Looks Matter Simon Davidson - Monday, June 03, 2013
“Looks Matter”
Have you read the latest issue of the C&I Magazine? There is an interesting article on pages 50 -52 titled “Looks Matter – Improve your shopfront and image to win more customers” and another article titled “Newsagents’ window creates art point of difference” on page 59.
I find these articles interesting as I also believe in reflecting your inner qualities externally and I don’t mean hitting the gym or packing on the makeup.
Late last year I took my QLD sales team for a walk through Westfield Bondi Junction to highlight best of practise window displays from high end brands like Louis Vuitton to specialty retailers like T2. Things we identified was the art of telling a story, keeping things the same yet different and letting the consumer know what you are about.
It was things like highlighting outfits in the colour blue, but having mannequins wearing different styles and different textures of fabric in that same blue colour,Or highlighting a range of products in store showing your variety on a single product line like bags, highlighting one product line but several different colour variants and above all showing the sales team to be creative and think outside the box.
These are clever tactics to capture the consumer eye and show them you are serious about a product line. Having 20 different posters about 20 different product categories in your window just doesn’t cut it these day.
One of the best phone shop windows I have seen is this sand castle display buy Otter Cases highlighting their tough range of cases in Phone King in the Sydney QVB building.
Whether the Australian Dollar is up or down there is always demand for
Korjo Travel Accessories.
- There were 6.2 million visitor arrivals in Australia for year ending March 2013
- An increase of 4.9 per cent relative to the previous year
- Australian residents made a record eight million short-term trips overseas in 2011-12
Travel accessory sales are a growing market for both Australian tourists and overseas visitors. If you are looking to grow your profits look no further than Korjo Travel Accessories.
First we had “Click Frenzy” or as some are calling it “Click Fail” to help Australian retailers compete with the growing shift to online purchases overseas, especially in the US with the current favourable exchange rate.
Now we have another retail first here in Australia“Independents Week”running from December 1st to December 7th, aimed at moving sales from the two dominant retailers in Australia, Coles and Woolworths.
Who combined now have 70% of the Australian Grocery Market, 45% of the Petrol Market, 60% of the Liquor Industry and 65% of the department store industry with Target, Big W and K Mart.
“The week we support our local small business who for generations have been supplying jobs in our community.
It is the week we will buy our……..
- Fruit and Vegetable from our Local Fruit Shop
- Meat from our Local Butcher
- Bread from our Local Bakery
- Newspapers and Magazines from our Local Newsagency
- Petrol from an Independent Service Station
- Liquor from your Local Independent Outlet”
Independents week is not a new phenomenon with the US celebrating its 10th Annual “Independents Week” earlier this year, which is supported by the American Independent Business Alliance.
I’m sure if you ask the Yanks, they will tell you it’s hard work getting something like this off the ground, so I’m not expecting mass awareness of the Australian version in its first year, but it is a promotion that we should all get behind.
For a few months now we have been toying with the idea of changing our USB Flash Drives and Memory Cards.
Memory is a highly consumable product, be it for presentations, storing photo albums, music and video collections or even applications for smart phones, pretty much 90% of consumers need some form of flash memory or memory card.
What we have been looking for in a Memory brand is:
- Quality Build
- Quality Packaging
- Fast Speed to keep up with today's cameras
- Strong Brand Recognition
- Affordable Retail Pricing
- High Retailer Margin
The one brand that ticked all these boxes is SanDisk. SanDisk is the worlds largest supplier of Flash Memory. Their products are highly recognisable, meaning consumers will know they are buying a quality product and with our4GB Flash Drives, Micro SD and Memory Cards starting @ $9.95 RRP they are well priced for the "Route" channel.
Is your summer customer base made up of international tourists? Do you have a large migrant work force in your area? Or are your locals, travellers themselves?
Jenlist Distributors are proud to announce our latest offering of Korjo travel accessories, all in time for the peak tourist season.
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 Newsand Gympie Market Place News
There will be some prizes again for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
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?
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.
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.
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