Case Study: Independent Retailer Gets It!
Christa Blaszezyk, the spunky owner of Mags & Fags Newsstand in Ottawa, made circulators an offer too good to refuse at a CMC sponsored newsstand seminar on October 7th, 2009.
Her message to Canadian circulators was very straight-forward and powerful. Print is alive and well. Stop worrying and complaining. Start doing something.
Not only was her perspective optimistic, refreshing and empowering, this spirited, entrepreneurial, and self-diagnosed magazine junkie challenged the room of marketers.
Her Offer: FREE Promotion. “Just try it. I’ll work with you to sell more magazines.” The blessed word, FREE, was simply too tempting to pass up.
Here are the results:
Canadian Geographic
Few magazines in Canada reach an 80th Anniversary, but Canadian Geographic is one of those iconic brands. Perfect time to promote the December 2009 anniversary issue.
A window poster was provided and an 8 ½ x 11 tent card to be placed at the cash, along with a stack of magazines and a free pocket calendar offered to stimulate impulse purchases. (The calendar was remnant stock).
Normally, Canadian Geographic sells 51 copies at Mags & Fags on a draw of 90 for a 56.2% sell-through efficiency.
This issue sold 90 copies on a draw of 90 for a 100% sell-through efficiency. That’s a 96% increase from their normal performance. And because the cover price was increased from $6.95 to $7.95, revenues were up 102%.
Too bad the retailer couldn’t get any re-orders, eh?
More about Mags & Fags
• Operating Since 1981
• 1800 square feet of retail space devoted to Magazines
• Works closely with Magazines Canada, Metro Toronto News, and Disticor Direct
• Over 3,000 titles on list
• Loves niche titles and introducing their customers to exciting Canadian content
