newsXpress is surveying its members about calendars in the lead up to the final planning for the 2010 calendar season. The online survey is another example of how newsXpress invites members to share feedback to add to overall learnings. The survey is unique in that up to date results are provided live to each participant.
Our approach to celndars has been proven to be highly profitable for newsXpress members with good in-store and outpost sales growth over several years.
newsXpress is proud to be supporting the sids and kids red Nose Day fundraising program this year. newsXpress joins the Wiggles and major national groups like Big W, Target, Best & Less, Mobil, Dick Smith, Terry White, Priceline, Blockbuster, Spotlight and Super Cheap Auto in supporting this worthwhile cause. We are the only newsagency marketing groupparticipating.
For more information, please go to the red nose day website.
newsXpress newsagencies are set to offer free photocopying of resumes to people looking for work. As part of the group’s 2009 Stock Take Sale, the free copying service will be available in all newsXpress locations from next month.
We are grateful to be able to help people looking for work commented Ben Kay, General Manager of newsXpress. We are also proud to show our group of proactive newsagents as leading on this important social challenge.
newsXpress will be promoting the free resume copying opportunity in a national advertising campaign which will commence in two weeks. This will be supported by bold, professionally printed, in-store marketing collateral.
newsXpress demonstrates its difference through this offer – it is helping its members provide a useful service in their local area, as service whichdemonstrates the connection between caring newsagents and their community.
The two Golden Casket $20 million superdraw syndicates, including a system 20 syndicate, established among newsXpress locations based in Queensland have SOLD OUT. This is a great example of teamwork among newsXpress members for a common goal. Well done everyone involved!
newsXpress Melton at the Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton was a lucky place to shop last week.
The That’s Life! fairy visited newsXpress Melton and surprised one lucky customer with a chequer as part of the Random Acts of Kindness campaign being run by the magazine.
newsXpress Melton is in a temporary location in the shopping centre at Melton pending the opening of a new, larger, shop in the centre. If you live in Melton be sure to drop in to say g’day to Ian and the team. They have great deals on ink, a fantastic range of cards and a magazine deal which will bring you back for more magazines.
In addition to being a lucky place to shop, newsXpress Melton is known for great customer service and great value.
The Book Sale promoted through newsXpress at Easter and beyond has been a great success for many of the participating newsXpress members.
In addition to bringing in new customers, the sale increased the average sale value as well as overall business margin.
newsXpress is focused on a whole of business story when developing promotions. While it is easy to pursue a sales spike based around a discount, the more valuable business is built over time and based around a strategy which brings in new customers, gets more items purchased in each customer visit and does this using better margin product.
We have achieved record numbers of newsXpress members signing up to participate in our next HOT ink! ink and toner promotions which commences shortly. This will see the HOT ink! brand promoted in letterboxes across the country and in a number of other creative and exclusive ways to drive traffic and drive sales in newsXpress locations.
Our next HOT Ink! promotion will demonstrate to newsXpress members and others who look at our businesses the newsXpress commitment to brand development and the importance of innovation in a highly competitive marketpkace.
Our corporate store, newsXpress Watergardens, had an excellent Mother’s Day season. The hero was our Hallmark Cards range. The feature was the free Sony camera one of our lucky customers will win. Sales have been exceptional. They are driving excellent results with gifts.
We created our corporate store as a place we can play as a business. This continues to work well for us as we try new products. It also works in providing the Directors with personal feedback on newsXpress strategies and supplier relationships.
newsXpress Watergardens is 100% Hallmark. Our range of cards is something our customers often comment about, especially around Mother’s Day when our display is so strong.
Renee and the newsXpress Watergardens team have done the newsXpress team proud this Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mums, especially newsagent family mums … mums who own, manage or work in newsagencies. You all play an important role in our businesses, not just newsXpress businesses but all newsagencies, as you do in the role at home to family. Like the family role, we often neglect to take the time to say, thanks mum – to our mums who own, manage and work in our businesses.
Thanks Mums!
Nia Kugel of newsXpress Lowwood reminded us of the important role mums and women play in newsagencies recently, speaking at our Brisbane member’s meeting. Nia spoke from the heart about what being a newsagent and mum and wife means to her. It was a reminder of the place of family, and mums, in our businesses. Nia won Woman Newsagent of the Year last year. This award is sponsored by Pacific Magazines and is an important award for women newsagents, and mums, to consider entering.
Mother’s Day is a good time to remind you of the award. If you are a woman newsagent, consider entering. Click here for the Woman Newsagent of the Year entry form. It is open to all newsagents, not just newsXpress members. We are proud to support this award.
newsXpress this week sent out a range of offers for Halloween 2009.
Designed to create a fun shopping environment and drive good sales, the products include fun Halloween party items through to higher end Halloween gifts.
By pitching the various product offers to our members now, in May, we are providing plenty of time for planning in-store theatre and local events around this growing season.
In our recent round of member meetings we shared details of the commercial value of Halloween 2008. 2009 will be even better for newsXpress members who embrace this optional marketing opportunity.
Today, newsXpress is launching the first online newsXpress exclusive and member-only online survey. By using smart web 2.0 tools we are able to gather crucial survey data from our members and have the results collated automatically aand available to guide our decision making and the decision making of our members.
This online, time-efficient, survey is another way newsXpress is embracing web tools to help us help our members make better quality business decisions.
Christmas is a great time to sell tape, especially with Christmas cards and wrap as well as at the counter. newsXpress negotiated a very special offer for Christmas tape in an easy to sell unit, from 3M. The exceptional discount off wholesale closed yesterday. Our members were able to lock in deals which will help add good margin to Christmas 2009 sales thanks to the work pout in by our merchandise team.
Our merchandise team focuses in finding excellent product as well as excellent deals, especially for everyday items which sell easily in newsagencies. This tape deal is one such deal.
Respected gift, premium pen and social stationery supplier Alexander Brands has signed on as a preferred supplier with newsXpress. The Alexander Brands relationship brings and excellent range of gift and related stationery lines to the newsXpress offer under terms which are good for newsXpress members and good for the group. newsXpress will support the Alexander Brands range with merchandise guidance and training in pursuit of a mutually beneficial relationship for all involved. Brands covered inclide: Artex, Eagle Creek, Inoxcrom, Filofax, Jack + Miss Honey, Lantern Studios, Letts, LFX Designs and Montegrappa.
newsXpress has announced its June Market Fair dates. At these fairs, members will be presented with excellent stock purchase opportunities, many of which will be exclusive to the Market Fair event. The Market Fairs are excellent for buying and terrific for experiencing the newsXpress difference as we have a members meeting and networking session associated with them.
Access to the Market Fairs is by registratrion only. This is done online through our smart website.
In addition to the terrific marketing collateral and Sony Camera (as a customer prize) we have arranged from Hallmark Cards to support Mother’s Day, we have produced this poster for use elsewhere in our newsXpress locations. We know from consumer research that some need a reminder of the day. This poster achieves that in a natural feel-good way. It is a credit to our internal marketing team.
We have newsXpress members using this poster to support their Mother’s Day gift offer while others use it to promote Mother’s Day at the counter. Either way, it is proving to be a useful extention to newsXpress marketing collateral.
A newsXpress member put out a call for a Collins Debden Colplan 51 Planner Diary for a customer a week ago in the hope that another newsXpress member might have one still in stock. Two days later they received the diary in the mail. The customer was thrilled to receive the diary and surprised at the extraordinary lengths newsXpress went to to find the right diary and get it to them.
newsXpress members often help each other in this way – reinforcing the value of being part of a community of colleagues.
newsXpress has been evolving its gift offer for some time. We are using store data to guide ranging advice and we are using our national footprint of 168 locations to negotiate competitive supplier terms. This month, we take another step in our evolution by hosting a group visit to a key gift wholesaler. Thirty members in one state will visit, preview product and organise a group buy. For half of the members involved this will be their first step into gifts outside of seasons such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
newsXpress is committed to helping its members evolve their gift offer. We do this by helping to analyse the business and understand local factors which need to be considered in assessing the gift range.
Michelle Caia is our gift specialist on our merchandise team. Her experience is proving invaluable to members stepping into this category for the first time. It provides newsXpress with an excellent point of difference and has delivered members with good success stories.
We have just completed a national tour of member meetings which included a discussion of revenue and expenses for newsXpress. The Board outlined our income sources including supplier rebates as well as how this money is spent. The presentation was followed by member questions about the group financials.
This transparency is important and reflects the commitment the Board gave at our National Conference late last year. There will be another finance report from the Board in a cycle of member meetings later this year.
Customers at newsXpress Wauchope are enjoying great success with lotteries. They have had three big wins in three weeks: a $100,000 first prize in the $2.00 jackpot a $10,000.00 2nd prize in the $2.00 Jackpot and a Division 1 prize in Wednesday’s lottery game – winning $1 million. Thanks to these wins, the shop is buzzing!
In the meantime in prticipating newsXpress stores our newsXpress exclusive $20 million Saturday super draw syndicate tickets are selling!
newsXpress is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Henderson to the role of National Merchandise Manager. Robert brings years of stationery supplier experience to this key role, most recently as National Sales & Marketing Manager for the Pentel Group. In this role, Robert directly managed national retailer accounts and managed the team which worked with newsagents.
“This appointment completes a planned and strategic extension of the merchandise strategy for our 168 member newsagency marketing group.” commented Graham Randall, Managing Director of newsXpress. “newsXpress is leading newsagents to a strong future.”
As National Merchandise Manager for newsXpress, Robert will be responsible for developing merchandise strategy, establishing new supplier relationships and enhancing existing arrangements.
“I look forward to bringing to newsXpress members excellent opportunities from the kinds of supplier relationships you deserve when you have a retail network of 168 proactive retail locations.” said Robert Henderson.
“Enhancing the strategic management of our merchandise offer has been in the planning since last year” said Ben Kay, General Manager of newsXpress Pty Ltd. “Robert will provide newsXpress and its members with strategy and offers which will excite the channel”.
Robert Henderson commences his new role with newsXpress mid May.
newsXpress has a merchandise team with expertise in stationery, calendars, gifts, electronic services and circulation product. This rounded representation ensures that the company provides its members with strategy which reflects the history of the channel yet is focused on the future.
PHOTO: Ben Kay, newsXpress General Manager left and Robert Henderson, new National Merchandise Manager right.