From Saturday 19 September to 26 September it’s National Newsagent Week, an opportunity for us to recognise the contribution newsagents make to our community.
This years theme is Your Newsagent, Your Community Heartbeat which perfectly represents newsagents, as an essential service to all West Aussies.
We chatted to the Patel family, who operate Hocking News, and Dean Scott, WA General Manager of the Australian Lotteries and Newsagency Association, about what National Newsagents Week means to them.
Hocking News
Meet Megha and Bipin, the friendly faces at Hocking News, who are celebrating National Newsagent Week.
The dad and daughter duo, were ecstatic to share how great their local northern suburbs community is, where they’ve operated their newsagency for the past few years. They said National Newsagent Week is a nice way to promote local businesses, run by local families, and the importance of shopping local.
The family originally owned a book and stationery store from Kenya, and said starting their newsagency in WA has been a welcome change, with great weather to match.
They enjoy watching all generations, young and old, make their way through their store to find the perfect gift and pick up a Lotto ticket!
“Customers will often pop in even if they don’t need anything, just to ask how our week has been. We’ve made all kinds of new friends now,” said Megha.
“It’s really nice seeing all generations and families visit our store. It feels like a tradition now.”
“Everyone is so friendly.”
They pride themselves in stocking the latest in exciting homewares, gifts, stationery and a card for every occasion! Pop in-store to see them.
Dean Scott, WA General Manager, Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association
Dean has been involved in the newsagent industry for 24 years and has a wealth of knowledge about operating a newsagent and building great relationships with customers.
He says all newsagents have a story to tell and National Newsagent Week is the perfect opportunity to be able to get to know the locals behind the counter. They’re often very active community members that put in tireless hours behind the scenes.
“Many newsagents carry out volunteer work in their communities – Country Fire Authority, SES, on sporting committees, local council etc. They are usually the first port of call for schools and sporting clubs when they are having fundraising event,” said Dean.
“Newsagents build relationships with their customers and once a customer has a feeling of a personal connection, they’ll become a more loyal customer and possibly more than a just a customer.”
“I remember as a teenager, running down to my local newsagent each Friday morning, before school, as the local footy teams were posted in the shop window after Thursday night footy training. I got to find out who made the first team and who was playing in the seconds.”
He says newsagents are resilient and have evolved and adapted to remain relevant over the years. They’ve certainly overcome a challenging task by operating through the pressing times of COVID-19 to serve their community, and be a familiar friendly face to locals, through the stress.
“Newsagents will continue to evolve and adapt to whatever the world throws at them.”
