Advancing Our Industry in Partnership 2017
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AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY & NEWSAGENTS ASSOCIATION LOTTERY RETAILERS ASSOCIATION REMUNERATION REVIEW SUBMISSION PUBLIC LOTTERY LICENCE COMMISSION REVIEW MECHANISM ADVANCING OUR INDUSTRY IN PARTNERSHIP 2017 SUBMISSION - AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY & NEWSAGENTS ASSOCIATION - LOTTERY RETAILERS ASSOCIATION 2 SUMMARY CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Newsagents and Lottery Retailers have been an integral and essential part of the Lott’s ‘select’ retail distribution approach for many decades. While this model has worked well, external threats to the legitimate lottery business model have now become real, and the expansion of sales into convenience retail environments, along with the growing mass online distribution of domestic lottery products, require a more strategic vision and partnership approach now to sustainably remunerating and recognising traditional lottery retailer’s investment and role in the overall business. A genuine omni-channel partnership approach is required and this must be one that recognises, rewards and sustainably supports your retail partners role as both important retail distributors, but also that recognises your partners role in capitalising the high value lottery brand on every high street and in every shopping centre. Presently there has been a growing cultural wedge of unresolved issues between franchisor and franchisee which has hindered this important vision being achieved. ADVANCING OUR INDUSTRY IN PARTNERSHIP The Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA) and the Lottery Retailers Association (LRA) (‘the associations’) aim in this submission is to provide an elevated pathway forward, bringing together franchisor and franchisee in partnership to achieve win-win outcomes; including growth, shared profitability, greater customer engagement, strengthened loyalty, market resilience and further innovation. To achieve this, the unresolved cultural issues between franchisor and franchisee must be fixed to jointly advance and achieve our individual and common business objectives successfully. As such, there has never been a more important time for us to rectify current differences impairing our relationship and move forward together with a stronger unified culture aimed at achieving success, which aligns with other aspects of our relationship that are already strong. Such as our success in growing sales over recent years and our strong support of the official lotteries model. To this end the associations want to propose a range of positive and constructive resolutions to issues that can unite our enterprises. This is in order that we achieve a more sustainable growth and partnership model for our industry that allows us to be more agile and united. Historically, the associations have infrequently made important and very justified submissions to the Lott for an increase in commissions for retailers across the various jurisdictions. These were not coordinated, nor did they have a national view, and would often have a fairly narrow focus, primarily for a commission increase. These were akin to making a collective claim for a pay increase. The time has come to revamp this outdated process and approach, and reframe these discussions to address a broader range of important issues including the retailer’s net revenue needs, the overall remuneration structure taking into consideration identified cultural and unresolved issues, SUBMISSION - AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY & NEWSAGENTS ASSOCIATION - LOTTERY RETAILERS ASSOCIATION 3 commissions, capital expenditure, fees and charges, etc., and to lay a platform for regular reviews and to constructively work toward achieving fair and sustainable net revenues for retailers and enduring mutually beneficial outcomes. ALNA and its affiliated association (LRA) were already preparing a national submission for the Lott’s consideration addressing remuneration and partnership. The Victorian Lottery Licence has delivered a framework and timeline for a series of commission reviews by including a Commission Review Mechanism (CRM) in the Licence. As a result, the associations have taken this opportunity to combine the two into a national submission and reframed it as a wide-ranging remuneration and partnership review, with a focus on ‘advancing our industry in partnership’ and providing an elevated pathway and range of concepts for discussion and agreement for implementation nationally. The associations are acutely aware that not all jurisdictions will be able to immediately align with national remuneration changes and concepts proposed and finally agreed following the consultation phase, which have been based primarily on arrangements in Victoria, however, we are committed to working with the Lott in developing an implementation plan to bring all jurisdictions into alignment over time. Summary of subjects explored in this submission: • REQUIRED REVENUE OUTCOME • LOTTERY SALES - COMPETITION AND MARKET CHARACTERISTICS • COMMISSIONS HISTORY • LOTTERY RETAILERS COSTS • RETAIL IMAGE • PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ALIGNED TO PRICE INCREASES • FUTURE FRANCHISEE REMUNERATION, FEES & CHARGES REVIEWS • CURRENT FEES AND CHARGES REVIEW • OMNI-CHANNEL RETAILING: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES SUBMISSION - AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY & NEWSAGENTS ASSOCIATION - LOTTERY RETAILERS ASSOCIATION 4 REQUIRED REVENUE OUTCOME Rather than make a request for an increase in just gross commissions in this submission, we are seeking through this submission to achieve a rapid 15.0% increase in nett lottery commission revenue for retailers from their sales after fees & charges, we are also seeking an additional 6% commission component for retailers on the gross sales received by the Lott for digital sales, along with biennial remuneration reviews moving forward. To support this minimum required increase, we have provided analysis of the market and how retailers are contributing and being impacted, along with commentary and recommendations on what changes we believe the Lott can adopt, along with other appropriate changes to achieve this. Importantly, we have also put forward a complimentary range of strong and innovative concepts and strategies for negotiation in the consultation phase of this review, which in variable parts can bring retailers back to profitability and growth, and deliver the required net revenue outcomes retailers need, whilst producing reciprocal benefits to the Lott. LOTTERY SALES - COMPETITION AND MARKET CHARACTERISTICS HOW IS COMPETITION AND THE MARKET CHARACTERISTICS OF LOTTERY SALES IMPACTING SALES IN RETAIL OUTLETS? Lotteries as a core product category is challenging. Retailers have no control over the pricing of lottery games. If sales decline so does income. Alongside the host business, lotteries are important to generate traffic and complimentary higher margin sales contributing to turnover and profits. In the same way, the newsagency channel (and other retail environments) also generate significant traffic for lottery sales. The below summary highlights the current market characteristics for retailers: Key Main Retailer Competition Market Characteristics Purchase Market Trends Drivers Advantages Retail Lottery Fixed costs and Consumer Dominant retail On line lottery Declining Tickets increasing, rigidly preference, lottery sales sales, synthetic demand and controlled, low Habit, outlet lotteries, other increasing margin product gambling competition Impulse venues, other entertainment. As is the up and down nature of the lottery business, FY2016 provided a strong jackpot run and good sales growth for retailers, while in FY2017 sales retracted. Nationally, lottery sales overall have grown steadily, but instant lotteries appear to be relatively flat. Combined, they are growing in real terms by SUBMISSION - AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY & NEWSAGENTS ASSOCIATION - LOTTERY RETAILERS ASSOCIATION 5 about 2% per year1 and real per capita lottery turnover has grown 1.36%. Online internet lottery sales which were introduced several years ago, have now grown from about 5% of all Lottery sales in 2011, to 14.5% (16/17) and have now reached 16.4%2 of all lottery sales in the first quarter (17/18). These sales are growing much more rapidly than in-store sales and we expect margins in store may on trend now be declining overall. This online growth cannot be attributed to only new incremental sales, as it is also a redirection of the consumers gambling method as operator only online lottery sales have effectively become the biggest competitor in the retail network. Alongside this online growth, we now have other online lottery options available through synthetic lotteries. While these bets on lotteries don’t appear to have yet impacted retailer’s revenues in a meaningful way, they are impacting customers buying habits and have high consumer awareness. It is likely that this will soon disrupt regular retail customers playing patterns and this will eventually show up in revenue outcomes. Regulators of lotteries are aware of these issues and this review highlights some longer-term strategies for licencing lotteries and reviewing overall remuneration to retailers in respect of these changes. 1 Australian Gambling Statistics 2014/15. 2 Australian Financial Review 28th of November 2017 SUBMISSION - AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY & NEWSAGENTS ASSOCIATION - LOTTERY RETAILERS ASSOCIATION 6 COMMISSIONS HISTORY In 2011 the then LAAV (now LRA) presented Tatts with a commission submission and supporting arguments for an increase in commission equating to 7% per annum over 5 years (9 – 12%), which was to be primarily funded through price increases. This resulted in a commission