newsXpress held another members meeting at VANA for our Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian members.
With another impressive roll up it was a great session to get members together and talk through some industry issues as well as providing a business development session. We were also shown how the Hallmark newsXpress strategic partnership is providing double digit greeting card growth for the group.
newsXpress Toowong & Southport Park are continually looking for new ways to cultivate the younger generation and not just relying on the baby boomers or old money revenue providers to build their business.
Along with a lot of other newsXpress stores they have embraced Diddl product to attract new customers and expose their businesses to a new and upcoming customer base and at the same time transforming themselves from a local community newsagent to a retail outlet of choice by continually providing new products.
Freshness and variety by looking for new products and services to bring existing customers and capture a new customer base will increase your store average sale and increase gross margin which is paramount to a flourishing and ongoing retail business.
newsXpress Southport Park already attracting the target market within hours of installing the new product range.
newsXpress Toowong use a custom built mobile unit for their Diddl range so that they can move it around keeping the display fresh.
In a relentless pursuit of increased revenue streams, Mark & Shelley at newsXpress Sarina have moved their newspapers from prime space and converted their newspaper stand into a giftware display.
With huge margins available in giftware and relocating papers further into the store so customers have to walk past all the magazines, giftware and confectionery to purchase a newspaper. As magazines sell down during the day on the new stand they fill the space with giftware which is a great return on space initiative.
Having started it only a week or so ago the strategy is already paying dividends.
Luke Scott and his team at newsXpress Scott’s Lismore have created a wonderful display of Hallmark and Hipp products as part of their Mother’s Day gift range.
They have used their front of store dancefloor to really capture customer’s imagination with a sea of pink. Even though Mother’s day is still a month away sales are considerably up from the same time last year.
newsXpress Upper Coomera celebrated recently with a local customer sharing in the jackpot Saturday Gold Lotto major prize. The winning ticket was purchased by the Gold Coast Great-Grandmother who was oblivious to her $400,000 windfall until checking the ticket some days later.
Owners Ross & Debb Mackie from newsXpress Upper Coomera were elated to hear of their regular customer’s good fortune. “We wish our lucky customer our congratulations and all the very best!”
Debb & Ross Mackie from newsXpress Upper Coomera sharing in the glory of a $400,000 lotto victory!
Chris Samartzis upon purchasing the newsXpress Reservoir store took the hard line on the Toyworld department and replaced it with hand chosen gift & plush lines and books.
Results so far have shown this to a master stroke as the discounted books are flying out the door and creating a buzz in the local market. Good business is knowing when to make the right moves.
Two more stores were recently fitted out with the newsXpress exclusive Canson Creative Centre Art Bar, joining the 70+ locations across the country already stocking this exciting range
newsXpress Scott’s Lismore has reported an increase in foot traffic due to the engaging layout of colour at the back of their store. The creative centre has been perfectly complemented by the addition of the Canson Colour range of paper and cardboard seen in the photo below.
newsXpress Watergardens have also enjoyed the Canson treatment of late, and the photos show that the custom built stand fits in seamlessly to the design of the shop. Watergardens has also chosen to support this product category with the Canson paper range which creates a stunning visual impact.
Victorian newsXpressers, Ballarat and Reservoir have gained a jump on their retail competitors in their respective markets by going out early with Mother’s day promotions. This opportunity has been presented by the earlier than normal completion of Easter celebrations.
Ian & Sue Neal at newsXpress Ballarat have launched the season with a prominent display at the front of the store containing fashionable social stationery, inspirational messages, and other gifts.
Meanwhile newsXpress reservoir have reserved a front window for the introduction to their Mother’s Day message. Here Chris and his team have combined the allure of the Hallmark Alliance marketing materials with a generous sampling of fragrant bath oils, soaps and other sensory gifts which enjoy expanded displays in store.
Vinay and the team at newsXpress Roselands have recently re-branded the store. In terms of being a gun retailer, have a look at how they have attacked the greeting card and magazine categories in their store, no wonder they are at the top of the tree in terms of magazine and greeting card volumes.
With over 200 full face magazine pockets at the front of the store and a huge commitment to the Hallmark/newsXpress strategic partnership, this store is a prime example of a successful and still growing newsXpress retail operation.
Using the template supplied by newsXpress, the team at newsXpress Reservoir have created their own newsletter to drive sales and let their customers know what they are doing to work harder for their local community.
Chris and the team at newsXpress Reservoir have gone the extra step heavily promoting this new money revenue stream in store, so not only are they distributing the HOT ink! flyers to their catchment area, they are leveraging in-store traffic as well.
The team at Salamander Bay thought they’d have a crack at the new ABW book deal with newsXpress. They sold out and can’t wait for the next one.
The team at newsXpress Wyalla Plaza have jumped on board with the ABW book deal and the exclusive Canson Creative Centre with tremendous positive immediate impact on sales. Bryan and the team have a flexible store so they can and accommodate new ranges swiftly into their store which is a huge bonus to new money revenue.
A bunch of newsXpressers attended the Emerald Connections business session in Brisbane this week. The guest speaker was talking about flipping the switch and work life balance. These sessions are great for newsagents and are warmly received by newsXpressers around the country when they are run in each state.
newsXpressers at the ACP Emerald Connections Business Session – Jeff Walsh (Category Manager Stationery); Mark & Shelley Petersen (newsXpress Sarina); Judy Kerr (newsXpress Lutwyche); Sue Probert (newsXpress Harbour Town); Paul Martin (newsXpress Toowong); Jim Cassimatis (newsXpress Caboolture); Brad Dean (newsXpress GPO); and Warrick Hosking (newsXpress Gympie).
Warrick and Sue hard at it.
Judy, Shelley & Mark
newsXpress held another meeting in WA in Perth for the metro members and Lyn Mason from Cardpac was also there to talk about her selection of greeting cards Along with Lyn’s presentation, we had a 4 hour meeting discussing local issues and empowering members to build their businesses with new money strategies and the newly launched project XLR8 business building strategy for the network.
This is the second meeting in a week in WA and newsXpress continually supports its members like no other group by conducting state and regional cluster meetings every 6 – 8 weeks all over the country to maintain its position as the premier group in the channel. By bringing learning’s from all around the country, the network of stores and every member can grow their businesses and love to go to work every day.
Check out the extensive range of hiPP product at newsXpress Harbour Town on the Gold Coast. Sue and the team have been dealing with hiPP already for some time. The space dedicated to the product shows how well the stock turns.
The newsXpress retail group has set up a retail partnership with hiPP so that all stores can benefit from this niche product. No other company does it better than them in the space they operate in. New money continued to flow at newsXpress with bright fashion stationery and boxes capturing a new retail segment for the newsXpress network.
newsXpress GPO is a convenience based business in Creek St Brisbane. Bradley Dean and the team keep adding new money revenue streams to the business to leverage the huge foot traffic that they have during the week.
By providing inspiration to the customers with gifts from newsXpress approved suppliers Compendium and Jasnor, they have increased the cross-selling opportunities to leverage off the great card sales the store is getting. One helps the other grow and sales are very much on the increase in card and gift within the newsXpress network.
Even though Margaret River in WA only has a population of 6,500, they continue to innovate and add new ranges such as the Artee Supplies range.
Andrew & Tanya continue to innovate and look for opportunities in a town that is experiencing exponential growth.
Jason & Belinda at newsXpress Riverlink continue to impress all of us at newsXpress with their awesome attitude toward new money strategies. They have adopted the newsXpress deals in Hipp, Canson Creative Center, Momiji Dolls and others to drive their business forward fast becoming a marquee store in the group. It’s stores like this that set newsXpress apart from the rest.
newsXpress continues to get to all of its members around the country holding a cluster meeting in Margaret river at Riverglen chalets.
Members drove down from Perth for a 4 hour meeting and some stayed later for a BBQ diner and some overnight. It was a great place to have a meeting in a relaxed atmosphere which also included a networking session and a few drinks.
