We are fortunate to get to visit many newsagencies each month and be given access to terrific business performance data.  This gives us an insight through which we have developed business growth ideas.  Here are some notes we shared recently with some newsagents on some very basic pointers to growing stationery sales.

• Understanding the business makes growth easier.  Good data is key to good business decisions.  There is a clear correlation between poor data and poor decisions. Better business outcomes come from better business investment in managing data with care.
• The tail is expensive.  Infrequently selling items cost a lot of money and time to manage.  Smart newsagents using our software have been able to cut stationery range by 20% and only lose 2% or less in sales.  The capital saved has been invested at the top end and sales growth achieved in the order of 20% or more.  A great win win.
• Stationery responds well to effort. Focusing on range, display and or marketing is rewarded with sales growth in most situations. By effort, I mean consistent effort, not just a tidy-up here and there.
• Range expansion is also a key factor in stationery sales growth. One newsagency, for example, increased diary sales by 150% or $10,000. This was achieved by a broader range and better location within the business. They did this based on opportunities highlighted in their business performance data.  Indeed, diaries accounted for considerable growth in half the stores reporting stationery sales growth
• Part of the problem with understanding change is the lack of appropriate categorisation of stationery sales. An ideal newsagency would have no more than 25 categories of stationery. This is manageable. It allows assessment of growth and decline. It is easy to break categories down to product level for further assessment. Many of the stores with declines did not have a good category structure.

Reading back, these seem like motherhood statements.  Yes, they are.  We have found that reminding our customers from time to time helps them leverage value from their Tower Systems software which they may have forgotten about.  We’re here to help our customers get the most from their software.