newsXpress – your local back to school specialists

nxbtsThis poster was released to newsXpress members through the week for in-store and front window promotion of the business as a BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIALIST as part of a range of support of newsXpress members in the back to school season. In some locations back to school orders are well under way while in others the real work will start in the new year.

newsXpress is supporting members with artwork like this created in a collaborative way and distributed through a private newsXpress social media platform for members to download and use.

In addition to supporting member engagement with national back to school campaigns aligned with key suppliers, newsXpress also supports local store / local community engagement with the back to school opportunity.

Excellent plush sales across the newsXpress network

plushwallnowallnewsXpress retail locations right across Australia are reporting excellent growth in sales of plush products. We are particularly seeing excellent sales of plush from Big Balloon, Korimco, Jasnor with our Big Balloon sales leading the pack. Indeed Peppa Pig plush from Big Balloon is the range of the year based only newsXpress members.

The results we are seeing achieved in newsXpress locations are excellent, leading the newsagency channel. This success owes plenty to the work of our preferred suppliers and of our merchandise and RDM teams within newsXpress.

newsXpress stores giving away the Hallmark 2014 date book

hallmark-date-booknewsXpress members with free Hallmark Alliance Program membership are giving away the Hallmark branded Date Book 2014. This wonderful gift is something newsXpress members can give to their especially loyal shoppers to help encourage their loyalty for 2014. It is part of a package of benefits that come with free Hallmark Alliance Program membership for newsXpress members – designed to drive sales in-store and traffic. This free date book is a nice gift for shoppers at Christmas time.

Hallmark Christmas cards and packaging on show at newsXpress

hallmarkxmasnewsXpress members are encouraged to display Hallmark single Christmas cards and packaging on the shop floor without removing any other product from regular card fixturing.

The photo shows the single Christmas cards from newsXpress watergardens in Victoria. the cards are on seasonal fixturing used for major seasons. This means no every day card ranges are removed to enable these Christmas cards to be put on show. This helps the store maintain card sales of every day cards all through Christmas.

the pavement of Christmas packaging directly above the cards makes for an impactful display and this is reflected in excellent sales.

Pacific Magazines display unit drives Christmas magazine sales

nxmagsxmasAll newsXpress members had access to the excellent floor display unit from Pacific Magazines for promoting all their Christmas-themed titles. Many of our retail locations are making the most of the unit – moving it as the season evolves.

The photo shows placement at newsXpress Watergardens in Victoria. The unit is three metres inside the business, at the main counter. This is the latest location – the stand is moved regularly. And it is working a treat, driving excellent sales for the business.

newsXpress members are encouraged to use this stand only for Pacific magazines titles – the titles listed on the outside of the stand itself.

Pacific Magazines & newsXpress partner to promote ink and Christmas cards

nexushotinkPacific Magazines through their nexus newsagency marketing and support program and newsXpress recently partnered to promote the latest HOT ink! newsXpress ink campaign and our excellent range of Hallmark boxed christmas cards.

developing a newsXpress specific email sent to an extensive email database, this campaign is another in a string of excellent nexus driven campaigns designed to reinforce brand awareness and to drive in-store traffic.

The success of the nexus sent emails to consumers is excellent with plenty of newsXpress members having success stories of local store campaigns that have worked for them.

The team at Pacific Magazines worked hard to incorporate HOT ink! collateral inso that it connected with the hundreds of thousands of catalogues delivered to homes near newsXpress stores. The email also contained ak! catalogue.

newsXpress and its member appreciate this practical support from Pacific Magazines – nationally and at the store level.

Strong Women’s Health sales for newsXpress

womens-health-decnewsXpress members promoting the latest issue of Women’s Health magazine are achieving extra sales. The cover story: Resize your thighs has hit in time for people preparing for summer.

We know from sales data that Women’s Health responds well to in-store promotion – hence our recommendation to newsXpress members that the promote this issue of the magazine on the highest-profile magazine display end in-store.

This is an excellent title for promoting as our shops get busier through Christmas trading.

newsXpress well represented at Lovatts event

DSC_1015newsXpress appreciated the opportunity to network with many in the newsagency channel at the Lovatts Christmas drinks function in Sydney this week. newsXpress was the only newsagency marketing or franchise group represented at the event.

In the photo we have Warrick Hosking from newsXpress Gympie with newsXpress directors Mark Fletcher and Graham Randall.

newsXpress supports the magazine category for the valuable traffic it generates. beyond the sales of magazines, sales data is leveraged by our group to drive sales of other product categories.

Pacific Magazines is a strategic partner, working with newsXpress to maximise sales of their titles in our retail network.

newsXpress launches exciting HOT ink! opportunity for 2014

newsXpress has announced details of the first HOT ink! promotion for 2014. Included with this promotion is a shopper prize opportunity per store plus a shopper gift voucher for spends over a set basket value. These promotions plush some very compelling HOT ink! pricing will kick off 2014 excitingly for newsXpress.

newsXpress members are jumping at the opportunity to be part of something great here.

Participation is not mandatory. newsXpress encourages its members to GROW YOUR OWN WAY. Members love that they have control.

Details of first 2014 conference in final stages

newsXpress will be hosting the first of two national conferences in 2014 to coincide with the national Toy fair in Melbourne. In addition to the one day business conference we will host a supplier buying day where we visit three selected suppliers in Melbourne for group buying as well as a Toy Fair buying tour.

As with all recent national conferences newsXpress will be putting funding on the table to financially support members travelling from interstate to attend the conference. This funding helps members to attend who might otherwise not be able to do so.

Plush wall training helps newsXpress members grow sales

In the eight months since newsXpress launched its exclusive and in-house developed plush wall strategy, newsXpress members have reported excellent sales results of plush and other items purchased by shoppers attracted by the plush wall.

This week we have shared practical information with members to help them engaged even more successfully in the plush wall opportunity. Thanks to insights from suppliers we have been able to package information that will drive sales in any situation. More pliush insights will be shared in coming weeks.

newsXpress members loving HOT ink! Sales growth

The November HOT ink! Campaign is in full swing across newsXpress stores and the result is an excellent sales surge in member businesses. One newsXpress location has seen sales surge 112% already this month on the back of a strong base for the same period last year.

newsXpress members participating in our November HOT ink! Campaign are benefiting from a valuable traffic burst at a good time of the year as a nice lead in to Christmas.

newsXpress members for 60,000+ Christmas giveaway

sonypspnewsXpress is funding $60,000 worth of prizes for members to give away for in-store promotions this Christmas. Each participating newsXpress Hallmark store will have a new model Sony PSP to a lucky customer.

Supported with some excellent in-store marketing collateral, this competition pitches newsXpress stores as having a gift of value that is guaranteed to be won by one of the shoppers in the business.

This is a fun and relevant gift. It’s going to help drive appeal to a broader shopper demographic that newsXpress members will enjoy.

The PSP prize offer is up and running in newsXpress locations right now.

Facebook campaign attracts 250,000+ views

The most recent Facebook advertising campaign run by newsXpress has attracted 250,000 views according to Facebook stats. This paid advertising complimented the latest HOT ink! campaign that has been hitting hundreds of thousands of letter boxes around the country.

Following the lead of successful national retailers, newsXpress has this year supported its member businesses with a range of campaigns timed to coincide with consumer flyers and other out of store promotions.

Supporting newsXpress members in this way drives further value from campaigns such as HOT ink!

Terrific newsXpress member meeting in Brisbane

bnemtgOur Brisbane area members had an excellent members meeting this past week at the head office of preferred supplier Wild Republic.  We were treated to some delicious hospitality, some excellent product insights and valuable networking with each other.

More and more members are engaging in our cluster meetings and the feedback following each is excellent.

Wild Republic is a valued supplier to the newsXpress family, offering quality products that connect with educational opportunities. From toys to large plush items the Wild republic line is proving to be a wonderful point of difference for newsXpress members.

newsXpress helps source gifts appealing to older people

oldercustomersBuying gifts for older people can be a challenge since they often don’t need anything in particular. Thanks to a diverse mix of preferred suppliers, newsXpress is able to help its members with gift ideas and opportunities. From gifts for neighbours to family members we have gifts for folder folk for males and females. One popular line we have had in our supplier portfolio for some time is the cakes of soap. Make to look like a slice of delicious cake, the soap presents as very special. Once packaged in a purpose-made gift pack and presented with a wonderful Hallmark card, the gift package is complete. This is an ideal gift for an older person who says they don;t ant anything in particular. The newsXpress experience is that the purchase leads to excellent word of mouth … and more sales.

Tents a hit in newsXpress stores

tents!The Australian designed tents we launched in newsXpress stores earlier this year following the Melbourne gift fair have been a hit in the newsXpress locations where they have been taken on. Some stores have struggled to keep up with shopper demand as word of mouth spread about the excellent Christmas gift idea for families with kids.

Beautifully designed and well made the tents have been working very well in newsXpress locations – attracting shoppers to the businesses and delivering incremental sales.

Taking on these tents is another example of newsXpress leadership for the newsagency channel.

Instant rewards shopper loyalty program differentiates newsXpress locations

instantrewardsMore and more newsXpress members are embracing the Instant Rewards program first launched by the group earlier this year. Like all initiatives from newsXpress, engagement is not mandatory – newsXpress members are encouraged but not forced to take on the marketing opportunity. To help newsXpress members understand how this works and how to engage actively for maximum value, the group published a how-to guide.  This has just been updated and provided again to members along with practical tips and customer information sheets.

The sales response we are seeing shows the value of Instant rewards (discount vouchers) as an excellent way of demonstrating a point of difference over confusing and old-school points-based loyalty programs.

newsXpress is leveraging the point of difference in Instant rewards for its members through a range of member support activities.

Promoting Movember in newsXpress stores

movember2013newsXpress members are embracing the Movember opportunity with products sourced from newsXpress suppliers and with collateral created by newsXpress for promoting the Movember connecting. The terrific Movember product and the collateral tell a great story connecting with the season and all it stands for.

Besides the fun of the Mo, Movember at participating stores is about connecting with fundraising and community engagement.

newsXpress sourced products and collateral for members from a range of suppliers.

newsXpress promoting latest HOT ink! campaign on Facebook

We expect to reach more than 100,000 Facebook users with our latest ad campaign on Facebook. Started yesterday and running for this week, the latest ad campaign is supporting the new HOT ink! catalogues that is out how hitting hundreds of thousands of letter boxes.

The new ad campaign leverages other successful Facebook campaigns we have already run this year.

The HOT ink! offer from newsXpress offers brand name ink at competitive prices. Since our businesses are locally owned it keeps more dollars in the local community.