Simon Says

21st Annual QNF Awards Night

Wed, 23 May 2012 02:01:00 GMT

QNF 21st Annual Newsagent Awards Night

Saturday 19th of May saw Brett Muggeridge (Jenlist QLD Representative) and myself attend the 21st Annual Queensland Newsagent Awards night, held at The Sebel Citigate King George Square in Brisbane.

It was a great night for newsagents to network and be honoured for their success in the industry, as well as recognising longstanding newsagents who have been involved in the QLD Newsagent Industry for the past 21 years to be honoured for their commitment and service.

I was fortunate to present the Jenlist Distributors sponsored award for Best "New Technologies" Newsagent of the year. Where newsXpress Darra took out the award, ahead of fellow finalist Agnes Waters Newsagency.

Congratulations to Luke and his team for winning this prestigious award, I wish you all the best for the ANF National Awards being held in Brisbane in July. I'm sure with results like your facebook page reaching 17,000 facebook users, you will tough to beat.

Congratulations to all the nominees on the night, especially the winners who were:

News Queensland Distribution Newsagent of the Year - Chris and Dee Pieper - Chirn Park
John Sands Retail Newsagent of the Year – The Hickey Family – Nextra Chermside
Jenlist New Technologies Newsagent of the Year – Luke La – newsXpress Darra
APN Newsagent Delivery Employee of the Year – Erika James - Beachmere News
Hallmark Newsagent Retail Employee of the Year – Rachel Kirk – newsXpress Kin Kora
The Willis Group Inaugural Best Lottery Outlet of the Year – Fairfield Gardens News – Michelle Aitken
IPS Inaugural Sustainable Newsagent of the Year – Karen and Matthew Keeffe – Gympie Mary St News and Gympie Market Place News

Typing on the Go!

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:52:00 GMT

Typing on the go made easy!

Tablets have been in the market for several years now with growth of this product line mostly been contained to the iPad’s and Android tablets such as our Pre-Paid range of Optus Pre-Paid Galaxy 10.1 @ $649 RRP, Optus Pre-Paid Dell Streak 7” Tablet @ $279 RRP and our Optus Acer Iconia A501 Tablet @ $519 RRP.

However trending suggests there is still a lot of growth in this category. (See graph below)

Personally I love tablets, they don’t replace a laptop but I do use my iPad a lot. My local blockbuster closed down a few months back so I now download movies on iTunes and even TV shows that I may have missed due to travel or programming clashes.

I watch these programmes and read the SMH on my iPad during flights, which makes travel time much more enjoyable now. I also use it for social media, doing my online banking, playing games, making my footy tips and I have even used it to create my family tree with the ancestry.com app.

But the thing that I hate most is using my tablet to type on. When you start to type the keyboard takes up half the screen which makes long emails frustrating when you need to spell check as much as I do.

However we have a few new solution to this problem in stock. Firstly we have the Laser Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard @ $59.95 RRP, it is compatible with computers, tablets, smartphones and even PS3. It also has an integrated touchpad, multimedia shortcut keys and is portable and lightweight.

We also have the Blue Tooth Qwerty Keyboard @ $49.95 which is a waterproof, dustproof and washable Mini Bluetooth Flexible Silicone Keyboard, that is the perfect portable companion for your Smartphone, iPad or Android Tablet! Made from flexible and lightweight silicone, you can simply roll it up the mini keyboard and take it with you wherever you go!

Footy Fan Gifts!

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:53:00 GMT

The perfect gift for the

Footy Fan!

It’s Footy season time again and the “Man Chair” is primed and ready to go. Be it AFL, NRL, A League or my favourite Super 15, most warm blooded males have a favourite team they support.

Growing up in rural New Zealand, sports was an integral part of my upbringing and coming from a family that was littered with both provincial and national representatives there was always a desire to excel. My time has passed on those sporting dreams and aspirations, but my love of the game hasn’t. Over the last few years I have now joined the ranks of the “arm chair critics”.

We are the people who yell at the T.V, swear black and blue that we could have scored that try, kicked that goal or coached that team to a premiership.

Monday morning finds many of you small businesses owners, listening to your customers “arm chair critics” rattle on about the footy as they pick up their daily paper, fill up their car or grab a bite to eat. This is the perfect time to upsell a couple of true man gifts.

For many a man sport is our religion and with most religions there is always a little bit of alcohol involved. This traditionally isn’t red wine like you would find in a church, but a cold bottle of beer.

Our newest product the Opena iPhone 4/S case is in my words “Pure Genius”. It's an iPhone 4/S case with a slide out bottle opener, I have tested this out over a few cold ones myself and it is an awesome invention, @ $39.95 RRP with 50% margin there is also some great profit in such a small item.

Another great product for the “arm chair critics” is our range of Universal Harmony Remotes, the Logitech Harmony 300 Remote retailing @ $39.95 RRP and for the true professional barracker the Logitech Harmony 600 Remote @ $99.95 RRP, these both come with 25% margin.

Get a couple of these in for that Monday morning banter and see how you go.

Boost Mobile $10 UNLTD

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:55:00 GMT

Boost Mobile $10 UNLTD Launch

Yesterday saw the launch of the new Boost Mobile $10 UNLTD offer on Pre-Paid. This offer is targeted towards the youth market, that traditionally use low-denomination recharge as a short term fix until they earn or receive pocket money for their next recharge.

But I also see this as a great product for tourists, who are only in Australia for a week or two at a time. The unlimited calls and txt allow them access to make bookings and call other people they are traveling with and the unlimited access to facebook, twitter and 500MB of data is enough to communicate with family and friends back home, thru status updates and photos on facebook, tweets on twitter and skype video calls, which are all things I like to do when travelling (apart from the tweets).

Boost $10 UNLTD

- UNLIMITED TALK (to any standard national number excluding Pivotel)

- UNLIMITED VOICEMAIL (both deposits and retrievals)

- UNLIMITED TEXT (to any standard national number excluding Pivotel)

- UNLIMITED mobile access to Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, eBay and foursquare

- PLUS 500MB WEB (Data)

...for 5 days when in Australia

*Value expiry in 5 days and is reset on next recharge, no roll over*

Expired Pre-Paid Telco. what does that mean?

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:05:00 GMT

How to escape expired

Pre-Paid Telco stock

Why do Optus and Boost Mobile Pre-Paid handsets, Broadband and SIM Packs expire?

The expiry dates on these products indicate the date that the SIM card itself expires. Handset or broadband devices don’t actually expire, so bundling a $2 SIM pack with Handsets will give the consumer access to a phone number. Unfortunately there is no current $2 broadband SIM for Optus or Boost Mobile broadband products.

SIM card's have this expiry date, so that the phone numbers on unused SIM packs can be reused.

Virgin Mobile Pre-Paid products don't currently expire.

How does Jenlist Distributors assist with stock that is due to expire soon or has expired?

Close to expiry stock ?

Jenlist Distributors offer a unique “Sale or Return” policy on Pre-Paid Telco. If there is at least 2 months left of expiry on any Optus or Boost Pre-Paid product, Jenlist Distributors are happy to assist and will take this product back, once this is processed a credit will be applied to your account.

Expired stock?

Once stock is expired the SIM card is not able to be activated. Jenlist Distributors provide $2 SIM cards, that can then be bundled with the handset, to give it a fresh phone number.

Jenlist Distributors also have a one exception policy on expired stock, where we will credit stores expired stock as a one off exception to help stores out. As you can imagine this can be a large write off for a company the size of Jenlist Distributors, so this policy is viewed on a case by case basis and depends on the amount of stock to be credited for each store.

How do I best manage my expiry dates?

Pre-Paid Telco products should be checked monthly by one of your staff members. This way you can highlight which products are nearing their expiry date and return them.

Jenlist Distributors representatives will check expiry dates when they are in store, but the responsibility is with the store owner to manage their returns.

Click Here for full returns policy

NRL Footy Tipping

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:44:00 GMT

Are you the best armchair critic?

It’s that time of year again, it's time to battle it out in the now annual Jenlist Jets footy tipping comp.

Tipping is open to all Jenlist fans, customers, industry partners, staff and even the orange boy.

You can join the comp and tip thru this link

http://www.footytips.com.au/comps/Jenlist_Jets

There will be some prizes again for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd.

More people that enter, the better the prizes and entry is free, so if you think you have what it takes, join our comp and invite your staff.

Cassie is the reigning champ after taking out the 2011 comp, but I will be hot on her heels after tasting success in the RWC. Or will there be a new champion?

Game On!!!

Happy Valentines Day

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:47:00 GMT

To celebrate Valentines day, the first 100 orders today will receive a set of Xtime Hype earphones for FREE!

These are in either Pink or Red.

Happy Valentines Day!

Half Price iPad SIM

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:28:00 GMT

Half Price iPad SIM'S

WOW!!!

Massive special on the $30 Optus iPad SIMs starting today, until 1^st May 2012.

Now only $15 RRP!!! With up to 3GB of data and 30days expiry. That’s right ½ Price!

Being an iPad user myself, I will be sure to grab a few of these. Make sure you are stocked up, as this is a great deal.

CLICK HERE to get yours

Win a Scooter @ newsXpress

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:25:00 GMT

WIN a Scooter @ newsXpress

Only two weeks left to enter for your chance to WIN one of two Galetta Retro Scooters valued at $2395.

Simply purchase any $29 or $49 Virgin Mobile Broadband Dongle at any newsXpress store for your chance to WIN.

When opportunity knocks, make sure you're listening!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:43:00 GMT

Opportunity Knocks

What opportunities does the impending demise of Dick Smith stores, offer shopping centre based Newsagencies?

With headlines like the ones today on news.com.au “Woolies tipped to put Dick Smith chain in the firing line” and in the Australian “Woolworths to slash Dick Smith by up to 189 stores” what opportunities are there to be had?

Plenty!

Firstly newsagents have a great track record with competing successfully against Dick Smith stores. For many years now newsagents have been known as the place to go for the best priced ink cartridges in the country. This success opens up the opportunity to expand on printer and computer accessories, especially mouses, keyboards and printer cables.

Looking at the Dick Smith online store their cheapest Mouse is $12.95 RRP (after a 35% discount) and standard Keyboard @ $19.95 RRP. Currently Jenlist Distributors give Newsagents the ability to sell mouses (mice) from $9.95 RRP and Keyboards from $14.95 RRP.

The second avenue newsagents compete favourability in is the technology category with Telco. Current results show Jenlist Distributor stores make up approximately 1/5th of all pre-paid activations to the Optus network. This proves that when it comes to Pre-Paid Telco, impulse purchases are the driving force in sales.

With this in mind we introduced the new Optus and Boost Mobile handset dump bin. It now makes sense to display this at the front of the store, to grow those impulse sales.

Once you have a market for Telco products, the next transition is to find the right accessories to offer for the upsell opportunities. With Jenlist Distributors “Sale or Exchange” policy on Telco accessories it’s a no brainer to try out a few items and find the right fit for your customers. CLICK HERE to see our range.

Our Technology offerings are ever changing and expanding to meet the opportunities that show themselves in a changing retail environment.

Are you identifying and taking advantage of these opportunities also?

Introducing Brett Muggeridge to our Sales Team in QLD

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:56:00 GMT

New Appointment to the Jenlist Distributors Sales Team

Dear Valued Retailers

Re. Appointment of Brett Muggeridge to the Jenlist Distributors Sales Team

It is with great pleasure that I inform you of the new appointment of Brett Muggeridge to our Jenlist Distributors sales team, in the capacity of Business Development.

Brett will manage an area from the Brisbane River up to Bundaberg and brings a wealth of knowledge in the Telco, Technology, Newsagent and Service Station industries.

We believe Brett will be of great assistance to you our valued retailer in growing and expanding your technology offering, while providing you with the support to make this growth sustainable.

Brett’s first day with Jenlist Distributors will be 20th February 2012. Where I will be conducting training with Brett in the Sunshine Coast area.

Brett will be assisted by our external merchandising team, who cover much of the metro and suburban areas within Brett’s designated territory.

Jenlist Distributors greatly appreciates your patience during this transition period.

If I can be of any assistance or if you have any further feedback I would be more than happy to discuss this with you.

Thank you once again for your continued support and I look forward to a successful 2012 together.

Kind Regards

Simon Davidson

National Sales Manager

Jenlist Distributors

Seizing the WiFi Opportunity

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:50:00 GMT

Seizing the Wi-Fi Opportunity

Is internet Wi-Fi surcharges in Australian hotels just a rip off, or is it also an opportunity for local retailers?

Personally I see it as an annoyance for myself, but an opportunity also in the same breath.

I tend to spend at least 70 nights a year in motels and hotels, mostly within Australia, but also overseas during holidays with my wife. The Australian stays are made up of regional trips to visit all our great retailers and also to attend industry conferences, trade shows and awards nights. Some areas are metro visits, but some are also very remote locations.

What 80% of these Australian motel and hotels have in common is NO free access to Wi-Fi internet. Whereas 80% of their counter parts around the world, actually give you free Wi-Fi internet access, where you can skype your loved ones, post photos of your trip to the likes of facebook or myspace, research where you are going to go the next day and even download a movie on your tablet for the upcoming flight, train or bus trip.

I have been to hotels where they have charged as much as $24 a day for internet access in Australia.

With this in mind, it makes sense to be stocking products like our Optus Mobile Broadband that starts at $39 RRP with up to 1GB of data and 30days to use this within. Or even our Optus Wi-Fi mini modem for $89 RRP, that includes up to 6GB of data and can connect up to 5 devices at once. This is plenty of data for doing all those things I spoke of before and with 30 days expiry, is the idea product to sell to tourists.

If you are in a really touristy area, it makes sense to really highlight this type of product for the impulse sale and what better way than with a Optus Mobile Broadband dump bin.

Increase sales with a handset dump bin

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:55:00 GMT

The Silent Salesman ssshhh!

If you look at major retailers and stand alone phone stores you will find one thing in common that they all do well too capture additional sales in Pre-Paid Telco. They all use handset and/or $2 SIM dump bins.

Within the trade we call these the Silent Salesman, due to their ability to highlight products that are already on display.

The latest dump bin in our range is the Optus and Boost Mobile branded handset dump bin. This comes pre-printed with generic images for easy assembly and display longevity.

Along with the dump bin, we supply dummy boxes of your current range which we price, then put at the front of your store to highlight the handsets you have in range.

Most Pre-Paid Telco sales are impulse purchases. Spare of the moment purchases that are influenced by seeing a great deal or filling the need to replace a lost or damaged product. With handsets now starting at $29 RRP, these impulse purchases are becoming more and more frequent.

We supply all this at no cost to you, as we both benefit from the increase in sales. CLICK HERE to get your hands on one.

Wally's Latin America Adventure

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:08:00 GMT

Where's Wally?

When Amy left Jenlist Distributors to attend University, Wally was very sad, as the two of them had got along really well.

So when Amy decided to take a trip to Latin America and asked if Wally could join her, we were more that happy to let Wally tag along.

If you want to see some of Wally's Latin America adventures, or see where Wally gets too around Australia, go to our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/jenlist.au

Also let us know where your greatest adventure has taken you or where you are planning to explore.

January Sale on Force Vehicle Chargers

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:45:00 GMT

Sold out of chargers over the holiday break?

Or are you expecting lots of holiday makers through your town over the coming weeks?

We have decide to start the new year with a great deal for our valued retailers.

Buy any 10 of our force branded vehicle chargers which retail for $19.95 each and receive 60% margin in January 2012.

These vehicle chargers are dual voltage, so work in both cars and trucks and have the ability to give a rapid charge. Perfect for the truckie, holiday maker or even your reps who often forget their phone chargers.

If your purchasing off our website please quote “CHARGER10” to get this great deal.

Click Here to be taken to our Force Chargers