New look newsXpress Robina

newsxpress-robina.JPGThe new shopfit just completed by Rowe shopfitters for newsXpress Robina (QLD) looks stunning.  It makes a bold brand-based statement from the front of the shop and throughout.  Professionalism like this is crucial in a competitive retail environment.  The new fit does Chris and Tony McNamara and the newsXpress brand proud.  Click on the image to see a larger version of this photo.

Easter at newsXpress Beechworth

beechworth-easter.JPGThe creative team at newsXpress Beechworth (VIC) has placed their Easter display on the high-traffic dance floor – facing customers as they enter the shop.  The focus in this display is on eggs capped by the newsXpress Easter marketing collateral.

There is excellent consistency across the newsXpress network in the use of collateral and customer engagement around the Easter season.  As a group we are set to record some excellent numbers again this year.

New Golden Casket corporate image launched

golden-casket-corp-image-robina.JPGThe new Golden Casket corporate image was launched at newsXpress Robina with the opening of their new store.

Looking very professional with smooth and clean lines, the new image is the result of considerable work within Golden Casket and working with proactive retailers such as Chris, Tony and the team at newsXpress Robina in Queensland.

A strong corporate image is important in retail.  newsXpress is grateful to Golden Casket for their innovation.

Easter at newsXpress Emerald

emerald-one.jpgSally and Peter Murphy at newsXpress Emerald along with their team have created an amazing easter wall to display their range of plush toys and gift lines. The display stands out due to the use of the exceptional newsXpress A1 posters along with shelf wobblers promoting the range of Hallmark Easter greeting cards surrounding the product.

newsXpress newsagents have reported a strong focus on developing their gift range this year to complement the traditional chocloate and confectionery offering.

Easter at newsXpress Salamander Bay

salamander-bay-one.jpgnewsXpress Salamander Bay has promoted the success of their newsXpress Easter colouring in competition by incorporating the fantastic entries into their in-store merchandising display. The use of the colorful bunnies to dress the merchandising display was an inspirational decision by Fiona Matthews and her team that has paid off brilliantly as the photo attests.

A concerted effort to branch out into gifts this Easter is resulting in great rewards for newsXpress stores, and the timing of the ABW Easter Book promotion has driven even more traffic and sales.

newsXpress launches ‘Retail Training Academy’

newsXpress has launched the newsXpress Retail Training Academy. In partnership with Ganador Management Solutions (the Registered Training Organisation = RTO), newsXpress has created the industry’s first training program specifically designed around a newsagency marketing group and its principles.

“As a marketing group newsXpress has procured the services of a progressive RTO to develop and customise the training material to simultaneously meet government standards and meet specific, practical requirements of its members.” Opined Dr Dennis Price, CEO Ganador Management Solutions.

The training program is underpinned by government subsidies for eligible employees making it cost neutral for all small businesses to participate and at completion of the course the trainee will gain a nationally recognised Retail Certificate Level 3.

“Newsagents are undergoing tremendous change, one of the cornerstone strategies for dealing with change, is developing people and equipping them to add value at a higher level.” commented Graham Randall, Managing Director of newsXpress. “Whilst there are many training options out there, this particular approach is unique because it is specifically customised just like enterprise RTOs (Woolworths and other large retailers) but has been outsourced and separately funded by newsXpress to give small business (and their staff) access to the same opportunities as the big guns of retail. Additionally it is commercially relevant because of material customisation of the content, whilst meeting and exceeding the nationally accredited standards.”

This training program ensures the long term future of newsXpress staff members as they will have been trained on the newsXpress system. The benefits of the training will roll through the business from the staff member to the owner and the business itself.

The program is delivered as a ’blended solution’ which includes face-to-face workshops, in-store training and assessment and e-learning.

“The program is aimed at the staff employed in small businesses, often in rural areas, and lacking many opportunities for training and development.” said Ben Kay, newsXpress General Manager. “newsXpress feels it has a corporate social responsibility to support its members and their staff to access the right training that is relevant to the individual and the business. newsXpress is committed to this program and our staff are being trained to be able to formally facilitate the program”.

Employees working in newsXpress locations are already expressing interest in the new training on offer.

Four regional newsXpress meetings next month

newsXpress is pleased to announce dates for four regional meetings next month to provide newsXpress members an opportunity to talk about business and to also let others see the newsXpress difference. Art these meetings we will share an newsXpress developed strategy which shows how to grow traffic, efficiency and margin. Running from 10am to 1pm, the sessions are open to newsXpress members and newsagent colleagues. The dates are:

MACKAY, QLD – Tuesday April 20.
TORONTO, NSW Central Coast – Tuesday April 27.
SUNSHINE COAST, QLD – Thursday April 29
GOLD COAST – Friday April 30

Click here to book.

newsXpress Knox attracting strong interest

newsxpress_knox.JPGOur new newsXpress corporate store at Knox City in Victoria is drawing plenty of attention from others.

Newsagents, suppliers and others regularly visit to see the flexible shopfitting system from Interfit and other innovations we have delivered in this business.

Many visitors are taken with the innovative tables we have at the front of the business.  These are now the fourth generation of a newsXpress exclusive development we started over three years ago.  Having the right and flexible fixtures are vital to retail success.  These latest units can be seen working for books as well as Easter eggs and other Easter product.

newsXpress is committed to investing in the development of more useful and financially rewarding fixtures and fitting for newsXpress businesses.  We back this innovation with on the ground support in how fixtures can be best used.

The result of our work is excitement about the future not only for our group but for others who are taking a keen interest in what we are doing.

The photo was taken this morning at newsXpress Knox.

Great Easter competition entries at newsXpress Yarram

yarram_easter_entries.JPGThe front window is ablaze with colour at newsXpress Yarram (VIC) as they have entries for their easter colouring competition on display.  Click on the image to see the extent of the entries they have received – the entries stretch across three windows and easter is still more than a week away.  Engagement like this in a local campaign is terrific for the local community as well as newsXpress Yarram.

newsXpress gives away 5 iPhones

newsXpress has drawn five lucky customers at random from many entries submitted to determine the winners of iPhones which were offered as part of our Back to Work campaign.

Each lucky customer was thrilled when called with news of their win. We are playing the phonecalls with the winners on newsXpress radio.

We are grateful to Optus for their support of this campaign.

Our iPhone giveaway campaign was another way newsXpress was demonstrating its difference to our members and to our customers.

Easter at newsXpress Bathurst

bathurst_easter.jpgEaster cards and offers greet shoppers as they pass by newsXpress Bathurst NSW). From Darrell Lea eggs to Hallmark cards, the Easter offer at newsXpress Bathurst is brand-based and acts to draw people into the business.

While Easter is one of those seasons where most of the sales are crammed into a few days, having the display out and in prime position early gets into the minds of shoppers that your business is the go to place for the season.

Easter colouring entries at newsXpress Orange

orange_easter.jpgThe team at newsXpress Orange (NSW) is stringing entries in their Easter colouring competition from the ceiling and as the photo shows they already have many young artists vying for a prize.  Each newsXpress location is running their own Easter competition with terrific local prizes on offer.  As we can see at newsXpress Orange, the competition adds to the in-store theatre and shopping experience.

Easter at newsXpress Mountain Creek

mountaincreek_easter.jpgnewsXpress Mountain Creek (QLD) has a terrific Easter display on their dance floor, promoting Easter chocolates as well as other items. At Mountain Creek and in newsXpress locations across Australia, Easter is a high-profile season promoting excellent margin product and mixing this with good traffic generating product.

The newsXpress offer is unique thanks to product range, margin, external marketing and marketing collateral supplied to drive business.

newsXpress has an excellent range of suppliers offering product across sveeral categories supporting the Easter this year.

Easter colouring competition entries coming in

easter_colour.JPGnewsXpress members are reporting receiving good numbers of entries in the 2010 Easter Colouring Competition.  With wonderful local prizes up for grabs, newsXpress members are taking the opportunity to promote their community connection with this event. They are doing this by promoting through schools, clubs and other community groups.  Entries are being put =on display (without breaching privacy) and showing shoppers the works of art.

newsXpress has provided collateral to support the competition with members deciding the rules and prizes which best suit their situation.

Easter at newsXpress Castle Towers

castle_towers_easter.jpgAnnie, Hans and the team at newsXpress Castle Towers (NSW) are showing a strong and creative commitment to Easter in their large newsXpress store at Castle Towers Shopping centre in Sydney – as the photo shows.

At the front of the shop they have a wonderful display of delicious Darrell Lea chocolate products. They also have a brilliant display of Easter cards as well as a good range of gifts.

Capping the Easter display, running the length of the shop, is the newsXpress Easter collateral.

The newsXpress Castle Towers team provides an excellent shopping experience and a strong representation of what newsXpress stands for – as their Easter display shows.

Book Sale at newsXpress Maryborough (VIC)

maryborough_books.JPGnewsXpress Maryborough (VIC) is promoting their newsXpress Easter Book Sale on the dance floor right at the front of the business. They are promoting an excellent range of Children’s books through a terrific display to shoppers as they enter the store.  The book sale has stock across a range of categories and each store can choose the category they promote to main traffic.  Maryborough chose children’s books for the front of their display because it works for them.

newsXpress Maryborough is also using the book sale to attract new traffic through a catalogue based program organised with newsXpress. They are also using it to drive additional business from people who visit for another purchase.

The Book Sale is part of the newsXpress sales efficiency strategy – this drives more sales from existing traffic.

Great Book Sale at Knox City

knox_books.JPGnewsXpress Knox City (VIC) is running a terrific book sale offering an excellent range of cookbooks, children’s books, Easter books and fiction and non-fiction books. There is an excellent range of titles, all discounted. Easter is a popular time to buy books and this newsXpress Book Sale at Knox and other newsXpress stores is proving to be popular with shoppers and newsXpress members.

The Book Sale catalogues bring in new customers and the products themselves are sold with an excellent margin. They are also purchased on impulse by people visiting the business for other reasons.

At newsXpress Knox City and newsXpress locations across the country, the Book Sale is driving excellent business!

Promoting Women’s Health magazine

wetherill_park_womenshealth.jpgnewsXpress Wetherill Park (NSW) is promoting Women’s Health magazine at the counter as an impulse purchase opportunity. This promotion connects with well with their demographic. The science behind the display is part of the newsXpress exclusive magazine strategies, strategies which help newsXpress members leverage excellent magazine traffic for value across all business categories as well as driving incremental magazine business.

newsXpress embraces core newsagency departments like magazines and goes from strength to strength building sales ahead of the channel average and delivering excellent rewards to our members.

newsXpress winners make it on radio

newsXpress radio broadcast calls to the winners in our Back To Work competition.  The bike and Toyota Yaris winners received the call on air and in newsXpress stores across the country we get to hear their excitement at being winners in this rich newsXpress exclusive promotion.

Back to Work worked on many fronts for newsXpress including showing how we can work together for a valuable national promotion and building our customer database.