Blog Keyword - Midland PaperClips - fine paper, packaging and supply systems distributor

12.06.2011

Walgreens November Sales Increase 4.2 Percent

Walgreens had November sales of $6.09 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent from $5.84 billion for the same month in fiscal 2011.

Total front-end sales increased 4.0 percent in November, while comparable store front-end sales increased 2.7 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 0.3 percentage point and basket size increased 3.0 percent.

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12.02.2011

Bemis Company Acquires Shield Pack

Bemis Company, Inc. today announced that it has acquired the common stock of Shield Pack, LLC of West Monroe, Louisiana, a manufacturer of high barrier liners for bulk container packaging with annual net sales of approximately $25 million. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. This transaction does not impact Bemis’ earnings per share guidance for 2011.

“This acquisition expands our reach into new market applications for bulk liquids and other products that require barrier packaging,” said Henry Theisen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bemis Company, Inc. “Shield Pack’s expertise in moisture and oxygen barrier technology complements our existing technological capabilities and our focus on high barrier packaging solutions.”

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12.02.2011

Crude Oil Futures Rise Amid Middle East Tension, Head for Weekly Gain

Oil rose, heading for its first weekly gain in three, as investors bet U.S. employers quickened the pace of hiring last month and concern deepened that tension between Iran and the west will disrupt Middle East exports.

Futures gained as much as 0.9 percent and are up 4.3 percent this week. European governments tightened sanctions on Iran, the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a clampdown over the Persian Gulf nation’s nuclear program. Bank of America Corp. cut its 2012 Brent forecast.

“The oil market is strongly supported by the geopolitical risks over Iran, and a physical market that’s already very tight,” said James Zhang, a strategist at Standard Bank Plc in London, who forecasts prices will remain at current levels for the rest of the year. “Oil will be range-bound without a crisis in Iran or blow-up in the euro zone.”

Crude for January delivery climbed as much as 89 cents to $101.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was $100.94 at 11:25 a.m. London time.

Brent oil for January settlement was at $109.62 a barrel, up 63 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract slid $1.53, or 1.4 percent, to $108.99 yesterday.

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12.02.2011

Boise Inc. Completes Hexacomb Acquisition

Boise Inc. today announced that it had completed the acquisition of the Hexacomb protective packaging business of Pregis Corporation. Hexacomb is a leader in kraft-paper-based honeycomb protective packaging and operates twelve manufacturing facilities across six countries.

"We are pleased to complete this acquisition and welcome Hexacomb employees to Boise,” said Alexander Toeldte, president and chief executive officer of Boise Inc. “Hexacomb expands our position in the protective packaging market, provides a platform for further growth, steps up our vertical integration within our containerboard business, and delivers synergies with limited execution risk.”

In 2010, Hexacomb had revenues of $102 million and converted approximately 60,000 tons of containerboard. The $125 million transaction was financed through cash on hand.

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12.02.2011

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. Announces November Sales

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. today announced comparable store sales for the four weeks ended November 26, 2011 decreased 4.9%. Total sales decreased 4.9% to $303.6 million for the four weeks compared with $319.1 million for the prior year period.

Year-to-date comparable store sales through November 26, 2011 decreased 3.3%. Year-to-date total sales through November 26, 2011 decreased 3.7% to $2,205.1 million compared with $2,289.6 million for the prior year period.

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12.02.2011

Study: Fifty percent of consumers prefer direct mail to email

Fifty percent of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, according to a study released by marketing services firm Epsilon on Dec. 1. The study also found that one-quarter of all U.S. consumers said they found direct mail to be “more trustworthy” than email.

Of the 2,226 U.S. consumers surveyed for the third Consumer Channel Preference Study, 60% said they enjoy checking their physical mailboxes, highlighting what the study refers to as an “emotional connection” to postal mail.

Over-reliance on email messaging may actually hurt marketers, according to the study, which found the perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year.

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12.02.2011

Regional Mag Publisher Looks to Resuscitate Local Newspaper Business with Weekly Offering

Dan Shannon, publisher of North Carolina city titles Chapel Hill and Durham Magazines, has spotted a hole in the current news publishing model.

“We have mere shadows of what newspapers used to be. We can bring Chapel Hill a lively, local newspaper,” says Shannon. “A weekly that includes things not easily accessible on the internet––like middle school and high school sports, births, deaths, marriages, divorces, land transfers, arrests, acquittals, bankruptcies and new business startups.”

Enter Chapel Hill Magazine’s The Weekly, a high-frequency print publication intended to fill the gap Shannon believes is left by newspapers currently serving the community (which include McClatchy’s local subsidiary the News & Observer). Set to debut in February 2012, a six-month beta period will ensue. During this time, The Weekly will be delivered without charge to 2,000 randomly chosen households. An additional 5,000 copies will be distributed for newsstand sale.

The Weekly will follow the business model of its parent publication. Twelve thousand affluent Chapel Hill households receive Chapel Hill Magazine for free, and it’s sold on newsstands for $5.00 an issue. The publication has an average 85 percent sell-through rate, which equates to about 1,000 copies.

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12.02.2011

USPS promises to fix “unacceptable” flats processing delays

US Postal Service executives resolved to fix problems in their periodicals processing yesterday, as mailers pressed their concerns about significant delays.

On-time performance levels for one-to-two day periodicals delivery have slumped to as low as 44% this year as USPS expanded its use of automated flats sequencing systems (FSS) as a way of improving efficiency in processing flats immediately prior to delivery.

FSS machines automatically sequence newspapers and magazines into delivery order for houses along a mail carrier’s route, meaning the mail carrier does not have to sequence the items manually.

Over the past year the Postal Service has accelerated its plans to expand its FSS fleet from 10 machines in five sites to 100 machines in 42 sites, as an extra effort to cut costs from the network. But, after the roll-out was completed this summer, the new machines have been plagued with problems that has seen significant periods of down-time.

Largely because of the FSS issues, the number of delays to Standard Mail flats has increased 16% this year, while delays to Standard Mail overall fell 20%.

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12.02.2011

Huhtamaki Continues Foodservice Expansion with Acquisition of Ample Industries

Huhtamaki, a global leader in foodservice and paperboard packaging, today announced it has acquired the business and assets of Ample Industries, Inc., a privately held manufacturer of folding paperboard cartons for the foodservice industry.

Ample Industries, Inc. employs approximately 230 people in its Franklin, OH plant and adds to Huhtamaki North America a new product technology, a talented workforce and additional manufacturing presence in the Midwest.

"Ample Industries' nested trays, fry cartons and clamshells further expand Huhtamaki's product portfolio of tableware, cups, containers, carriers, and serviceware," says Clay Dunn, president, Huhtamaki North America.

"We're excited to join Huhtamaki," says Bob Fairchild, president of Ample Industries, Inc. "Our state-of-the-art N-line machinery and high quality foodservice cartons now have the backing of a global company with a broad product range, strong management and financial stability. Today is a good day for our customers and employees."

Huhtamaki also announced today plans to expand capacity in the paper drink cup and pressed paperboard plate businesses for foodservice and retail customers in North America.

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12.02.2011

Sun Chemical’s Rycoline Division to Increase Prices on Blanket Product Lines

Due to continued increases in the costs of key raw materials such as textiles and rubber compounds, Sun Chemical’s Rycoline Group will raise prices in North America by 5 percent on most blanket lines, effective January 1, 2012.

The blanket product lines affected by the price increase include: SunBeam, SunBeam N, SunBeam 116, SunBeam 122, SunDot, SunSpot, SunDual and SunLazer.

“We’ve seen especially high demand in cotton in 2011 because of the year’s poor harvest,” said Dennis Sweet, Vice President, Rycoline. “As a result, there has been a tremendous increase in the cost of cotton, and we don’t foresee any of these costs to go down in the near future. We will continue to work on controlling our own costs closely with our supply chain partners, to improve our internal operations, and to develop new value-oriented products and services that can help customers improve their productivity and grow their business.”

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12.02.2011

Royal Adhesives & Sealants Acquires Craig Adhesives & Coatings from Vertis Communications

Royal Adhesives & Sealants (Royal), a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners (Arsenal), and Vertis Communications (Vertis) today announced that Royal will acquire substantially all of the assets of Vertis’ indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Webcraft Chemicals, which operates under the name Craig Adhesives & Coatings (Craig).

Based in Newark, New Jersey, Craig is a premier supplier of ultraviolet light cured and water based adhesives and coatings to the printing and graphic arts markets. The acquisition builds on Royal’s strong platform of leading adhesives, sealants and coatings and allows clients of both companies to benefit from an expanded range of customized and proprietary solutions. For Vertis, the sale provides additional opportunities to pay down debt and invest in the cross-media solutions that will drive its continued growth.

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12.02.2011

Ahlstrom concludes profit improvement program

Ahlstrom Corporation, a global high-performance materials company, concludes its profit improvement program with measures affecting a total of 57 people in different locations.

Ahlstrom has decided to reduce 35 employees at its Jacarei plant in Brazil, part of the Label and Processing business area, due to the weakened market conditions in coated papers in South America. In addition, streamlining measures at other plants affect a total of 22 people.

The measures announced today are the final steps in the profit improvement program, announced on October 18, 2011. Under the program, the company announced profit improvement measures impacting a total of 362 employees in various plants worldwide. The program is expected to improve annual operating profit by approximately EUR 15 million starting from the year 2012. The overall impact of the non-recurring items of the program is cash neutral.

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12.02.2011

Kohl's Corporation Reports November Comparable Store Sales

Kohl's Corporation reported today that for the four-week month ended November 26, 2011 total sales decreased 4.5 percent and comparable store sales decreased 6.2 percent from the four-week month ended November 27, 2010. Year to date, total sales increased 2.4 percent and comparable store sales increased 0.6 percent.

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12.02.2011

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. Reports November Sales Results

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. reported today that its comparable store sales for the four-week period ended Nov. 26, 2011, decreased 2.0 percent. This compares to a 9.2 percent increase in the same period last year. Total Company sales in November decreased 5.9 percent.

For the month, women's and men's apparel and accessories were the top performing merchandise divisions. Sales throughout November were ahead of the prior year heading into the holiday weekend. However, the Company noted that its decision to respect Thanksgiving Day for families and open at 4:00 a.m. on Friday, as it had in prior years, adversely impacted Black Friday sales. Sales remained soft in-store throughout the holiday weekend.

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12.02.2011

Nordstrom Reports November Sales

Nordstrom, Inc. today reported a 5.6 percent increase in same-store sales for the four-week period ended November 26, 2011 compared with the four-week period ended November 27, 2010. Preliminary total retail sales of $910 million for November 2011 increased 11.6 percent compared with total retail sales of $815 million for the same period in fiscal 2010.

Year-to-date same-store sales increased 7.1 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2010. Preliminary year-to-date total retail sales of $8.24 billion increased 12.7 percent compared with total retail sales of $7.31 billion for the same period in fiscal 2010.

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12.02.2011

Charming Shoppes Reports Third Quarter 2011 Results

Charming Shoppes, Inc., a leading apparel retailer specializing in women's plus-size apparel, today reported sales and operating results for the three and nine month periods ended October 29, 2011. Additionally, the Company announced that it is undertaking a comprehensive strategic review of its operations to determine how best to enhance shareholder value. The Company also announced that it has decided to divest its Fashion Bug business and accelerate the growth of its Lane Bryant flagship brand.

For the third quarter ended October 29, 2011, the Company reported net sales of $429.7 million, compared to $463.6 million for the prior year period. Comparable store sales for the third quarter decreased 4% compared to the prior year period and included a flat comparable store sales result for Lane Bryant. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased 100% to $8.0 million or 1.9% of sales. This compares to Adjusted EBITDA of $4.0 million or 0.9% of sales in the prior year period, reflecting an improvement of $4.0 million. On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a net loss of $(13.0) million, or $(0.11) per diluted share for the third quarter, compared to a net loss of $(18.8) million or $(0.16) per diluted share for the third quarter of the prior year. On a non-GAAP basis, excluding restructuring and other charges, net loss per diluted share was $(0.08) for the third quarter, compared to a net loss per diluted share of $(0.13) in the third quarter of the prior year.

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12.02.2011

Macy's, Inc. Same-Store Sales Up 4.8% in November

Macy's, Inc. today reported total sales of $2.465 billion for the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011, an increase of 5.3 percent compared with total sales of $2.341 billion in the four weeks ended Nov. 27, 2010. On a same-store basis, Macy's, Inc. sales were up 4.8 percent in November.

For the year to date, Macy's, Inc. sales totaled $20.146 billion, up 5.6 percent from total sales of $19.075 billion in the first 43 weeks of 2010. On a same-store basis, Macy's, Inc.'s year-to-date sales were up 5.2 percent.

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12.02.2011

Target Reports November Sales Results

Target Corporation today reported that its net retail sales for the four weeks ended November 26, 2011 were $6,191 million, an increase of 3.0 percent from $6,012 million for the four weeks ended November 27, 2010. On this same basis, November comparable-store sales increased 1.8 percent.

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12.02.2011

Barnes & Noble Reports Fiscal 2012 Second Quarter Financial Results

Barnes & Noble, Inc. today reported sales and earnings for its second quarter ended October 29, 2011.

Total sales decreased 0.6% as compared to the prior year, from $1.90 billion to $1.89 billion. Barnes & Noble store sales decreased 1% from $931 million to $918 million, with comparable sales decreasing 0.6%. Physical book sales declined, offset by increases in NOOK products and were positively affected by the liquidation of the remaining Borders stores. Comparable store sales improved each month throughout the quarter.

Barnes & Noble College sales declined 4% from $797 million to $768 million, due to a shift from selling new and used textbooks to lower priced, higher margin textbook rentals. Comparable store sales increased 0.4%. College comparable store sales reflect the retail selling price of a new or used textbook when rented, rather than solely the rental fee received and amortized over the rental period.

BN.com sales increased 17% over the prior year, from $177 million to $206 million. Comparable sales increased 38%, on top of a 59% increase a year ago. This increase was driven by continued growth of digital content sales and purchases of award winning NOOK(TM) devices. BN.com comparable sales reflect the actual selling price for eBooks sold under the agency model rather than solely the commission received.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 21% over the prior year, from $46 million to $56 million.

Retail EBITDA grew from $1.3 million to $21.0 million, benefiting from higher product margins this year. In addition, the prior year included $10 million of litigation and proxy contest costs. College EBITDA declined slightly from $95.3 million to $93.9 million. BN.com EBITDA losses increased from $50.2 million to $58.9 million, driven by planned product markdowns on the recently announced NOOK price adjustments, as well as higher advertising production costs.

Total company net loss was $6.6 million for the quarter, or $0.17 per share, as compared to a net loss of $12.6 million last year, or $0.22 per share. Included in the current quarter is a $0.06 loss per share related to the company's preferred stock dividend, in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings per Share. The dividend is deducted from earnings available to common shareholders in the earnings per share calculation and does not impact the company's results of operations.

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12.01.2011

Coldwater Creek Announces Third Quarter 2011 Results

Coldwater Creek Inc. today reported financial results for the three-month period ended October 29, 2011.

Consolidated net sales were $187.5 million, compared with $232.4 million in the fiscal 2010 third quarter. Net sales from the retail segment, which includes the Company's premium retail stores, outlet stores and day spa locations, were $144.1 million versus $174.3 million in the same period last year, primarily reflecting a decrease in comparable premium retail store sales of 19.8 percent. The decline in comparable premium retail store sales was primarily related to continued weak traffic trends. Third quarter net sales from the direct segment, which includes internet, phone and mail orders, were $43.3 million versus $58.1 million in the same period last year.

Consolidated gross profit was $56.3 million, or 30.0 percent of net sales, compared with $70.9 million, or 30.5 percent of net sales, for the fiscal 2010 third quarter. Gross profit margin was down 50 basis points compared to the prior year period as a result of improvement in merchandise margin of over 200 basis points more than offset by deleveraging of occupancy and buying expense.

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12.01.2011

Limited Brands Reports November 2011 Sales

Limited Brands, Inc. reported a comparable store sales increase of 7 percent for the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011, compared to the four weeks ended Nov. 27, 2010. The company reported net sales of $872.6 million for the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011, compared to net sales of $893.0 million last year. The decline in sales year over year was driven by the sale of our third party apparel sourcing business in the beginning of November 2011.

The company reported a comparable store sales increase of 10 percent for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011, compared to the 43 weeks ended Nov. 27, 2010. The company reported net sales of $7.721 billion for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 26, 2011, compared to sales of $7.050 billion last year.

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12.01.2011

UPM is planning production curtailments and measures to improve efficiency for timber and further processing businesses

UPM Timber and UPM Living business units are to begin co-operation negotiations concerning production curtailments for the first quarter of 2012 and measures to improve production efficiency.

“Business has been negatively affected by a decrease in demand, weak cost competitiveness and the overcapacity of sawn timber and further processed wood products in Europe. The aim of the plan is to improve the long-term cost competitiveness in the business areas of sawn timber and further processed wood products,” states Ilkka Ylipoti, Senior Vice President, UPM Timber.

The negotiations concerning the efficiency improvement of production will begin at Aureskoski and Lappeenranta, in Finland, and at Pestovo, in Russia. If the planned rationalisation measures are carried out, the number of employees will be reduced by, at most, 59 people.

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12.01.2011

UPM Silvesta Oy to begin negotiations to improve efficiency of operations

UPM Silvesta Oy will begin co-operation negotiations to improve the efficiency of operations and the profitability of the company. The negotiations will commence on 7 December, 2011.

If the planned measures will realise according to the plan the number of UPM Silvesta’s employees would decrease by 90 persons. The negotiations will cover the whole personnel.

UPM Silvesta employs for the time being 216 persons; 197 forest workers and 19 clerical employees.

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12.01.2011

J.Crew Group, Inc. Announces Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results

J.Crew Group, Inc. today announced financial results for the three months (third quarter) and nine months (first nine months) ended October 29, 2011.

Third Quarter highlights: Revenues increased 12% to $479.6 million, with comparable company sales increasing 5%. Comparable company sales increased 2% in the third quarter last year. Store sales increased 10% to $334.5 million, with comparable store sales increasing 2%. Comparable store sales decreased 1% in the third quarter last year. Direct sales increased 18% to $138.5 million on top of increasing 12% in the third quarter last year. Gross margin decreased to 42.1% from 43.5% in the third quarter last year. The decrease includes the impact of purchase accounting of $6.8 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to $143.9 million from $122.6 million in the third quarter last year. The increase includes transaction-related costs and the impact of purchase accounting of $4.0 million. Operating income was $57.9 million, or 12.1% of revenues, compared to $64.1 million, or 14.9% of revenues, in the third quarter last year.

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12.01.2011

Adobe to Acquire Efficient Frontier, Leading Digital Ad Buying and Optimization Platform

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Efficient Frontier, a leader in multi-channel ad buying and optimization. Adobe solutions are central to how digital marketing and advertising is created, managed, executed, measured and optimized. Adobe currently captures approximately five trillion digital transactions per year for more than 5,000 customers, including many of the world’s largest advertisers, publishers and advertising agencies.

The acquisition of Efficient Frontier will add multi-channel ad campaign forecasting, execution and optimization capabilities to Adobe’s existing Digital Marketing Suite. Along with the Suite, Adobe’s digital marketing capabilities include an enterprise-class data management platform, a leading video ad management and monetization platform, and an enterprise content management system. Adobe will continue to build upon the foundation of its independent ad buying and optimization platform for search, social and display, enabling the company to offer a more complete suite of capabilities to digital marketers, advertisers and publishers for reporting and analytics, personalized experiences, multi-channel campaign management and media monetization.

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12.01.2011

American Eagle Outfitters Reports Third Quarter 2011 Results

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. today announced earnings for the third quarter ended October 29, 2011 of $0.27 per diluted share, compared to adjusted income from continuing operations of $0.29 per diluted share last year, which excludes a realized loss from the sale of investment securities of $0.12 per diluted share.

Total sales for the quarter increased 11% to $832 million, compared to $752 million last year. Third quarter comparable store sales increased 5%, compared to a 1% increase last year. For additional comparable store sales information for the period, see the accompanying table.

Gross profit was $309 million, or 37.1% as a rate to sales, compared to $312 million, or 41.6% as a rate to sales, last year. While merchandise profit dollars increased slightly due to stronger sales, higher cotton costs and markdowns pressured the merchandise margin, which decreased 480 basis points. Buying, occupancy and warehousing costs improved 30 basis points as a rate to sales, primarily due to top line growth driven by a 5% comparable store sales increase.

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12.01.2011

Aeropostale Reports Third Quarter 2011 Results

Aeropostale, Inc., a mall-based specialty retailer of active and casual apparel for young women and men, today reported results for the third quarter ended October 29, 2011.

Diluted net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 were $0.30 per diluted share. The Company reported net earnings of $0.63 per diluted share in the third quarter last year. The prior year net earnings included a previously disclosed after-tax charge of approximately $3.9 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, resulting from the related third quarter retirement plan payment to its Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2011, total net sales decreased 1% to $596.5 million, from $602.8 million in the year ago period. Same store sales for the third quarter decreased 9%, compared to essentially flat same store sales last year.

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12.01.2011

Kindle Direct Publishing Now Available for the Amazon.es Kindle Store

Amazon.es today announced that authors and publishers are now able to make their books available in the Amazon.es Kindle Store (www.amazon.es/kindle) using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) (http://kdp.amazon.es). Authors and publishers can utilize the new Spanish-language KDP website to make their books available in Spain and more than 100 countries worldwide, while continuing to own the rights to their books. The popular 70% royalty option, which allows independent authors and publishers worldwide to make more money on books sold to Kindle customers in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, France and Italy, is now also available for books sold in Spain.

Kindle Direct Publishing is a fast, free and easy way for authors and publishers to make their books available to Kindle customers in Spain and around the world via Kindle and on free Kindle reading apps for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac and Android-based devices. The new Spanish-language KDP website is also a convenient way for authors and publishers in many Latin American countries to publish their books to Kindle.

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12.01.2011

Kindle Direct Publishing Now Available for the Amazon.it Kindle Store

Amazon.it today announced that authors and publishers worldwide are now able to make their books available in the Amazon.it Kindle Store (www.amazon.it/kindle) using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) (http://kdp.amazon.it). Authors and publishers can utilize the new Italian-language KDP website to make their books available in Italy and more than 100 countries worldwide, while continuing to own the rights to their books. The popular 70% royalty option, which allows independent authors and publishers to make more money on every book sold to Kindle customers in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, France and Spain, is now also available for books sold in Italy.

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12.01.2011

Crude Futures Trade Near Two-Week High in New York on Iran Supply Risks

Oil traded near its highest in two weeks as the clash between Iran and Western governments heightened speculation that Middle East supplies may be at risk.

Futures were little changed, erasing gains as a strengthening dollar reduced the appeal of commodities priced in the U.S. currency. Prices earlier advanced as much as 0.6 percent after the U.K. closed its embassy in Iran, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, following an attack by protesters.

“Any shortfall of Iranian production on the world market would bring a massive deterioration to the world balance,” Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in an interview with Maryam Nemazee on Bloomberg Television’s “The Pulse.” Prices could surge to $150 in the event of conflict in the Persian Gulf, he said.

Crude for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was at $100.07 a barrel, down 29 cents, at 11:30 a.m. London time. Brent oil for January settlement fell 1.2 percent to $109.36 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract’s premium to West Texas Intermediate narrowed to $9.29 from $10.16 yesterday.

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12.01.2011

The State of the Digital Edition Industry in 2011

We’re only about a year into the tablet age but more than a decade of using digital editions. Today, with the rise of ever increasingly sophisticated mobile devices and apps, digital editions are poised to leap to the forefront of publishers’ revenue generation plans and serve as their flagship on devices such as the iPad.

But are they able to deliver? Nxtbook Media recently wrapped its 2011 State of the Digital Edition survey, which looked at audience development and revenue growth, as well as where mobile fits in.

The good news? Publishers on both the consumer and b-to-b sides are more satisfied with their digital editions than last year when Nxtbook first conducted the survey. However, there is some growing frustration as publishers continue with how to actually monetize digital editions.

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12.01.2011

A New Brunswick First - Irving Paper Earns National Recognition for Leadership in Energy Efficiency

Irving Paper Limited is one of three New Brunswick companies to win a Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) Award at a ceremony in Toronto last night. Flakeboard and Groupe Savoie were also recognized. It is the first time in the 36-year history of the program that New Brunswick companies have won national honours.

The National Energy Conservation awards are sponsored by Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Energy costs account for up to 30% of Irving Paper’s manufacturing costs – the most significant portion being electricity. The paper mill team is working hard to reduce those energy costs it can control – fossil fuel consumption. Increasing fuel prices and a strong commitment to reduce the mill’s carbon footprint have motivated Irving Paper to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

With the support of Efficiency New Brunswick, the Pulp & Paper Division has reduced its carbon footprint and fossil fuel consumption by 50% over the last five years. These reductions translate to a reduction of 168,000 metric tonnes (MT) of greenhouse gas – the equivalent of taking 32,000 cars off the road.

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12.01.2011

IDG Folds GamePro Magazine to Focus on Custom Projects

One of the last of the U.S. print magazines on video gaming left in the market is folding as IDG announced yesterday GamePro ceases publication with the current Winter issue. The quarterly title covered video game reviews and previews since 1989 and grew to be one of the largest such game books on newsstands. According to IDG’s Consumer and Small Business Media Group, a decision was made to redirect the GamePro Media division towards custom publishing projects instead of consumer-facing endeavors. And so also being folded is the GamePro.com Web site, which has been online since 1996. The GamePro brand will live on for consumers, but tucked away as a channel at PCWorld.com. Game news and reviews as well as the inevitable games media tips and cheats pieces will now be handled by PCWorld staff. The site will begin redirecting users to the new channel as of December 5. IDG did not disclose any layoffs associated with the changes.

The re-engineered group, GamePro Custom Solutions will be led by the current GamePro president Marci Yamaguchi Hughes. In the past GamePro has done custom work for Brady Games (hint books) and trade show dailies for the annual E3 gaming convention.

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12.01.2011

Pregnancy Magazine to Go Digital-Only in 2012

Pregnancy Magazine Group announced this week that the current December/January issue will be its last in print. The company, which acquired the title in January 2010, is moving the brand to a digital magazine format in early 2012 on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire devices. The founder of Greatdad.com Paul Banas will; be publisher of the digital version and the magazine’s editor-in-chief Abigail Tuller will now run the editorial team for the digital version as well as PreganancyMagazine.com’s online property Moms360.

The magazine leaves newsstands with a circulation of 255,000 publishing ten times a year.

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12.01.2011

Talbots Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results

The Talbots, Inc. today reported results for the third quarter and commented on key initiatives and actions as well as fourth quarter 2011.

Third quarter loss from continuing operations was $22.1 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to last year’s income from continuing operations of $17.0 million, or $0.24 per share.

Adjusted third quarter loss from continuing operations was $15.5 million, or $0.22 per share, excluding special items of $6.6 million, or $0.10 per share, compared to last year’s adjusted income from continuing operations of $18.7 million, or $0.27 per share. A full reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP (“adjusted”) results is included with this release.

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12.01.2011

Saks Incorporated Announces November Comparable Store Sales

Retailer Saks Incorporated today announced that owned sales totaled $277.1 million for the four weeks ended November 26, 2011 compared to $254.9 million for the four weeks ended November 27, 2010, an 8.7% increase. Comparable store sales increased 9.3% for the month.

For November, the strongest categories at Saks Fifth Avenue stores included women’s and men’s contemporary apparel, handbags, fine jewelry, men’s shoes, cosmetics, and fragrances. Saks Direct performed well during the month.

On a year-to-date basis, for the ten months ended November 26, 2011, owned sales totaled $2,327.6 million compared to $2,144.7 million for the prior year ten months ended November 27, 2010, an 8.5% increase. Comparable store sales increased 10.2% for the ten months.

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12.01.2011

Resolute Forest Products Issues 2010 Sustainability Report

Resolute Forest Products today issued its 2010 Sustainability Report, reviewing Company performance in key areas such as environmental impact, stakeholder engagement, product stewardship, fiber sourcing, community relations, human resources, and health and safety.

This year's report is the first prepared by the Company using the G3 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the world's most broadly accepted standards for accountable and transparent sustainability reporting.

"I'm proud of how far Resolute has progressed in becoming a stronger, more sustainable organization, but we know we need to keep doing better year after year," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "By focusing on the three pillars of sustainability - environmental, social and economic - we will improve our competitiveness, enhance our reputation and be an environmental supplier of choice. And GRI reporting provides a framework to improve the accountability and transparency of our approach to sustainability."

In preparing the report, Resolute conducted an extensive analysis to identify sustainability issues deemed most important by stakeholders. While the analysis found that overall Company performance has been improving steadily over the years, further action was required to manage some key issues.

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11.30.2011

JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Reports 19% Increase in Profits for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2011

JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. announces that net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 increased 19.3% to $15.0 million as compared with net income of $12.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010. Earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 increased 20.0% to $0.54 per share as compared with earnings per share of $0.45 for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010. The third quarter of fiscal year 2011 ended October 29, 2011; the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 ended October 30, 2010.

Total sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 increased 21.0% to $209.6 million from $173.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2010, while comparable store sales increased 14.6% and Direct Marketing sales increased 28.6%.

Comparing the first nine months of fiscal year 2011 with the first nine months of fiscal year 2010, net income increased 18.9% to $53.3 million as compared to $44.9 million and earnings per share increased 18.6% to $1.91 per share as compared to $1.61 per share. Total sales for the first nine months of fiscal year 2011 increased 17.4% to $633.6 million from $539.8 million for the first nine months of fiscal year 2010, while comparable store sales increased 9.9% and Direct Marketing sales increased 26.1%.

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11.30.2011

Amcor vented rollstock expands the economies of flow wrap into EtO and steam sterilisation applications

Always alert to the challenges faced by the medical device industry, Amcor Flexibles is constantly developing its comprehensive range of films and specialist laminate structures to find innovative, new packaging solutions that meet the barrier, opening and sterilisation packaging requirements unique to this industry.

Medical device manufacturers continue to seek cost reductions that do not compromise the quality of the pack and, with this is mind, Amcor Flexibles was the first to introduce a range of Tyvek®* vented films for high speed flow wrap applications undergoing ethylene oxide (EtO) or steam sterilisation. Previously, medical device manufacturers could only consider the economies offered by flow wrapping systems for irradiation sterilisation or non-sterilised applications.

The introduction of the Amcor Flexibles vented films has meant that manufacturers can now specify flow wrapping for the packaging of items such as gowns and drapes, tubing sets, diagnostic devices, prefilled syringes, CSR wrapped surgical kits and dialysis filters. In addition to greater speed and process efficiency, flow wrap is a very flexible and economical system for both small and large pack sizes which offers further benefits of reduced material, tooling and capital investment costs. The film can also be flexo or gravure printed.

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11.30.2011

Oil Pares Second Monthly Gain After U.S. Crude, Distillate Stockpiles Rise

Oil fell from the highest in two weeks in New York after Standard & Poor’s cut credit ratings on some of the world’s biggest lenders, and amid signs of rising crude supplies in the U.S.

West Texas Intermediate futures slid as much as 0.9 percent, paring a second monthly gain. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said yesterday crude inventories climbed by 3.44 million barrels last week. S&P lowered the ratings of banks led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. and UBS AG. Prices rose yesterday after U.S. consumer confidence climbed the most in more than eight years and Iranian protesters vandalized the British Embassy’s compound in Tehran.

“The debt crisis is a very, very bearish factor in the market,” said Gerrit Zambo, a trader at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich who correctly predicted crude’s slump in September. “On the other hand, we’re at the start of winter now with some oil supplies at little bit tight, and some positive macro data in the U.S.”

Crude for January delivery fell as much as 87 cents to $98.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile. It was at $99.27 at 10:30 a.m. in London. The contract yesterday advanced 1.6 percent to $99.79, the highest close since Nov. 16. Prices have risen 6.5 percent this month, after climbing 18 percent in October.

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11.30.2011

USPS begins new year with $139 million loss

The U.S. Postal Service posted a $139 million loss for October, the first month of its 2012 fiscal year. That compares with a net profit of $283 million in the same period last year.

Total mail volume for the month was off by 10.1% year-over-year, with revenue down 5% to $5.7 billion as users accelerated their use of alternate digital communication channels. Standard mail, used most often by commercial mailers and which had been growing steadily, fell in volume by 12.4% in October versus the year-ago period, to 8 billion pieces, with revenue off 10.2%, to $1.7 billion for the month.

The lone bright spot was shipping, with volume rising 34.6% to 166.5 million pieces for the month, and revenue up 17.0%, to $863.2 million.

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11.30.2011

CEPIPRINT and CEPIFINE join forces to represent the graphic paper producing industry in Europe

CEPIPRINT, the Association of European publication paper producers and CEPIFINE, the Confederation of European fine paper industries announced today that on the 1st of January 2012 they will join forces to create a new Association based in Brussels. The Association, to be known as Euro-Graph, will represent over 30 companies, operating well over 100 paper mills in Europe, with an annual capacity of approximately 45 million tonnes of graphic papers.

The merger allows the graphic paper sector, the largest within the European pulp, paper and packaging industry, to stand united before the common challenges posed by new and electronic media. The new entity will aim to further improve the quality of market statistics and analysis for its members, as well as addressing cross-sector issues such as sustainability and communication, while benefiting from streamlined and simplified processes and working procedures.

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11.30.2011

Chesapeake to Add Second KBA

Chesapeake Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Packaging, the world’s leading manufacturer in this sector, has continued its major multi-million pound capital investment programme with the addition of a second KBA RAPIDA 106 higher performance B1 press.

Chosen to produce pharmaceutical leaflets at the group’s Tewkesbury site, the two-colour perfector follows last year’s installation of a RAPIDA 106 six-colour machine at the group’s Greenford operation.

Both presses are equipped with KBA’s lightweight stock option which reduces minimum substrate specification to 0.04 mm, ColorTronic off-press ink and register control system and DriveTronic for smooth sheet delivery. The Tewkesbury press, scheduled for installation before the end of 2011, is also equipped with a RapidKut reel sheeter to enable handling of both sheeted paper or reels for ultimate stock flexibility and with Sensoric Infeed System (SIS), KBA’s unique sidelay-free sheet infeed solution.

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11.30.2011

Mt. Vernon Printing Achieves G7 Master Qualified Printer Status

Mt. Vernon Printing, a Consolidated Graphics, Inc. company specializing in marketing collateral, educational literature and direct mail for associations, unions, political campaigns, corporations and advertising agencies, announced today it has achieved G7 Master Qualified Printer status through IDEAlliance, the nonprofit industry organization that develops, educates, and validates best practices in publishing and information technology. Mt. Vernon Printing’s G7 Master Qualified Printer designation highlights the company’s commitment to quality, consistency and color management.

“Being recognized as a G7 Master Qualified Printer speaks to the ongoing commitment we have to the print industry at large,” said Russell Price, President of Mt. Vernon Printing. “We are constantly working to better our technology, processes and service in order to provide best-in-class printing to our customers.”

Mt. Vernon Printing has been trained to utilize the new G7 methodology and can produce a press sheet to GRACoL (General Requirements for Applications in Commercial Offset Lithography) targets within acceptable tolerances. By achieving the status of a G7 Master Qualified Printer, Mt. Vernon Printing can reliably produce high quality printing with a close visual appearance from proof to press, as well as from press to press. As a G7 Master Qualified Printer, the company will go through a yearly requalification audit to ensure it maintains IDEAlliance calibration and process standards.

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11.30.2011

Crown Demonstrates Commitment to Sustainability with Launch of First Formal Report

Crown Holdings, Inc., a leading supplier of metal packaging products worldwide, today announced the release of its first sustainability report. Titled "Creating an Infinitely Bright Future," the report combines industry and internal data with focused case studies to highlight how the company is addressing the three pillars of sustainability – economic, environmental and social – through its innovations, operations and people.

"Crown has embodied the values of sustainability over many decades, and our operations are based on safety, innovation and efficiency. Our World-Class Performance program, which is built on effective management and resource conservation, provides the framework for all of our sustainability efforts," said John Conway, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Crown. "Launching our first sustainability report allows us to proactively communicate the strides we've made and foster an open dialogue with all of our stakeholders on this important topic."

Based upon fiscal years 2007 through 2010, the 32-page report uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 guidelines as its framework. The contents of the report have been self-declared at application level C, indicating that the company reported on all required profile disclosures as well as at least 10 Performance Indicators.

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11.30.2011

Bell Incorporated Chooses EFI Radius ERP to Increase Productivity and Provide Base for Continued Growth

EFI™, a world leader in customer-focused printing and packaging industry innovation, today announced that packaging leader Bell Incorporated has selected EFI Radius as its new MIS/ERP software.

In business since 1976 with headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Bell Incorporated is one of the largest independent folding carton manufacturers in the United States. It provides comprehensive packaging, printing, converting and inventory services to Fortune 500, regional, and foreign companies. Bell Incorporated is the world's largest manufacturer of overnight envelopes for a number of customers including the U.S. Postal Service. They also focus on food, quick service restaurant, and consumer packaging for customers like McDonald's and General Electric.

As more large packaging buyers seek to diversify their packaging spend in a rapidly consolidating market, Bell Incorporated continues to be a cost-competitive complement to the country's largest integrated suppliers. Their business has grown steadily in recent years, which meant their old system and manual processes were becoming too cumbersome, inefficient and non-scalable. They conducted a comprehensive review of available ERP systems and decided to install EFI Radius.

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11.30.2011

American Legacy to Resume Publication in 2012

Mount Vernon, N.Y.-based American Legacy, a history/cultural quarterly for African-Americans since 1995, will return in February 2012 after founder Rodney Reynolds skipped three issues this year to raise new investment capital. Mission accomplished, says Reynolds. "We are ecstatic to be positioning ourselves to be an even stronger company than before."

From the launch through 2007, American Legacy had the financial backing of what is now Forbes Media, LLC, as it was a complement to American Heritage. Both went on their own in 2007 after Elevation Partners took a minority stake in Forbes Media, with Edwin Grosvenor taking ownership of AH (also a quarterly).

During its hiatus, AL posted content on AmericanLegacyMag.com. The magazine's 115,000 subscribers are all getting extensions.

The 500,000 rate-base AL is also distributed to about 400,000 members of predominately African-American churches, and although that suggests "traditional" content (e.g., remembrances of the civil rights movement during the 1950s/1960s), Reynolds and editorial director Audrey Peterson were decidedly "nontraditional" with the Summer 2010 cover of Jimi Hendrix (pictured). Author and Hendrix biographer Greg Tate called the late musician's "absence from a general celebration of African-American cultural heroes...a vast cultural and political amnesia."

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11.30.2011

Best Workplace in the Americas Award Winners Announced

Printing Industries of America proudly announces the recipients of the 2011 Best Workplace in the Americas Awards. A total of 33 graphic arts companies were selected by a committee of distinguished human resources experts from within the industry. The program is designed to recognize graphic arts companies for their outstanding human relations efforts which contribute to a successful workplace.

“Since 2000, the Best Workplace program has recognized industry leaders from small, medium, and large firms in the graphic arts industry for their outstanding human relations practices,” noted said Jim Kyger, assistant vice president of HR for Printing Industries. “While every company that entered this year’s competition has HR programs they should be proud of, the Best Workplace Program recognizes outstanding accomplishment.

“The Best Workplace Program stands out as one of the most stringent HR awards programs available today in any industry with over 300 metrics. The program is an excellent way to give employers instituting innovative yet cost-effective HR programs the recognition they deserve.”

Entries are judged on the following criteria: management practices, work environment, training and development, recognition and rewards, workplace health and safety, health and wellness, financial security, and work-life balance.

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11.30.2011

Kimberly-Clark Client for Meredith Engagement Dividend

Meredith Corporation announced today that Kimberly-Clark Corporation signs on to become a "premier advertising partner" in the Meredith Engagement Dividend© program powered by Nielsen. The program, introduced this summer for implementation in calendar 2012, provides advertisers with a guaranteed increase in sales performance for their brands advertising in Meredith's industry-leading portfolio of women-focused magazines.

"This is a breakthrough product for the magazine industry," says Mark Kaline, Global Media Director, Kimberly-Clark, which features well-known brands such as Kleenex, Huggies and Cottonelle. "We believe its focus on driving return on investment (ROI) for advertising dollars is vital to marketers seeking to build brand sales and leadership. We're impressed with the analytics, and applaud Meredith's focus on accountability."

The Meredith Engagement Dividend program sprung from a research study conducted over a 52-week period measuring ROI for higher frequency advertising campaigns that ran in Meredith magazines during 2009 and 2010. Using analytics from Nielsen's highly regarded Homescan system – paired with Meredith's industry-leading 85 million-name database – purchases by consumers exposed to Meredith magazines were measured against shoppers with no exposure.

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11.29.2011

Canfor to Purchase Tembec's British Columbia Southern Interior Wood Products Assets

Canfor Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Tembec Industries Ltd.’s (Tembec) southern British Columbia (BC) interior wood products assets, for a purchase price including working capital of $60 million. Canfor will purchase Tembec’s Elko and Canal Flats sawmills and approximately 1.1 million cubic metres of combined Crown, private land and contract annual allowable cut. The transaction will include a long-term agreement to provide residual fibre supply for Tembec’s Skookumchuck mill.

“This acquisition is a key step in our ongoing approach to strengthening Canfor’s fibre position in BC and deepens our ability to meet the needs of our valued global customers” said Canfor President and CEO Don Kayne. “We are very pleased to have worked with Tembec President and CEO Jim Lopez in advancing the strategic objectives of both companies.”

Over the next few years, Canfor intends to make capital investments in excess of $50 million to enhance productivity and cost performance in its BC Southern Interior mill facilities. The Elko and Canal Flats mills will provide an additional 420 million board feet to Canfor’s annual capacity, bringing Canfor’s total capacity in North America to greater than 5 billion board feet.

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