After hearing so many negative feedback from newsagents and ex-newsagents, I decided to analysis the Newsagencies industry using one Marketing tool: SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis enable future planning for existing newsagents or soon-to-be newsagents. This SWOT analysis looks at the four key aspects of the Newsagencies industry: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Strengths
- Strong relationship with suppliers e.g. Connections with Bauer, Nexus Program, Newspartner with News Ltd
- Excellent supports from peer networks via facebook groups, agent-subagents, etc.
- Known to be “go-to” places for products e.g. beautiful cards only found in newsagencies
- Regular income/sale level, e.g. big lotteries jackpots
- Flexible working hours, easily fit family time around business trading hours
- Easily build loyal customer base via great customer service
- Unified national associations
- Most core products are Sale or Return, Sale or Exchange or On-Consignment basis – minimise staled products
- Leverage on marketing groups to get expert advises and buying powers
- Suppliers willing to assist newsagents to achieve better performance through business training, incentive programs (e.g Reader Rewards)
Weaknesses
- Lotto system limit within single jurisdiction
- Over supply/under supply of newspapers & magazines
- Demanding & rude customers due to lack of product knowledge
- Sometimes, the supplier use newsagents as advertising channel for other products/other businesses e.g. part-works subscriptions
- Rigid integration method between different suppliers systems and retailer point of sale systems – information
not flow easily between different systems
Opportunities
- Diversify into different product & services, including gifts, technology, parcels, etc
- Specialise for specific customer base e.g. office supplies businesses, books for schools
- Employ different sale techniques including up-selling, cross-selling and suggestive selling.
- Join a marketing group/franchise to leverage on marketing power and buying power
- Better merchandising & market products
- Partner with local businesses to cater for the same customer base
Threats
- Emergence of new technology e.g. online news
- Relaxation on exclusive rights on selling of core products
- Large businesses move into the same product domain
The analysis above by no mean exhaustive but it shows that the strengths outweighed weaknesses. Also, the opportunities are endless for the newsagents with the right attitude. Despite the threats are real, the opportunities are there for the newsagents to adapt that will mitigate the risks of the threats being over powering. Successful newsagents will need to understand the strengths, weaknesses and threats to adapt and take on opportunities.