Why are there always so many newsagents and Australian Post franchises for sale?

I have been browsing businesses for sale in my local area and virtually every newsagent is for sale. OK, I know the internet is killing newsprint but there is a lot more revenue coming into these businesses with various retail items etc etc. Am i missing something?

 

I have a friend used to own a newsagent/post office. It was money printing business in the 1990s/2000s. But they sold it in 2010s citing it has run its course.

 

No more newspapers.....so only outlets for lotto ( which was made to be superseded by online ).

No more letters. Now becoming replacement for bank outlets ( no money in bricks n mortar bank branches apparently ).

So they are Duds!!

 

My local one is also a post office and always seems to have lots of foot traffic. Quite a few services. I can't see it closing up. Maybe in some areas some will close.

 

I bet that foot traffic is the shuffling of old feet to go and pay a bill.

Everything online now. Give it a bit of time as the older generation pass on, or move into a caring facility, then the post office will be on show in a museum. Next to Madam Whip Tussauds lol.

 

All depends if there's a lot of smaller on-line businesses in the area. They need somewhere to post their parcels. One of the local post offices near me does a roaring business, as she's very friendly and the volume of parcels is huge. Another one in the shopping area doesn't do nearly as well, as they are rude and the businesses take their trade to the nice one.

 

In some larger regional areas I think they do pretty well and perhaps less competition. With a lot of banks closing up then banking services might become more important. People get burnt out running these businesses though I imagine.

 

I was always told that newsagents made money from newspaper deliveries/magazines/stationary etc but given that newspapers are dying out, magazines are online and you have officeworks .I cant see any way they survive unless they sell lotteries, maybe thats why they are all selling

 

Is it also the case with many of these small businesses where you are really buying yourself a job rather than a business? Fish and chip shops, cafes, milk bars etc. They often seem to come up. Even if they are quite profitable, people get burnt out and the cost of employing make it hard to cash flow??

 

OK, I've been doing quite a bit of research on newsagents in particular. Many are producing very healthy profits. One interesting point is that revenue from newspapers and magazines is less than 10% and has been for a while. They will be around for a long while yet.

 

I dont recall when I visited the news agency... may be 2-3 years ago

 

As long as newsagents keep girlie magazines there’ll always be a steady flow of school boys going through.

I know, I used to be ordered out after being glued to a magazine for too long.

Hang on, it’s all on your phone now.

 

They seem more like an eclectic mix of retail similar to a seven eleven store. I've had audited financials sent to me on three that are for sale and all of them are very profitable.

 

The threat for newsagencies will be if lotteries etc go into the supermarkets or online.

 

I think this is a big factor.

 

after interest and paying a salary to the owner who works there?

 

They are already at the Petrol Station

 

Some people come to Australia using a business visa to get entry. Once they operate a successful business and obtain residency they can look to onsell the business.

This might be only a small portion of persons buying a selling a newsagency of course. And business visa's apply to a wide range of businesses.

Most people buying and running a newsagency are in it for the long term. The lotto brings in the people.

 

I would hazard a guess that the average age of the newsagency customer is on the high side and their clock is winding down, and with it the lifecycle of this type of retail.