newsXpress is proud to be the first newsagent marketing group to host an online members meeting. This industry-first will be held tomorrow, Thursday, at 10am. The meeting will cover:

• newsXpress Back to School
• newsXpress Christmas Promotion
• Open forum for questions and comments from members regarding the Back to School and Christmas Promotions

We will bring together members from across the country who would otherwise have to travel some distance to participate in a members meeting. Hosting this and future online events is another way newsXpress is showing leadership by helping newsagents build better businesses.

We are following up our National Conference with member meetings in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. These will recap conference highlights, outline back to school and other forthcoming campaigns and preview several key initiatives. They will also provide an excellent opportunity for member dialogue with the newsXpress Directors and senior staff.

The first members meeting will be in Melbourne on October 16. Any newsagent considering joining newsXpress is most welcome to attend – it is a good opportunity to see the group in action and hear about our plans for an exciting 2009.

newsXpress, the premier marketing group for Australian newsagents, today announced further expansion with the appointment Belinda Adshead to a newly created role as Business Development Manager.

Belinda brings more than five years of practical newsagency experience to this new role, most recently with newsXpress Robina on the Gold Coast where she managed the stationery department for two thriving retail outlets.

The Business Development Manager role is unique to newsXpress and a key reason newsXpress members perform so well so well in key product categories.

“Belinda brings the kind of hand-on experience we need to serve our growing Queensland member base.” said Graham Randall, founding Director of newsXpress. “her passion for newsagencies and the newsXpress mission is an exciting and welcome addition to our team”.

newsXpress Business Development Managers work very closely with newsXpress members in their businesses on newsXpress exclusive strategies. It is through this in-the-field connection with its members that newsXpress is able to outperform other marketing groups.

Belinda will work with newsXpress full time out of the company’s Brisbane office.

newsXpress Sarina revealed an uncanny coincidence when communicating their Care & Friendship Grand Prize winner!

The local winner Walter shared his name with the Giant Forever Friends Bear as nicknamed by the team at Sarina. The Girls in the store were so excited about the fluke about the names that they ended up playfully fighting over who would call the original Walter with the good news.

Pictured in the below photo: Bec (who won out and got to call Walter!), Walter, Angela & Walter.

The team at newsXpress Deception Bay wish all their customers a Happy Easter.

Pictured are Joanne, Amy, and Alex holding Poppie.

Earlier this blog brought you the inspiring story of how newsXpress Ballarat had benefited from the newsXpress/Hallmark strategic partnership.

It seems that greeting cards are not the only area of the business showing improvement through the Ballarat affiliation with newsXpress.

The store is up over 400% in calendars this year due to the calendarXpress program. It is a great example of members embracing technology, embracing the newsXpress business strategies, tracking sales data and reaping the benefits.

This outstanding run has even stretched into other aspects of the business and two recent snippets in the local paper show the changes in store are being well received by the residents. Letters to the editor expressed gratitude for the team for firstly: alerting a customer of a lotto prize they had won 15 months earlier, before moving to FNQ; and secondly, a team member at newsXpress Ballarat handing in a wallet full of cash.

We hope their hard work pays off with a great Easter result.

These guys could not wait to pose for a photo at newsXpress Ocean Keys. They are the target demographic on Valentines Day!

With a great range of Valentines Day product the newsXpress network of stores produced huge sales during this fantastic promotion.

With a strong newsXpress member base now pushing 30 in NSW and the ACT any large scale promotion is beginning to make an impression in Australia’s largest market.

Back to School is being promoted with great intensity by major retailers such as Big W, Officeworks, even Woolworths and The Good Guys. Small businesses such as newsagents have a magnificent opportunity to compete by utilising the expansive media campaigns and delivering exceptional service, convenience and competitive prices.

The NSW/ACT members have participated in two BTS themed catalogues during this period and called on their vast experience to deliver some outstanding results. See below for the unique successes and strategies used by individual stores.

Above Left: newsXpress Woden presented a wide range of notebooks in different colours, sizes and price to satisfy even the most discerning customer.

Above Right: newsXpress Bondi Eastgate took the opportunity of breaching the lease line to stock a well presented trestle table with low price high turnover lines. This acted as a beacon to attract customers to the store.

Above Left: newsXpress Castle Towers create a massive out post each season filling the are with great product and low prices. They also have a personalised newsXpress Castle Towers BTS banner made up for further visibility

Above Right: newsXpress Goulburn have had an all encompassing pen stand specially commissioned and it is central to their BTS efforts. Containing every pen type studious types would ever need and great signage.

Above Left: newsXpress Scott’s Lismore have celebrated their name change with a renewed vigour in becoming the leading newsagent in town. This compelling newspaper ad is part of a strategy they feel will grow their business results to meet their output.

Above Right: newsXpress Shellharbour City clearly advertise their intentions to customers and passers-by with this visually inviting signage consisting of newsXpress seasonal posters and the actual pages of the BTS catalogue.

Above Left: newsXpress Orange depict a busy scene with customers busily selecting product to purchase and team members tidying and refilling the large BTS display at the front of the store.

Above Right: newsXpress Jamison transform the front desk into a BTS destination with signage and product in an easily accessible location.

Above Left: newsXpress Carr’s Armidale compliment their Hallmark Alliance Marketing materials with the newsXpress posters (seen around the pillars). The effect is to draw the customer’s attention to the cleverly conceived display stand housing seasonal cards and add-ons including gift bags and wrap.

Above Right: newsXpress Macarthur is right into ‘Back to School’, already this year they are 100% up compared to last year. Notice the great location for their outpost? their neighbours are Best & Less and Lowes, which means their customers can purchase all their needs at one location.

newsXpress has a vigorous store visit program, spending time with members to guide, encourage and motivate. These visits are two-way leading to newsXpress learning how to better serve members.

The photo shows newsXpress Goulburn owner John Stein and newsXpress CEO Mark Nagy in John’s shop last week. John has been with newsXpress for a year and has actively embraced the marketing, ranging and management strategies. newsXpress, for its part, benefits from John’s decades in the newsagency channel – wisdom like his is invaluable.