Since taking over from multiple SLR Award winner Ian Smith, Umair Ud Din has continued to leverage news and magazines as a uniquely powerful USP in his Premier store in Turriff in Aberdeenshire.
By Antony Begley
It’s hardly a surprise that the continued growth of digital media has led to a slow but steady decline in the traditional printed newspaper and magazine market over the years, but what is perhaps more surprising is the enthusiasm with which many local retailers seemed to have all but dumped the category in their stores.
Yes, it’s undoubtedly a tricky and complex category to manage well but the fact remains that the diminishing number of retailers taking the category seriously are doing very well indeed out of it, thank you very much.
Big news
One such retailer is Umair Ud Din who owns and runs Premier Turriff in Aberdeenshire. Umar took the store over from serial SLR Award winner Ian Smith who more or less had a stranglehold on the Newstrade Retailer of the Year Award – thanks to his relentless commitment to the category and his focus on offering literally hundreds of magazines as well as local, regional and national newspapers.
That commitment extended to an extensive and extremely well-organised home news delivery operation. With so many retailers backing out of the category, Ian had effectively cornered the market in that part of the world and ran a vibrant, flourishing business off the back of it.
And while the heart of the store was news and magazines, it was also a thoroughly modern and well-maintained Premier store in its own right, with a great offer including hot and cold drinks and food, a local ice cream serveover and much more besides.
So when Umar took over, it was always going to be interesting to see whether he picked up where Ian left off, or choose the path of least resistance by scaling back the news and magazines category.
As should be obvious by the fact that Umar won the Newstrade Retailer of the Year category at last year’s SLR Awards, he and his team wisely rolled up their sleeves and set about maintaining the class-leading offer that is to be found in Turriff.
Scott McCulloch, Head of Retail at category sponsor News Scotland, comments: “It’s fantastic to see Umar pick up where Ian left off and continue to focus on the newstrade in his store. His flourishing business proves that demand for newspapers and magazines is still going strong.
“Premier Turriff shows what is possible when you commit to the category and truly understand your customers.”
Ready-made USP
Indeed, the fact that so many of Umar’s competitors have effectively abandoned the category leaves the door wide open for him to continue to develop and enhance his news and magazines offer, tailoring it precisely to the specific needs of his customers, both those who visit the store and those from further afield who take advantage of his home news delivery service.
In today’s modern world of ‘destination retail’, building and maintaining a USP is vital in ensuring that customers have compelling reasons to use your store rather than a competitor’s. News and magazines offer Umar exactly that USP and he has grasped the opportunity with a passion.
Doing it right
As well as an extensive range of local, regional and national newspapers, Premier Turriff offers a vast selection of literally hundreds of magazine titles ranging from popular women’s and children’s magazines to more specialist and niche titles that meet the needs of Umar’s customers. Tractor and farming magazines appear to be a particular forte, perhaps unsurprisingly.
In-store signage also reminds customers of the home news delivery service and advises them to speak to a member of the store team if they’d like to request a specific magazine that’s not currently stocked.
All of which means the store benefits from a steady daily and weekly stream of sales that delivers fairly robust margins, certainly when compared with the increasing number of other categories pitched to retailers as “strong footfall-drivers”. As we have learned over the years, it’s all very well driving footfall, but footfall doesn’t pay the bills, profit does.
Location, location
Also in Umar’s favour is the fact that Turriff is a relatively small town with a population of fewer than 6,000 people – and Umar’s store is hardly facing a barrage of serious competition. The fact that Turriff sits more or less on its own, halfway between Aberdeen and the north coast, means it’s a destination town and it is also surrounded by small satellite villages, many of which are within reach of the store’s home news delivery team.
In essence, Premier Turriff is providing a true community service to the town and surrounding areas with many people, particularly older customers who still prefer print, exceptionally grateful for the service Umar and his team provide.
Food for thought
Premier Turriff is a fantastic example of the old adage about not reinventing the wheel. Yes, news and magazines are in decline, but the market is still very substantial – certainly big enough for a single store to make good money from when there’s next to nothing in the way of local competition.
Additionally, margins in the category are decent. They’re not exceptional but if you can build enough volume, it offers a reliable profit stream every day of the week.
Perhaps the example of Umar’s store is one that could inspire other local retailers across Scotland to reassess the newstrade? If all of your competitors have effectively abandoned it, does that not present you with an opportunity to own the category in your area? It requires little space, it’s a familiar category to most customers and it could be a solid revenue and profit stream in the challenging months and years that lie ahead.
