Balancing the demands of a small business with personal life is a challenge for many, and often lonely.

For many newsagents, the balancing act is even more complex due to complex local settings, changing economic situations, new competition, and shifting supplier dynamics.

It can feel overwhelming sometimes.

Too often, we see changes forced on newsagents without care as to the personal impact.

Some people find the weight of these pressures unbearable.

newsXpress will help as much as we are able. If you want to talk, reach out to us direct on 0418 321 338. We’d be grateful to listen.

We are not alone in life, no matter how challenging the situation.

If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, please reach out. We know from health carer professionals that talking about suicide with someone may reduce the risk.

Signs of distress can be subtle, they can be a cry for help. If you notice changes in someone’s behaviour, such as withdrawal, increased irritability, or a sudden decline in performance, talk and offer support. A simple conversation can offer comfort and understanding.

Remember, you are not alone. If you are struggling, please reach out to a mental health professional or a crisis hotline, please talk with someone.

Here are resources that can help:

• Lifeline has an excellent 24 hours help line 13 11 14.
• Beyond Blue also offers a 24 hour counselling service: 1300 22 4636.
• In Victoria, the Suicide Line is a 24 hour service: Call 1300 651 251.

Let’s all of us in our channel work harder to create a supportive community where everyone feels valued and heard.

Let’s look out for one another, be the kind of colleague who notices when someone is struggling and have the courage to start a conversation.

A simple “how are you doing?” can be a lifeline. By fostering a culture of genuine care and mutual support, we can ensure no one has to navigate these pressures alone. Let’s be the community that listens.

newsXpress is a community of small business retailers who support each other. We are here for each other, and you too. If you feel we could help personally or with your business, please reach out. We are good listeners.

The Australian newsagency landscape is at a crossroads. While traditional models face a challenging market, a new breed of transformed newsagencies are thriving.

For local small business newsagents across the country, the key to a profitable future lies in strategic evolution, a path newsXpress is dedicated to paving for its partners.

In the competitive world of small business retail, profitability is the ultimate measure of success. It’s the immediate financial gain that keeps the doors open and the foundation upon which future business value is built. For newsagents considering their long-term goals, including the eventual sale of their business, a strong and consistent profit record is paramount.

Recent industry analysis paints a stark picture: the gap between traditional and transformed newsagencies is widening. While businesses clinging to an outdated model are experiencing declines in revenue and foot traffic, those that have embraced diversification and modernisation are seeing significant growth in profitability and overall business value. This transformation is not about abandoning the core of the newsagency but enhancing it to meet the evolving needs of today’s consumer.

Pivoting to Profit: How newsXpress Drives Success

At newsXpress, we understand that profitability is the cornerstone of a resilient and valuable newsagency. Our approach is a collaborative one, providing our partners with the tools, strategies, and support to navigate the changing market and unlock their full potential. We focus on practical, profit-driven solutions that have a tangible impact on your bottom line.

Our commitment to your success is demonstrated through a range of specialised services:

• Strategic Inventory Management: We provide in-depth analysis of product turnover to help you optimise your stock levels. This data-driven approach allows you to reduce carrying costs on slow-moving items and invest more heavily in high-performing products, ensuring your inventory is always working for you.
• Leveraging Supplier Relationships: With a network of over 130 preferred suppliers, newsXpress members gain access to competitive pricing, exclusive products, and first-to-market opportunities. This allows you to differentiate your business from the competition and offer your customers unique and sought-after items.
• Boosting Cash Flow: Our central billing program offers the significant advantage of delayed billing terms. This practical support improves your day-to-day cash flow, giving you greater financial flexibility to invest in new opportunities and manage operational expenses.
• Actionable Training and Guidance: We provide hands-on, shop-floor tactical training designed to deliver immediate results. Our guidance focuses on increasing inventory turnover, improving your return on investment, optimising your retail space for maximum customer engagement, and enhancing labour productivity.

The newsXpress Partnership Advantage

Aligning your business with newsXpress offers a clear pathway to a more profitable and secure future. The benefits of our partnership are clear:

• Increased Profitability: Our comprehensive strategies are all geared towards one primary goal: boosting your bottom line and ensuring the long-term financial health of your business.
• Enhanced Business Value: A consistently profitable newsagency is a more attractive asset to potential buyers. We help you build a strong financial track record that will significantly increase the value of your business when you decide to sell.
• Exclusive Market Opportunities: Our strong supplier network provides you with a competitive edge through unique product offerings and early access to emerging trends.
• Improved Operational Efficiency: Our expert training and guidance empower you to streamline your operations, reduce unnecessary costs, and create a more efficient and profitable business environment.

Crucially, partnering with newsXpress does not mean sacrificing your independence. We believe that the most successful businesses are those driven by the passion and local knowledge of their owners. Nothing we propose is mandatory; you are always in complete control of every decision for your retail business.

The future of the Australian newsagency is one of opportunity. By embracing change and partnering with a group that understands the nuances of the modern retail landscape, you can transform your business, drive profitability, and build a valuable asset for the future.

For newsagency owners recognising the need for transformation but facing challenges with inadequate business data, there’s no need to despair. Immediate, impactful actions can be taken directly on the shop floor to initiate significant change.

In our experience, businesses in this situation often feature a very traditional shop floor layout. The advice we’re about to share focuses on deliberately disrupting your current setup. We’ve found this approach incredibly helpful for retailers, allowing them to view their business with fresh eyes and identify new possibilities. It’s a radical, somewhat rough method designed to significantly shake things up.

It’s crucial to understand that any changes you implement aren’t set in stone. Make these moves, observe the results, learn from them, and be prepared to adjust. Your shop needs to be in a constant state of evolution.

Confronting the Old Guard: The Newspaper and Magazine Unit

If your shop features a traditional magazine fixture running the length of the store, with newspapers facing customers as they enter, here’s what you need to do: remove all the stock and rip the entire unit out. Don’t overthink this; just get it done.

That prime central space is valuable retail real estate that should be dedicated to products yielding a gross profit of 50% or more. Allocating this high-visibility area to products with a 25% gross profit or less is simply not a sound business decision.

Tear the whole unit out.

Now, using basic, low-cost shelving – the kind you’d find in any hardware store – relocate your magazines to the back wall of the shop. Whatever was previously in that back wall space will need to be moved elsewhere. Simple strip shelving with adjustable brackets will suffice. Place your newspapers on a low, flat shelf beneath the magazines.

Furthermore, if you’ve been displaying newspaper or magazine posters, it’s time to stop. They don’t effectively increase sales.

Filling the Newly Liberated Space

Find a couple of old tables or some sturdy wooden boxes. Use these to create display areas on the main shop floor. On each of these makeshift displays, tell a story about a specific product category. Bring products to this central part of the shop that customers might not typically encounter.

If you don’t have spare tables, check out your local op shop, your garage, or a discount retailer like Amart. Keep your spending to an absolute minimum.

Resist the urge to use spinners in this newly recovered space. Carefully select products that you are genuinely proud to offer. Crucially, make sure to include some products that you think won’t work for your customers. This is a vital step in uncovering what you don’t yet know about their preferences and buying habits.

Be prepared to completely change these displays within a week if they aren’t generating the results you’re looking for.

Observe and Learn

The initial changes might not yield immediate success, and that’s perfectly okay. If they don’t, make further adjustments and continue experimenting until you see positive outcomes. You might also experience some early wins. If that happens, capitalise on it – do more of what’s working.

If your business still has that traditional central magazine and newspaper unit, we suspect you’ll see some encouraging results from this radical shift. That’s been the pattern in every similar business we have seen try it.

Most importantly, have fun with this process. We know one newsagent who, after making these changes, hosted a Saturday afternoon sausage sizzle specifically so people could watch as they literally used a chainsaw to dismantle and remove the old magazine unit from the shop!

The fundamental aim of this initial move is to disrupt your ingrained view of your business. Yes, the shop floor will be temporarily disrupted, but more importantly, you need to be disrupted in your thinking. That’s why you need to undertake something radical that you’re likely to initially resist. These suggested changes could potentially do more for your personal perspective than for the immediate bottom line of the business itself.

newsXpress helps Aussie newsagents and small business retailers thrive.

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