A Christmas greeting from newsXpress to members and all who stop by this place…
The newsXpress Christmas card
newsXpress has created a Christmas card in house to spread seasonal wishes to suppliers and others. Click on the image to see a larger version. The most important part of the Christmas card is the back page where all of our stores are listed. This page is newsXpress – around 160 newsagencies making up the most vibrant and exciting newsagency marketing group in Australia. The card is also a good advertisement of our in-house graphic design and marketing skills. Skills which are crucial to the success of any marketing group.
Working with newsXpress members
Michelle Caia from our National Merchandise Team and Karen Sutton newsXpress national Sales manager recently toured all Far North Queensland newsXpress stores. These visits were used to provide newsXpress members with training on newsXpress in-store initiatives, provide a fresh eyes review of the business and to expose Michelle to member requirements in her area of merchandise within the group.
In the photo you can see Michelle and Karen with Peter from newsXpress Emerald.
Excellent Christmas at Roselands
Vinay and the team at newsXpress Roselands have created a big bold outpost for Christmas this year. Their product mix and excellent customer service combine to make the most of the high-profile opportunity. The range is good and the floor layout very shopper friendly. Sales are excellent, a tribute to the planning and execution of Vinay and his team at Roselands.
newsXpress appreciates the efforts of members like Vinay who pursue every opportunity in and around their business. This commitment to entrepreneurship helps our group nationally as well as the individual store.
Intralot ‘gift sleds’ a winner at Mildura
John, Kerry and the team at newsXpress Klemm’s Mildura have the town jumping with the Intralot Christmas Sled this year.
Whilst the product is different to last year, that hasn’t stopped them selling over 600 sleds at $30.00 each with still a week to go before Christmas Day. Intralot have experienced some growing pains since their launch earlier this year but newsXpress Klemm’s Mildura have only concentrated on the positives and as the sales figures clearly show – to the beneift to their bottom line!
The photo to the left features Kerry and Gay with the next order of 30 sleds, packed and ready for pick up.
Planning for 2009
newsXpress is close to finalising plans for 2009 and will share this with members through the private area of our website prior to the end of this year.
The 2009 calendar will outline our schedule of member meetings, trade days, cluster meetings as well as our national conference.
The calendar will also document retail and other promotions. Some exclusive and commercially sensitive information will not be included. With such a busy year planned and a good variety of activities, advance notice is appropriate so that members may plan their participation.
Countdown to Christmas
The Hallmark Christmas countdown is a feature in newsXpress newsagencies across Australia. It is a bright beacon placed at the front of the shop drawing customers in for some good Christmas shopping.
Through the course of the year, newsXpress newsagencies receive considerable marketing collateral as part of the Hallmark relationship. This helps our stores outperform many other retailers in the greeting card and gift packaging categories.
At seasonal times and through the year, our merchandise team works closely with Hallmark to leverage the relationship for our members and our respective businesses. Core to this leverage is value, value to our brands and value to the consumer. Anyone can grab business today with a big discount. It takes strategy and commitment to build for the long term. This is the focus of the newsXpress / Hallmark relationship.
Meeting on Gold Coast to plan 2009
Some of our team met on the Gold Coast yesterday to discuss 2008 and continue our planning discussions for 2009. Group planning and reviews such as this are crucial to developing the strategy which is proving so successful for newsXpress members. Around the table in the photo is Jeff Walsh from our merchandise team, Karen Sutton our National Sales Manager, Lesley Bortfield one of NSW Business Development Managers, Ben Kay our National Merchandise Manager, Mark Fletcher newsXpress Director, Sonia Ruhland our Group Administration Co-Ordinator, Graham Randall newsXpress Director., Roger Bortfield another of our NSW Business Development Managers and Belinda Adshead our Queensland Business Development Manager.
newsXpress has a strong professional team including several not in the photo. This team is key to the strength of our group and the success being achieved by our members.
Three new stationery offers for newsagents
newsXpress will be introducing three new stationery seasons for newsXpress newsagents next year. These details of these secret campaigns will be announced confidentially to members closer to action time. Our research has identified three lucrative opportunities which will give our members exclusive and valuable revenue opportunities.
Merchandise team meets with members
The newsXpress national merchandise team has been on the road for almost two weeks meeting with members in three states who specialise in product categories we see as growth opportunities in 2009. Meeting with newsXpress members in their stores has provided our back office team with store level insights which will be reflected in merchandise plans for 2009.
newsXpress appreciates the time given and valuable insights shared by our members in the meetings. It is through co-operation such as this that we are able to better serve our members and help other members new to growth categories.
Something extra for customers
The newsXpress Things To Do Today pads developed by newsXpress for members to giveaway tto customers are proving to be a hit. These pads are personalised to each newsXpress business including full contact details. Members are reporting wonderful customer feedback when they provide the pad as a gift. We have some members posting these with their end of year accounts and others handing them to customers over the counter.
The pads are a low cost high reward mechanism for showing appreciation for custom through the year. They are exclusive to newsXpress – we designed and executed this project in-house. The pad project is another way newsXpress helps member newsagents show apprecaition of customers and thereby take another step to building a stronger business.
newsXpress is a big picture newsagency marketing group with plenty of micro focus in execution. While the pads in themselves are not big picture marketing, they represent a small and vital step in a big picture approach to exceptional customer service and apprecaition.
Success with face to face visits
Two of our team last Saturday completed a grueling seven day trip from cairns down, visiting with newsXpress members in scheduled sessions on strategies for building the business and presenting a better retail story. This face to face contact, even for remote newsagents, is a key point of difference delivered by newsXpress to its members.
Newsagents can almost bank the results of these practical visits through increased sales, better processes and more a more motivated team. from Visual merchandising advice to better buying to handling staff issues, our members have access to professional advice in-store to help build a healthier business.
In addition to the benefits delivered through training and practical in-store work, there is a tremendous benefit from sharing stories from other newsagencies along the way. The sharing of these stories is an important function of our on the road team – connecting newsagents who, usually for distance, are not able to get out of their businesses.
We think this contact and the sharing of business success stories is another reason newsXpress newsagents are more up-beat and proactive.
Gifts at newsXpress Watergardens
Our corporate newsXpress store at Watergardens in Victoria is kicking huge goals this Christmas. Cards, calendars, magazines, diaries, art and puzzles are all doing well. It is the gift department which is leading the pack. Christmas 2008 is proving a huge success for us in the gift department. We have an excellent range of gifts for all ages. Our specially developed gift tables are helping make this department a real winner for us.
Keys to success with gifts are buying, display and customer service. Thanks to an excellent team on the ground we are winning in each area.
Customers shopping with us often comment that they did not realise they are in a newsagency. We are thrilled with this compliment as one of the reasons we created Watergardens was to play with the boundaries of what a newsagency is.
Lessons from Watergardens are reflected in offers newsXpress puts to members and advice it provides in many areas.
Gift Ideas in the front window
newsXpress Deception Bay have transformed their fromt shop window into a billboard, equally advertising the upcoming Christmas season and also great gift ideas.
The image to the left highlights the terrific Christmas marketing posters provided free of charge by newsXpress to all stores, while the photo below features the great gift ideas the store is selling including Morish Nuts gift packs; Plush and novelty gifts; scratchie tickets; printer ink; puzzle magazines and much more…
Selling clocks for Christmas
Some of us were not sure about these clocks for our gift range this Christmas as they seemed removed traditional newsagency lines. However, given our commitment to continue to evolve the newsagency offer we added them to the Christmas mix. Members who took up the clocks offer report that they have been a good success. Since they are so different to the usual newsagency product mix they stand out and this is, in part, a reason for their success. Kids like the clocks because they make the sound of the animal on the face.
newsXpress is supporting the clocks with free A2 double-sided colour posters for members.
Gift displays at Salamander Bay
The team at newsXpress Salamander Bay knows the importance of changing gift displays regularly. Every couple of days, gifts are moved and new displays created to provide a fresh and excisting shopping experience for customers. This is a key factor in the success of the team at Salamander Bay with gifts and a key element in the newsXpress message around this important category for newsagents.
newsXpress helps members source gift product and develop merchandising skills to maximize the gift opportunity.
GO WEST – art is available there!
The recent round of national newsXpress Market Fairs inspired many newsXpress stores to introduce new product lines and ranges into their business.
The Canson Art offer was particualrly popular and newsXpress Margaret River were suitably enticed to introduce the newsXpress exclusive Canson Creative Centre, thecardboard wall and to also particapte in the Canson Creative Christmas promotion.
The photos below show the product in store and early indications are that they are creating considerable interest with customers.
Great Christmas counter offer
newsXpress has provided members with marketing collateral to support the discount ABC Christmas CDs on offer. Providing this reflects the commitment of newsXpress to not only source excellent value (70% margin) product for members but to also provide the retail tools with which to leverage the opportunity to maximum value. This is what we are doing by providing professional newsXpress exclusive art to support the ABC CDs.
The A4 artwork works very well at the counter as some members are finding – customers often buy two or three CDs at once.
Setting up for a great Christmas
newsXpress Crows Nest have set themselves up for a great Christmas season with these impressive displays.
Daniel and the team have given some great merchandise treatment to greeting cards and gifts while paying attention to traditional themes with the accompanying decorations.
The bookseat a Christmas star
The Bookseat is proving to be a Great Christmas Idea in newsXpress newsagencies. It is selling out! Some newsXpress members have ordered twice and three times the initial order. We are thrilled with this success, as are our members.
While not a natural gift to be found in a newsagency, we have found a way to leverage this for tremendous commercail advantage. An unusual gift to display, the Bookseat draws good attention from shoppers looking for a unique gift.
newsXpress is supporting the Bookseat with in-store marketing collateral in the form of double sided A2 posters.