Retailer Tip: How to get the best out of HND

I have owned Gilroy & Co in Howgate, Hawick in the Scottish Borders for 11 years. My shop is a traditional CTN with News and Confectionery the most important categories. The bestselling product is The Sun and we sell over 150 copies every day. Being a CTN, the shop also offers a 7 day a week newspaper delivery service to the town and surrounding area.

HND works best when it is supported by the publishers and wholesalers. Getting all the titles on time and in the right quantities isn’t the only way the supply chain can support us. Publisher representative visits can be of great benefit to my business and I am pleased that I am a member of News UK Retail+ Partner Programme which field team calls on me.

When the Retail+ rep visits I do feel the News UK are investing in my business. From discussions about how we can change our display or add a secondary position for the Sun and the Times, to the provision of news delivery bags I know that the meeting is about my business.

I am a registered user of the Retail+ website www.newsretail.co.uk and make use of the information and guidance that it offers. I have also informed Retail+ of the HND area we serve. I did this by entering each of the postcodes we cover. So now when News UK gets a new prepayment subscriber in my area they get told that we can deliver to them. Another way Retail+ supports HND is with a 12 week promotional voucher scheme that covers the cost delivery for new customers.

I can say that I get great value out of every visit the News UK Retail+ rep makes at my shop.