When A Big Name Retailer Never Evolved With The Times
If we look around every country is littered with these types of stories and they will continue to happen due to lack of foresight and the ever constant changing times we live in.
For anyone growing up in South Africa CNA or Central News Agents was your go to store for stationery and also catered for all the essential school supplies. CNA had the daily newspapers and comics so these stores played a vital role in every South African community. At it's peak back in 1994 CNA had 316 stores nationally and no one would have guessed that within a short period of time they would be no longer. Changes create new opportunities if you can see them before they happen and CNA management was blind and oblivious to what was taking place.
CNA was first established way back in 1896 and was more of a newspaper book store before evolving over the decades into a one stop shop for all your stationery and reading essentials. Those were the days people used to subscribe to the weekly magazines and daily news papers. The foreign newspapers prior to 1994 that were imported were something expats bought and this was lucrative business.
You have to ask yourself when looking at their business model what could go wrong and it is obvious now with hind sight. The competition back in the day was non existent and CNA never protected what they had. The chances are they never saw it coming as this business was up to this point a money printer dominating this sector of the market. I would compare it to the news agents and stationery store WH Smiths in the UK who look as though they are on their way out.
When my family returned from the UK back in 2004 and my kids were starting their new school year the schools sent out a stationery order leaflet. This allowed you to order your kids books, pens, pencils etc having then delivered to the school on day one of the new school year. Waltons was the company offering this and no doubt there was a cut of the profits for the school. CNA was now out of the school stationery loop and they never counter acted this and this was the start of their big decline. This was such an obvious one and they were half asleep.
Waltons at the time was an office stationery supplier that supplied everything from chairs and desks to printers and pencils. Companies do not seem to compare about price and still true today will rather have one account than 4 or 5 so the more items you can supply like adding tea and coffee they will happily pay the extras. This is a cost to the business so this is a tax write off and no doubt Waltons noticed a spike in business with parents ordering their children's school stationery and what triggered the idea.
With the loss of the bumper revenue each year driven by the back to school supplies CNA was a dead duck as every item they now sold in their retail stores was under attack. Music and computer/PlayStation games now had specialist stores and things like news papers and magazines were in decline due to the internet. Times had changed so quickly CNA had hesitated and no longer had a client base. In 2020 under new ownership 170 non profitable stores were sold off and eventually went into business rescue in 2021. Whatever were the new owners thinking buying a business that clearly had no future?
I have to admit I have not bought a newspaper in the last 20 or so years and would not even know where to buy one these days. I see the Sunday paper at my local super market on a Sunday, but the rest of the week there are none for sale. The news paper sellers at the traffic lights have long since gone and that must be a good 10 years now since they vanished.
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