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?
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 andKeyboards 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 HEREto 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?
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.
Congratulations to all the Nokia handset pack winners!
The above photos are of newsXpress Sandgate’s display which won them $250 for the best merchandised Nokia display, for their Xmas themed display of Nokia handsets.
The other picture is of Jenlist Distributors “employee of the year 2009” Laurie Smith, presenting Geoff from Fame Video with a $1000 cheque for winning the Nokia handset pack draw.
All the winners were:
Handset Pack Winners
$1000 – Fame Video Niagra Park
$500 – Moores Newsagency
$250 – South West Rocks Newsagency
Best Merchandised Store
$250 – newsXpress Sandgate
Remember there is another $100 up for grabs this month, for the best Xmas tree photo post to our Jenlist facebook page.
Interesting read in today's copy of the "Business Day" in the SMH. Where Carolyn Cummins reports that retail landlords are experiencing sales growth above the rate of inflation. She attributes this growth to "higher-margin mobile phone stores and food courts".
Carolyn reports a 20.5 per cent growth in mobile phone sales, while department store sales dropped 8.2 per cent in the past nine months.
This growth in mobile phone sales is not confind to stand alone Mobile Phone retailers. Our valued retailers in "General Route" have also allowed Jenlist Distributors to experience close to 30% growth in handset sales in the past year.
With all this talk of "Smart phones" in the market it is interesting to note that Australia has the second highest global smartphone usage. Yet probably only 1/3rd of all phone users have a smart phone.
The major carriers are also only just starting to talk bout the 4G networks, which will bring a new wave of must have handsets to our shores. So if you aren't already selling handsets, "what are you waiting for?"
One of the hottest selling products for Jenlist Distributors over winter has been ourTomcat Torch’s @ $4.95 retail. Due to the success of this product we have increased our range of torches and have a new product the Tomcat LED Headlight @ $9.95 RRP in stock.
This product can actually be used by Newsagents who have a paper round, Ray Martin from San Souci Newsagency has his and uses it to read his newspaper delivery run list.
It would be nice to get your customers to do your paper run, but unfortunately they are looking for this product to use while tramping, climbing or even reading a book in the dark, but rest assured they are looking for this product.
"MY PICTURE = MY INK" There are two types of people who sell ink cartridges, those who are big into ink and are making great profits and those who have tested the water but are to scared to jump in and commit to a range.
Fresh Ink is a brand that can help both types of retailer.
For those who have tested the water, but are either scared by the large range out there, difficult to remember cartridge numbers or are afraid of getting stuck with old stock. Fresh Ink gives you peace of mind.
We sell Fresh Ink on a "Sale or Return" basis, taking all the risk out of the purchase. We even go as far as choosing the top 80% of sellers and put it into 20% of the space, on a 24 inks and 4 papers stand. Fresh Inks unique "visual identity" concept then removes the problem of remembering your cartridge number.
You could be a balloon, kitten or even a strawberry, but you won't forget which cartridge you are again..
For those who are already great ink sellers, Fresh Ink captures the customers who are looking for a cheaper alternative or 3rd party product. This is meant to be as high as 30% of customers worldwide.
This may currently be a little lower here in Australia, but that has been due to poor competition and refills in the 3rd party sector. Fresh Ink changes this, where in low income areas and around universities Fresh Ink often outsells OEM cartridges.
If you are looking for a risk free option to get into ink or you want to improve on your already high ink sales, you can't look past our range of Fresh Inks, Papers and Toners.
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