newsXpress has joined the Franchise Council of Australia, the peak body of franchise organisations in the country. Through this membership, newsXpress and its members will be able to tap into a vast knowledge base. newsXpress will also get to network with successful franchisors and discuss opportunities and learn from the experiences of others.

Joining the FCA is part of a series of measures taken by newsXpress as it structures itself for the next phase of our business development. 2012 has already been a busy year in this regard with a new operational structure, new employees, new member services, new members and new supplier deals.

The growth being achieved by the newsagency marketing and management group is delivering excellent commercial rewards as assessed by newsXpress members and newsXpress suppliers.

newsXpress is already actively participating with the Franchise Council of Australia on a number of fronts on behalf of our member community.

With more than one hundred newsXpress newsagencies booked for our national conference in Melbourne next month there is no doubt that it will be the biggest newsagent conference event outside of the ACP Connections conference held last year in Sydney.

We are thrilled with the member support of the conference and the EXCLUSIVE Toy Fair buying events being held the day before the conference.  Tapping into commercially valuable and exclusive buying opportunities at Toy Fair will help newsXpress members to broader their product mix, network and learn from experts about success with toys.

The conference, pre-conference buying day and Eureka Tower Cocktail Party will provide us with an excellent focus for success in 2012 and beyond.  The agenda provides for some value-packed announcements for newsXpress members.

newsXpress was disappointed to announce to our members and suppliers the resignation of Ben Kay as General Manager of the business yesterday.  Ben had served the company with energy and professionalism for several years, first as Merchandise Manager and then as General Manager.  Ben leaves the business in better shape than when he joined and now moves on to running his own newsagency, newsXpress Parkmore, and engaging in other business opportunities. The friendships he has with newsXpress members will endure for years to come.

Change in business is rarely easy, especially unplanned change.  We are fortunate to have Rob Henderson stepping from his National Merchandise Manager role with newsXpress into a new role as Chief Operating Officer.  This is a new senior role created by the Board to facilitate newsXpress moving to the next phase of its development as a newsagency marketing group.

Over the next weeks and months further appointments will be announced as the group structures for growth not only of our member newsagency businesses but of newsXpress itself.  New assets will be engaged and skills employed to provide newsXpress members and newsXpress with a valuable competitive edge on several fronts.

At our national conference in Melbourne in early March newsXpress members and suppliers will see first-hand some of the enhancements to the newsXpress offer being deployed.  We are thrilled to note that this conference is set to have more newsagents attending than any newsagent conference in the last few years.

A key part of the conference will be a closed member only session outlining the newsXpress business plan for 2012 and into 2013 and reflecting how this benefits current and future members of the group.

newsXpress has already advertised for additional administrative resources for the head office. This is first additional role we are seeking to fill.

We are in the middle of a series of supplier meetings discussing exclusive opportunities and unlocking ways of delivering valuable commercial benefits for newsXpress members. These meetings and our business plans focus on helping newsXpress members generate new traffic, build deeper shopping baskets and drive the operating efficiency of their businesses.

newsXpress members and suppliers with questions, comments and feedback are welcome to speak with newsXpress Directors: Mark Fletcher 0418 321 338 or Graham Randall on 0419 711 153 or newsXpress Chief Operating Officer Rob Henderson on 0401 336 622.

As a mark of respect for and in honour of the life of Garry Angus, newsXpress will not be posting any blog posts or sending business emails to newsXpress members today.

Garry’s funeral is being held today at t 1:30PM at St. Kilian’s Catholic Church, McCrae Street, Bendigo.

Garry was an active newsXpress member, operating newsXpress Pall Mall in Bendigo.

Garry was a good friend to many in the newsXpress family.

Many newsXpress members are in Bendigo for today’s funeral, to support Garry’s family and to farewell a good mate.

Please bear with us as we replace our blogging platform to newer technology which will provide us with more options for professional communication with our community and beyond as we lead on newsagency marketing. We should have the new platform settled by mid this week.

Newsagents often ask what makes a good newsXpress member.  Our newsagency marketing group is always on the look out for new members, good newsagents who have certain qualities, newsagents who:

• Love their business.
• Embrace change.
• Are committed to excellent customer service.
• Respect the importance of brand.
• Want their business to be best of breed in the newsagency channel and in the local community.
• Enjoy sharing with others in similar businesses.

Size does not matter. It is more about the person than anything else.If you would like to discuss joining newsXpress, please make contact with our General Manager, Ben Kay, on 0419 678 754.

Follow newsXpress on Twitter at @n_Xpress. Stay up to date with newsXpress news on a range of topics about and related to newsXpress. Every day there is news to share, real news too – not regurgitated tweets from others. Follow us today and find out more about the newsXpress experience.

newsXpress suppliers and team members were thrilled at one of our recent supplier forums to be able to taste the famous and utterly divine Gary Mehigan (from MasterChef) donuts. Indeed, the donuts on the menu were a factor in our choice of venue – at Gary’s famous Fenix conference centre next to his restaurant. The donuts were worth it.

Gary’s donuts are a wonderful memory for those of us who partook. While we work hard here at newsXpress, we know good food when we taste it!

The newsXpress website was hacked earlier this week and some damage attempted.  While our security was good and stopped serious damage, that the attackers got in at all was a saultory lesson.  We have responded by beefing up security and instigating a broader review of online protection.

No compromising or sensitive newsXpress member or supplier data was at risk as this is not stored on the website or the computer hosting thee website.

We are disappointed that someone has targeted newsXpress in this way and cost us a significant sum dealing with the ramifications of the break in.

Hamish Cameron advised newsXpress yesterday that he is reluctantly resigning from the group.  With the troubles for the Angus and Robertson brand, Hamish along with 24 other Angus and Robertson franchisees today announced their resignation.  Hamish has decided that it is time to merge his newsagency and book business into one under a new local brand he is creating.  Hamish wrote a wonderful resignation letter to newsXpress and leaves the group in a way which we are sure will see us share ideas in the future.  We will miss his proactive engagement in our campaigns and support of newsXpress preferred suppliers.

newsXpress wishes all who visit this blog a Happy, Safe and Memorable Christmas. We hope that 2011 is a year of wonderful business success and personal happiness.

Here are some of the newsXpress Head Office team in their AFL team colours at the pre Grand Final lunch on Friday.  Feasting on party pies and frankfurts we all had a bit of fun, especially at the expense of Collingwood fans.  Michelle Caia proved to be the star of the day by tipping that the Grand Final would end in a draw.

The hacking of the newsXpress blog has now been fixed.  It is interesting how this attack has been represented by some, making us wonder if it suited their purposes.  We suspect that it did based on how they have publicised the hacking and based on some private comments made.

The newsXpress blog is back in business.

newsXpress wishes Roger and Lesley Bortfield, our NSW/ACT Business Development Managers and Rob Henderson, our National Merchandise Manager, happy and safe travels as they head overseas to far away places for their respective vacations.  Roger and Lesley will be in the USA and canada and Rob will be in the UK.

In three hours newsXpress Knox opens for business.  No fanfare, no grand opening.  The hoarding comes down and we start trading.  Given the proximity of Christmas and that we’re waiting for more magazine and some other stock, this will be a soft opening.  We will not be ready for visitors until the New Year.  This is a fresh approach to newsagency design and layout, product mix and floorspace usage.  We need some time to play.

This store has been created by the newsXpress Head Office team.  Some have worked extraordinary hours as if this is their own business.   Their commitment has done newsXpress proud.

newsXpress is disappointed that News To Business is paying to come up in Google searches for newsXpress.  This morning, if you type in newsXpress to a Google search, a sponsored link for News To Business comes up.

News To Business competes with newsXpress.  Our view is that they would be better off winning customers on their own merits rather than trying to ride off our coattails.

newsXpress has received approval for the HOT Ink! ^TM trademark.  This is an important recognition for this unique brand under which newsXpress members sell branded ink and toner at highly competitive prices.

Gaining trademark approval was an important part of our plans for the future use of this sub brand within our retail network. It is also evidence of our attention to detail around our assets.

the next HOT Ink! campaign is coming soon.  This will provide newsXpress members with another opportunity to compete with national retailers in the ink and toner space and drive additional traffic to newsXpress locations.

To better handle increased traffic, we have moved the newsXpress blog to a new home: www.newsxpressblog.com.au.

The most common question newsagents of a marketing group they are considering joining is what does the group stand for, what is its mission?  here at newsXpress, the answer is clear:

Our mission is to make newsXpress newsagencies the most successful and sought after newsagencies in Australia.

Simple.  To the point.  This mission defines every decision we make, every supplier relationship we negotiate, every marketing startegy we develop and every contact we have.  It goes to the heart of the newsXpress difference.

We back our mission by not locking members into long contracts.