking up available tenancy offers.
  • next, we invite non newsXpress newsagents to take up the new tenancy offer.
  • If these steps do not uncover a good candidate, we may market the opportunity more widely or invite the landlord to see suitable tenants directly.

newsXpress goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure newsagents covering an existing location and first bite at a new opportunity. There are excellent instances in our history where this has worked well for the newsagent and the landlord.

2010 calendar workshop for newsagents

newsXpress is hosting an online workshop on 2010 calendar opportunities for for newsXpress newsagents.  This workshop will be held on March 10 and will cover the 2010 range, guidelines on what to order and other opportunities to pursue now in order to make the most of the lucrative season.

This is a terrific learning opportunity from newsXpress – we are committed to helping our newsagent members have access to the best resources and advice.

This workshop is another cross-border networking opportunity for newsXpress members.

Bonus round of members meetings scheduled

newsXpress has added another round of member meetings to the cycle planned for 2009. This is response to the excellent feedback from the round of member meetings just concluded. To be held in late April, this next round of member meetings will further develop our theme for 2009 of standards, introduce new and exclusive product offers for newsXpress newsagents and open for discussion business management initiatives.

newsXpress is committed to helping its members deep into the back room as well as in the body of the shop. This is why we include operational topics in our member meeting agendas, so that our members can talk with each other and learn about best practice in areas of their business.

Giving away Nintendo Wii

newsXpress has shipped out twenty Nintendo Wii to newsXpress stores where customers won a Wii as part of our Back To School competition.  Entry was only through a specially developed facility on our corporate website.  We then randomly selected the winners and notified each along with details on how to collect the prize.  The full winner list was published in The Australian over a week ago.

The Nintendo Wii competition has made twenty customers very happy, participating members happy with a successful promotion and our web developer happy to bring so much extra traffic to our new website.

newsXpress is embracing the Internet in a range of ways to help our member newsagents more effectively connect with their communities and to find new customers.  Our back To School competition was part of a much larger strategy.

Structured advice for newsXpress members

dsc06392.JPGnewsXpress supports its in-store training of newsagents with documentation in the form of advice sheets.  These are useful for newsagents to share with staff engaged in executing newsXpress strategies.  They act as a library of support materials for our members, documenting the newsXpress point of difference in many areas.

We review our advice sheets regularly and release new versions to reflect changes accordingly.  This commitment to constant review and improvement is important in any best-practice operation.

From the perspective of our members, they can rely on having access to up-to-date written advice for implementing key newsXpress offers and points of difference.

We rely on advice from our members as to topics they would like to see covered in future advice sheets.

newsXpress Chippdendall Sugarland rewarded

gf_apr09.jpgCongratulations to newsXpress Chippdendall Sugarland for winning $1,000 from Pacific Magazines from their Youth Sales Club promotion. 

Pacific Magazines’ Youth Sales Club was established exclusively for our Top 500 selling newsagents of Girlfriend, Total Girl and K-Zone magazines.  Each holiday period members receive additional gifts, exclusive posters and cash incentives for top sales performance!

Pacific Magazines’ investment in Youth Sales Club newsagents is proving successful with members outperforming other newsagents on average by 9.6% for Girlfriend, 12.8% for Total Girl and 6.1% for K-Zone during school holiday periods.

newsXpress is proud to facilitate the Pacific Magazines Youth Sales Club initiative through its member newsagents.

Free lottery training for newsXpress members

newsXpress has organised a free half day lottery training program to follow our members meeting in Western Australia next week.  This training is for newsXpress members only and provides another opportunity for our members to learn and work together on business building strategies around lottery products.

Our Perth members meeting starts at 10am on Tuesday March 3 at Heystbury House in Subaico.

Beating Big W by 14.6% on price

Shoppers comparing the price of ink in the latest Big W catalogue with the new Hot Ink! offer from newsXpress will see that newsXpress newsagencies beat Big W on some popular ink items.  newsXpress newsagencies have ink from HP, Canon and Brother at excellent prices.

Big W claims they are “Helping you spend less everyday” yet when it come to ink, right now, newsXpress is helping consumers spend less on some items. Big W is advertising the HP 56/57 twin pack for $81.98. Our price is $69.95.   That is a saving of 14.5%.

newsXpress is proud to be helping its members position themselves as offering excellent value brand name products backed by friendly and knowledgeable service.

This is a terrific newsXpress difference and another reason our members love our ink and toner offer.  That said, we know that price competition will see Big W react and we need to watch that.

Important bushfire disaster recovery project

Robyn Ritchie of newsXpress Whittlesea, along with a group of Whittlesea women, is involved in an important bushfire recovery project focusing on two areas of recovery:

The Phoenix Group Project. A project which aims to replace treasured photos that were lost in the tragic events of Saturday the 7th February 2009. Anyone connected with someone affected by the bushfires – former neighbours from years ago, old boyfriends and girlfriends, past workmates etc. – is asked to look through old photo albums and find any pictures that feature, or would be of special significance to, the fire affected families. The website has details of how to pass these photos on securely.

The Disaster help Site. A furniture register website which aims to meet immediate needs of the fire affected families as they move into temporary accommodation. All items should be in good condition, clean and fully functional. Ideally, the items remain with you until required, but if storage is a problem, collection can be arranged.