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10.08.2012
Glamour.com set new traffic records this summer, topping 5.3 million unique visitors, almost double the activity of a year ago. And yet, the site itself has not been redesigned in four years. In fact, some of the design and content sense of the current Glamour.com home page has an unintended retro feel. The tri-column layout is dominated by a left column of “latest blog posts,” recalling an age when everyone was aspiring to the blog vibe and market leaders like Engadget and Gawker seemed to have Torah-like scrolls.
But why argue with success? Glamour.com was doing fine, even though it looked more like a complement and companion to the magazine than a standalone entity. But several things happened in the last year, says editor-in-chief Cindi Leive. Not only did traffic growth accelerate to unprecedented levels, but Glamour’ social media presence exploded. “We have a record number of comments, 30,000 a month,” she tells minonline. Across all of the social media platforms, Glamour now reaches 5 million people a month. “Those are not companion site numbers,” she says. And the share of visitors coming from mobile continues to follow the hockey stick trajectory that almost all magazines are now experiencing. “Of the 5.3 million unique users, over 1 million are coming from mobile devices,” she says. Clearly, readers were treating the site as more than a print complement.
And so, after the print magazine experienced its own redo earlier this year, it became clear that Glamour.com needed to follow suit. “This will be a much more visual site,” Leive promises. While blog posts may have been the dominant currency of the Web four years ago, images and the sharing of visual inspiration has become an increasingly important coin of the digital realm for women’s magazines. The new site will let users dive into wells of imagery well-suited for sharing.
The blog-centric structure will be left behind and the site will zero in on the features and content that have been drawing users most, such as fashion and celebrity. But foremost, the site has to be built this time with change itself in mind. “The new site is going to allow us to update it and change the orientation much more nimbly and iteratively, so you don’t have to go four years to do a redesign,” she says.
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10.08.2012
With Facebook announcing it has topped the 1 billion user mark, there’s little question that the social networking site has world-class reach. But a new study from Macquarie Research focuses on what that audience -- in particular, younger U.S. users -- are actually doing on Facebook as the key to its success as an ad-supported business.
The research showed that engagement on Facebook remains strong, but it confirmed the shift to mobile use that has left the company scrambling to catch up with its audience on the ad side. More than half (56%) of Facebook users surveyed are accessing the service from a mobile device, up from 24% a year ago. Macquarie projects that figure will hit about 70% in fall 2013.
For the study, the investment firm surveyed a representative group of 559 15-to 25s, viewing this demographic as the trendsetters for other Facebook users. It also interviewed 420 people in California specifically, since Internet trends flow from the West Coast.
A Reuters poll released in June found that about a third of Facebook users were spending less time on the site than a year ago, raising questions about whether it was losing its appeal.
The Macquarie study found that people tend toward passive activities on Facebook, spending more time browsing updates and pictures of others than on posting their own updates or photos or using apps. Women are more likely to post content than males (20% to 17%), while men were more interested in reading or responding to others' updates (33% to 28%).
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10.08.2012
Direct-mail catalogs are not what they used to be, but that can be a good thing for catalog retailers, says Mark Carson, president and co-founder of catalog, web and store retailer Fat Brain Toys. “As online commerce continues to grow, does that spell the demise of the catalog as we know it? Perhaps the opposite,” he says.
Online versions of traditional paper catalogs, complete with flipping virtual pages, have been around for years, but have not widely risen to the level of use of traditional catalogs or e-commerce sites, Carson says. But with the rise in popularity of the tablet computer, the online catalog is primed to emerge as a new armchair favorite of shoppers, he’ll tell attendees next week in a session titled “The new world of tablet catalogs—endless opportunities, new challenges,” at the Internet Retailer Mobile Marketing and Commerce Forum 2012. “With the evolution of the tablet computer, the once familiar shopping activity—sitting in your easy chair, flipping page by page through a catalog—is once again gaining popularity,” Carson says. “But add to this experience the important roles of online video, dynamic pricing, variable inventory, customer reviews and social media—and you’ve built a better catalog. A catalog for a new generation.”
Tablet computers, of course, are still in their early days, and it will take a lot of effort by retailers to learn how to best design e-catalogs for them, he says. In his MMCF session, however, Carson will share how he has dealt with the challenges of making Fat Brain Toys’ e-catalog complement the tablet “all with a focus on figuring out where tablet catalogs will lead us in the coming years,” he says.
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10.08.2012
Crude fell for a second day in New York before a meeting of European officials amid speculation the region’s debt crisis and an economic slowdown in Asia will curb fuel demand.
Futures pared losses after sliding as much as 1.8 percent. Prices capped a third weekly decline on Oct. 5, the longest run of losses since June. Finance ministers meet in Luxembourg today to discuss Spain’s finances and closer banking cooperation. Speculators cut bullish bets on oil in the week ended Oct. 2, a report showed. Economic growth in developing East Asia, including China, will be the slowest since 2001, according to the World Bank.
“Risk aversion is going to continue to increase in the short-term,” said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, who correctly predicted crude’s rebound at the end of last month. “A solution to the Euro-zone crisis is still far away.”
Crude for November delivery dropped as much as $1.61 to $88.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $88.80 at 10:15 a.m. London time.
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10.05.2012
Hallmark Cards Inc. will close its Topeka manufacturing plant and shed about 300 jobs as it consolidates its Kansas operations at its remaining facilities in Lawrence and Leavenworth, the company said yesterday.
The Kansas City-based greeting card company said the number of people working at its Kansas plants will fall from about 1,300 now to about 1,000 when consolidation is finished by the end of next year.
Pete Burney, Hallmark's senior vice president who overseas production, acknowledged that increased use of social media such as Facebook has cut into greeting card sales, but he said Hallmark remains bullish about the future of printed cards. He said the industry is still selling 13 million cards a day.
"We absolutely feel that the greeting card still has a very relevant place," he said during a news conference at the Topeka plant. "It is still a very significant business for us, but one that requires a different cost structure today as compared to in years past."
About 500 people work at the Topeka plant, which produces envelopes and about one-third of the company's greeting cards. Hallmark will move greeting card and envelope production to its Lawrence plant, which currently produces envelopes as well as specialty items such as stickers, ribbons and bows. The Lawrence plant will stop making specialty items, and that work will be moved to Leavenworth.
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10.05.2012
Google and the Association of American Publishers have resolved a longstanding legal battle about the search giant's book digitization project, they announced on Thursday.
The settlement allows publishers to decide whether to exclude their books from Google's Library Project. When publishers allow their books to remain in Google's search index, the company will be able to display up to 20% of the work and sell digital versions through Google Play. Publishers who don't remove their books will also be able to receive a digital copy for their use.
Other settlement terms, including any financial component, are confidential.
The publishers said in a statement that the deal "acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright-holders" and that it "will help further book discoverability online." The group added that the settlement "will build upon longstanding individual retail relationships that already exist between Google and most US publishers with our shared goals of furthering eBook awareness and sales. "
While the deal resolves the publishers' battle with Google, the company is still facing a lawsuit by the Authors Guild. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Denny Chin recently said that case could proceed as a class-action, but Google appealed the ruling to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. That case is now on hold while the appellate court reviews whether class-action status is appropriate.
The legal proceedings date to 2005, when the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers sued Google for infringing copyright by scanning books from public libraries. In addition to digitizing the books, Google made them searchable and displayed snippets through its search engine.
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10.05.2012
AAA’s Fuel Gage Report as of 10/5/12
National Unleaded Regular:
Current Average - $3.789/gallon
Month Ago Average - $3.824/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.399/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08
Diesel:
Current Average - $4.083/gallon
Month Ago Average - $4.106/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.812/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08
Current Exchange Rates as of 10/5/12
American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 1.019695
American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.158124
American Dollar to Euro = 1.301063
American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.012743
American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.078388
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10.05.2012
Oil headed for a third weekly decline in New York on speculation the biggest gain in two months yesterday was exaggerated amid rising supplies.
Futures slid as much as 0.6 percent after surging 4.1 percent yesterday on concern tension between Turkey and Syria will disrupt Middle East output. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest crude producer, sees no difficulty in meeting demand, according to Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. Investors are awaiting a report today which may show the U.S. jobless rate increased last month even as employment growth accelerated.
“The situation with the oil market is that current and forecast future demand levels over the next 12 months are well covered by supply and that’s been the driving factor behind the decline we’re seeing in recent weeks,” said Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “I don’t think the markets are likely to come out of tonight’s employment figure with a significantly altered view of oil demand.”
Crude for November delivery fell as much as 55 cents to $91.16 a barrel and was at $91.24 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 4:02 p.m. in Tokyo.
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10.05.2012
Summit Business Media, which covers the insurance, financial services, legal and investment advisory markets, announced the creation of a Customer Solutions Group.
The unit, which represents 13% of the media company's revenue, integrates several Summit businesses into a single group dedicated to developing multichannel marketing programs.
Summit tapped b-to-b media veteran Jeff Patterson as senior VP-customer solutions to lead the new unit. Prior to joining Summit, Patterson was CEO of Mile 21, where he advised b-to-b media companies on new-product strategy.
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10.05.2012
Avery Dennison Corporation and 3M Company have terminated the definitive agreement under which 3M would have purchased Avery Dennison’s Office and Consumer Products business, the two companies announced today.
Avery Dennison will continue to pursue a divestiture of the Office and Consumer Products business.
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10.05.2012
August 2012 US commercial printing shipments were $6.9 billion, down -$205 million (-2.9%) compared to 2011. On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$325 million (-4.5%). For the first eight months of the year, shipments are down -2.1% in current dollars, and -4.1% after inflation adjustment. Our forecast models indicate that the year will finish at approximately $80.5 to $81.0 billion. It is more likely that the models are slightly high, and that the year will probably finish at approximately $79.5.
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10.05.2012
The United States will investigate the government aid package that helped a Nova Scotia paper mill reopen last week, prompted by “troubling questions about potential injurious and/or WTO-inconsistent subsidies.”
Pacific West Commercial Corp. last week reopened the Port Hawkesbury paper mill in Point Tupper, N.S., thanks to a $124.5 million aid package from the provincial government. Paper started rolling off the mill’s production line yesterday, according to the Chronicle Herald.
Those in Maine’s paper industry say the Nova Scotia mill, with the help of government assistance, will have a negative effect on Maine mills that produce similar types of paper.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk wrote in a Oct. 1 letter to Rep. Mike Michaud that his office would, “on an expedited basis,” confirm information provided in news reports about the paper mill deal and would request details from the Canadian and Nova Scotian governments on the type of assistance they “have agreed to provide or plan to provide.”
“I can assure you that we will work speedily to obtain the facts of this matter,” Kirk wrote in response to a Sept. 26 letter from Michaud requesting such an investigation. “Based on what we find, we will consider all feasible and effective options — doing so aware that this is a time sensitive matter.”
Kirk added that the United States also would raise the matter of the Port Hawkesbury mill deal later this month at meetings of the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Subsidies.
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10.05.2012
Stein Mart, Inc. today reported comparable store sales increased 2.4 percent for the five-week period ended September 29, 2012. Total sales for the period were $102.7 million, an increase of 3.9 percent from the same period in 2011. For the year to date, comparable store sales increased 1.3 percent and total sales increased 2.0 percent to $761.5 million.
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10.05.2012
Rite Aid Corporation today announced sales results for September.
For the four weeks ended Sept. 29, 2012, same store sales decreased 0.7 percent over the prior-year period. September front-end same store sales increased 2.8 percent. Pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 911 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, decreased 2.3 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 4.4 percent over the prior-year period.
Same store sales for the 30-week period ended Sept. 29, 2012 increased 0.9 percent over the prior-year period. Front-end same store sales increased 2.1 percent while pharmacy same store sales increased 0.4 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 3.6 percent over the prior-year period.
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10.05.2012
Gap Inc. today reported that September 2012 net sales increased 8 percent compared with last year.
Net sales for the five-week period ended September 29, 2012 were $1.45 billion compared with net sales of $1.35 billion for the five-week period ended October 1, 2011. The company’s comparable sales for September 2012 were up 6 percent compared with a 4 percent decrease for September 2011.
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10.05.2012
Kohl’s Corporation reported today that for the five-week month ended September 29, 2012 total sales decreased 1.4 percent and comparable store sales decreased 2.7 percent from the five-week month ended October 1, 2011. Quarter to date, total sales increased 1.7 percent and comparable store sales increased 0.2 percent. Year to date, total sales increased 0.8 percent and comparable store sales decreased 0.9 percent.
The Company opened 12 new stores in September 2012 and now operates 1,146 stores in 49 states, compared to 1,127 stores at the same time last year.
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10.05.2012
Nordstrom, Inc. today reported a 4.4 percent increase in same-store sales for the five-week period ended September 29, 2012 compared with the five-week period ended October 1, 2011. Preliminary total retail sales of $1.01 billion for September 2012 increased 7.4 percent compared with total retail sales of $943 million for the same period in fiscal 2011.
Quarter-to-date same-store sales, which reflected a shift in the timing of the Anniversary Sale event, increased 11.1 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2011. Preliminary quarter-to-date total retail sales of $1.88 billion increased 14.9 percent compared with total retail sales of $1.63 billion for the same period in fiscal 2011.
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10.04.2012
When Evan Schnittman took over as executive v-p and chief marketing officer of Hachette Book Group in May he was charged with integrating the sales and marketing functions at the company as well as bringing more analysis to both operations and as part of the implementation of that strategy Schnittman has created a new structure for HBG’s sales force. The goal of the realignment, HBG “is to bring the sales and marketing functions in line with the changing book market – unifying print and digital sales, and integrating research and analytics into HBG’s overall sales strategy.”
Under the new structure Chris Murphy has been promoted to senior v-p of the newly created Retail Sales department, which will consist of five sub-departments: National Accounts, CBA, Clients and Nashville, Young Reader Sales, & National Field Force. Joining HBG as senior v-p of sales strategy & operations, a new group within the sales department, is David Bowers. Bowers had been at Oxford University Press where he was global v-p of business development and publisher, Oxford Academic Dictionaries. He will oversee both operations in sales (analytics, retail promotion, retailer services, e-book platforms services, metadata optimization, business modeling, and key author liaising) and online retailer and jobber accounts. Both Murphy and Bowers report to Schnittman as does Jean Griffin who remains v-p International, Canada, & Special Markets (ICS) and publishing director, Ansel Adams.
HBG has combined the ID and field sales teams under Mike Heuer who has been named executive director, national field force. Reps in the unit will now call on both ID and indie accounts. Heuer report to Murphy as does Rick Cobban who has been promoted to v-p of national accounts. Reporting to Bowers are Rich Tullis who has an expanded role as channel director, online retail & jobbers, and Karen Torres who was promoted to to v-p account marketing & retail operations. Andy LeCount and Linda Jamison have both been promoted to channel director, chains, and channel director, merch & clubs, respectively, reporting to Cobban.
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10.04.2012
In a novel twist on activating print with digital complements, Entertainment Weekly is bringing a live Twitter feed into its Oct. 5 issue. The ad for TV network CW includes an LED screen that receives a wireless feed of comments from and about the CW network and its programming.
The screens will also run video clips from the fall season premieres on the CW.
Alas the special advertisement is not available in all issues of EW. According to reports only 1,000 issues in the New York and Los Angeles areas will get the embedded technology.
Mashable did a teardown (photo from Mashable to the right) of the device to find that the embedded technology was really a very basic Android-based cellular wireless unit. Mashable discovered that most of the major components of a smartphone actually were part of the tech running the ad, including a QWERTY keyboard and T-Mobile 3G card for wireless connectivity.
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10.04.2012
“Viewability” may not be a word according to spell-check, but it’s an important concept for online advertising, as advertisers fear their messages may end up “below the fold” or otherwise tucked away in some obscure corner of a Web page. With that in mind, USA Today is partnering with comScore to guarantee the viewability of online advertising appearing on its Web site, promising greater accountability and transparency for advertisers.
The new campaign uses comScore’s Validated Campaign Essentials and Digital Analytix Monetization tools, which the online measurement firm introduced earlier this year.
The services allow publishers and advertisers to confirm that digital ad impressions were actually seen by the target audience, and are part of USA Today’s attempt to position itself as a premium ad environment through the combination of large, eye-catching ads and viewability guarantees.
This isn’t the only big new ad initiative from the Gannett-owned entity.
The iconic national newspaper is following up a comprehensive redesign of its print and digital platforms -- revealed in September as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations -- with a new competition highlighting print advertising’s versatility and potential.
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10.04.2012
At HP’s annual Securities Analyst Meeting, being held today in San Francisco, the company’s leadership is mapping out strategic priorities for the future and providing a detailed multiyear roadmap to turn the company around.
During her keynote, HP’s president and chief executive officer Meg Whitman outlined progress made over the past year to stabilize the business and lay the foundation for a multiyear turnaround. The operating and organizational models have been integrated, centralized and streamlined, and a talented executive team is in place to execute the strategy.
The company is positioned to extend its leadership into the major trends driving IT investment—cloud computing, information optimization and data security. In May, HP initiated a multiyear restructuring designed to realign its cost structure and create investment capacity to drive innovation against its strategic priorities, strengthen market leadership and rebuild its balance sheet while returning capital to shareholders. Despite the challenging environment, the company has maintained research and development (R&D) spending, along with a steady focus on preserving the long-term health of the business. The company is on track to deliver on its savings targets and complete the restructuring by the end of fiscal 2014.
Whitman walked through a multiyear roadmap to turn the company around. By 2016, she expects the company’s revenues to be growing in line with gross domestic product (GDP), with operating profit growing faster than revenues, industry-leading margins and disciplined capital allocation.
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10.04.2012
California Governor Jerry Brown gave his pen a workout yesterday. In addition to signing legislation prohibiting social network snooping by employers and colleges, he also signed off on a proposal for the state to fund 50 open source digital textbooks. He signed two bills, one to create the textbooks and the other to establish a California Digital Open Source Library to host them, at a meeting with students in Sacramento.
According to a legislative summary, the textbook bill would "require the California Open Education Resources Council to determine a list of 50 lower division courses in the public postsecondary segments for which high-quality, affordable, digital open source textbooks and related materials would be developed or acquired." The council is to solicit bids to produce these textbooks in 2013. The bill makes clear that the council has the option to use "existing high-quality digital open source textbooks and related materials" if those materials fit the requirements.
The law specifies that the textbooks must be placed under a Creative Commons license, allowing professors at universities outside of California to use the textbooks in their own classrooms. The textbooks must be encoded in XML, or "other appropriate successor format," to facilitate re-use of the materials.
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10.04.2012
There’s no such thing as a “free” textbook, although one organization is trying to sell that concept.
The 20 Million Minds Foundation, a group representing numerous open-source publishing funders, produced an infographic about new California bills that support funding for the development of “free college textbooks.” Simple fact-checking proves its voodoo math and trumped-up claims.
For example:
--these “free” textbooks will, in fact, cost California taxpayers, including college students, tens of millions of dollars to develop, distribute and maintain
--the initial funding is not going toward the creation of textbooks for “50…courses” but the development of some unstated lesser number of “strategically selected textbooks”
--no credible report or source supports the inflated, seven-year-old figures for student spending or textbook publishing touted by the infographic
…and so on and so on and so on. Follow the Association of American Publishers roadmap that shines a light on the falsehoods and provides the facts here.
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10.04.2012
Oil rebounded in New York after dropping the most in more than three months as tensions between Syria and Turkey fanned concern exports from the Middle East may be reduced.
Futures advanced as much as 0.8 percent as Turkey fired into Syrian territory for a second day and called for United Nations intervention. The euro gained against the dollar before a European Central Bank meeting, boosting the appeal of commodities. Oil plunged 4.1 percent yesterday after the Energy Department reported that U.S. crude production climbed to the highest level in more than 15 years while fuel usage decreased.
“Turkey-Syria jitters are adding to general concerns in the Middle East,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, who correctly predicted crude would fail to advance last month. “There’s some buying on the lows after losses yesterday, and the greenback is also a touch lower.”
Crude for November delivery gained as much as 68 cents to $88.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $88.78 at 11:43 a.m. London time.
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10.04.2012
Walgreens had September sales of $5.48 billion, a decrease of 7.8 percent from $5.94 billion for the same month in fiscal 2012.
Total front-end sales decreased 0.4 percent compared with the same month in fiscal 2012, while comparable store front-end sales decreased 1.5 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 2.3 percent while basket size increased 0.8 percent.
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10.04.2012
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. today announced comparable store sales in the five weeks ended September 29, 2012 increased 0.6%. Total sales increased 0.7% to $288.9 million in the current year compared with $286.9 million in the prior year period.
Year-to-date comparable store sales decreased 0.1%. Year-to-date total sales decreased 0.2% to $1,705.3 million compared with $1,709.4 million in the same period last year.
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10.04.2012
Costco Wholesale Corporation today reported net sales of $9.31 billion for the month of September, the five weeks ended September 30, 2012, an increase of eight percent from $8.61 billion during the similar period last year. This year's five-week period includes week 53 of the Company's 53-week fiscal year 2012, and the first four weeks of its fiscal year 2013. Last year's five-week period includes the first five weeks of the Company's fiscal year 2012.
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10.04.2012
Limited Brands, Inc. reported a comparable store sales increase of 5 percent for the five weeks ended Sept. 29, 2012, compared to the five weeks ended Oct. 1, 2011. The company reported net sales of $773.6 million for the five weeks ended Sept. 29, 2012, compared to net sales of $818.6 million last year.
The company reported a comparable store sales increase of 7 percent for the 35 weeks ended Sept. 29, 2012, compared to the 35 weeks ended Oct. 1, 2011. The company reported net sales of $5.992 billion for the 35 weeks ended Sept. 29, 2012, compared to net sales of $6.196 billion last year.
September 2011 and 2011 year-to-date net sales included $96.5 million and $614.9 million attributable to the third party apparel sourcing business, which was sold in November 2011.
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10.04.2012
Macy’s, Inc. today reported total sales of $2.358 billion for the five weeks ended Sept. 29, 2012, an increase of 2.7 percent compared with total sales of $2.297 billion in the five weeks ended Oct. 1, 2011. On a same-store basis, Macy’s, Inc. sales were up 2.5 percent in September 2012 as compared to September 2011.
Same-store sales for August/September combined were up 3.6 percent in 2012 as compared to the same period in 2011.
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10.04.2012
Target Corporation today reported that its net retail sales for the five weeks ended September 29, 2012 were $6,075 million, an increase of 2.6 percent from $5,923 million for the five weeks ended October 1, 2011. On this same basis, September comparable-store sales increased 2.1 percent.
The company also announced today that beginning with its 2013 fiscal year it will no longer report monthly sales.
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10.03.2012
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a global provider of content and workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education announced today that it has agreed to acquire Deltak.edu, LLC, a privately held Chicago-based leader in higher education and online learning services, for $220 million. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of October, will significantly accelerate Wiley’s digital learning strategy and diversify the company’s service offerings to include operational and academic solutions for higher education institutions. For the fiscal year ended September 2012, Deltak’s revenue was $54 million. Deltak will contribute solid growth to both Wiley’s Global Education business and Wiley overall.
Deltak is a high-growth company that works in close partnership with leading colleges and universities to develop and support fully online degree and certificate programs. The business, founded in 1997, provides technology platforms and services including market research validating program demand, instructional design, marketing, and student recruitment and retention services to leading national and regional colleges and universities throughout the United States to achieve strategic outcomes with online and hybrid program offerings. Today, Deltak supports more than 100 online programs.
A growing number of colleges and universities are looking to enter, expand, and succeed in the online education market. These same institutions often lack the required experience, expertise, and dedicated resources to move rapidly and successfully. Institutions choose to partner with Deltak for their proven model, extensive capabilities, deep experience in higher education, and cultural alignment. The partnership with Deltak allows institutions to achieve strategic objectives by launching online programs, increasing enrollments, and extending their brand with minimal risk and investment.
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10.03.2012
Tembec officially inaugurated today a new anaerobic treatment facility which will produce methane biogas and greatly reduce the use of fossil fuels at its high-yield pulp mill in Matane, Québec. Dignitaries from the surrounding region and members of Tembec’s senior management joined together with employees to inaugurate the new facility. This investment was announced January 10, 2011.
Funding for this investment was provided mainly by the Government of Canada with $19.7 million and the Government of Québec with $6.3 million. The overall project represents a total investment of $29 million - $26 million for the anaerobic facility and $3 million for the installation of the new electric boiler.
The project has two main components. The first is a new anaerobic treatment facility, which treats effluent and collects methane gas produced by the treatment process. This biogas will be used as fuel in the mill’s pulp-drying process, in place of the light oils currently used. The second component is the installation of a new electric boiler, which replaces a heavy oil fuelled boiler. These two initiatives together will reduce by approximately 90% the use of oil as fuel sources for the generation of the Matane mill’s various process steam and pulp drying requirements.
“This investment means better environmental, energy and economic performance for our Matane mill,” said James Lopez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tembec. “By substantially reducing operating costs, this project will help assure the competitive position of our high-yield pulp on the global market.” “Tembec recognizes the support of the Government of Québec and the Government of Canada in the project, and we appreciate their confidence in helping us ensure the future of the mill,” added Mr. Lopez.
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10.03.2012
Bookmasters, a leading provider of editorial, design, book printing, eBook conversion and distribution services, is celebrating 40 years of service to the publishing community.
Founded in 1972 with a primary focus on offset book printing services, the company quickly expanded into composition, editorial and design-based services. By the mid-1980s, its portfolio of services was expanded to include distribution and book storage.
In the last 20 years, Bookmasters has completed the publishing service cycle with the addition of field sales, book marketing and publicity departments, a robust print-on-demand solution, and a comprehensive eBook program that takes content from creation to market.
“I've worked with Bookmasters for around 15 years,” said Thomas Bacher, director of the University of Akron Press. “As they've expanded their operations, they have retained their customer focus. Their team members are good listeners.”
“We have served publishers and authors for 40 years by providing quality publishing services and have proven to be an innovative and trustworthy publishing partner,” said David Wurster, CEO of Bookmasters. “We look forward to continue growing and meeting the challenges of an ever-changing publishing industry.”
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10.03.2012
Mondi Group and Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (“SCA”) have sold their 100% interest in the jointly owned Aylesford Newsprint Holdings Limited to The Martland Holdings. The Martland Holdings is an independent private equity firm which focuses on acquiring non-core divisions of corporations and private companies worldwide.
Aylesford Newsprint, located in Kent, UK, has capacity to produce approximately 400 thousand tonnes of newsprint per annum from 100% recycled fibre. The Company supplies the major national newspapers groups in the UK and exports some of its production to mainland Europe.
The shares in Aylesford Newsprint were sold for a nominal consideration satisfied in cash at completion. Immediately prior to completion, the Company was re-capitalised, with the proceeds used to repay in full its interest bearing debt and leave net cash of GBP23 million. For the year ended 31 December 2011, Aylesford Newsprint generated negative EBITDA before special items of GBP4 million and net loss before special items of GBP16 million. Immediately before completion, Aylesford Newsprint pro forma gross assets amounted to approximately GBP99 million.
Mondi Group’s loss on disposal of its 50% interest in the Company will be approximately EUR71 million, accounted for as a non operating special item, and the estimated negative cash flow effect of this transaction will be approximately EUR17 million.
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10.03.2012
One hundred and eighty-one new magazines launched in the first nine months of 2012, according to MediaFinder.com, an online database of U.S. and Canadian publications owned by Oxbridge Communications, reflecting an optimism that appears to defy the tough print advertising environment.
The number of new launches compares to just 61 titles that closed over the same period.
However, the number of new launches is down slightly from 200 in the nine months of 2011, and the number of closures declined even more steeply in 2012 to date -- from 128 in the first nine months of 2011.
As in previous reports from MediaFinder.com, the new launches were dominated by categories such as regional interest, food, and luxury lifestyle titles, includingMud and Magnolias, Prevention Guide Top Chef Family Cookbook, Du Jour and M.
Some of the shuttered titles were digital-only publications, including several magazines created by Nomad Editions for the iPad.
On the B2B side, 25 new titles launched in the first nine months of 2012, compared to 12 B2B titles that closed.
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10.03.2012
Survey results released Tuesday by BDO USA revealed that 51% of retail finance chiefs foresee a 5.9% increase in online sales for full-year 2012.
That compares to 4.1% and 4.5% expected increases in same-store sales and total sales, respectively.
The BDO Retail Compass Survey of CFOs, which examined the opinions of 100 CFOs at leading retailers located throughout the country, found that CFO sentiments were conservative compared to last year, when the respondents predicted 11.9% online sales growth.
The group said it expects an increase of 4.6% in holiday-specific online sales.
The looming presidential election may be tempering expectations for a strong holiday season, suggested BDO USA. With the most important shopping period of the year coming on the heels of November’s election, retailers will be monitoring the race closely, as CFOs believe the election and unemployment are the two issues that will have the greatest impact on consumer confidence. In addition, the vast majority (78%) of CFOs say that they are concerned about potential tax reforms as a result of the election.
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10.03.2012
Retail web sales will increase 12% over last year’s holiday shopping season and reach between $92 and $96 billion, Shop.org, the digital division of the National Retail Federation trade group, says in its inaugural online holiday sales forecast released today. The forecast covers shopping during November and December.
Shop.org uses data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Federal Reserve, U.S. Census, The Conference Board business research group, and NRF calculations for its online sales forecast. Data include personal income and spending, consumer credit, consumer confidence and previous monthly retail reports. Shop.org’s estimate takes into account kiosk sales in places such as retail stores and airports; home shopping network sales such as those placed via phone at such retailers as the Home Shopping Network; and direct-to-consumer sales via retailers such as Avon.
Online and offline holiday sales this year will increase 4.1% to $586.1 billion, the NRF says in its annual holiday spending report. NRF’s 2012 holiday spending growth forecast is higher than the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 3.5%, but lower than last year’s growth of 5.6%. The NRF uses factors including consumer credit, disposable personal income, and previous monthly retail sales releases for its holiday retail sales forecast.
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10.03.2012
Marketing services company Infogroup, whose services include list management, database marketing, and email marketing among others, announced today the sale of its OneSource division to platform company Cannondale Investments. OneSource provides information about businesses, industries, and executives worldwide.
The sale, for an undisclosed amount and effective as of October 1, comes nearly a year and a half after an internal restructure, overseen by the company's previous CEO Clare Hart, that positioned OneSource as one of Infogroup's three divisions: Infogroup for data and marketing services, ORC International for research and consulting practices, and OneSource as a provider of business information.
However, in July 2011, less than three months after that restructuring, Infogroup sold ORC International as “part of an ongoing effort to concentrate resources to the most important areas,” Hart said at the time.
Like the sale of ORC International, Infogroup touts the sale of OneSource as a means for streamlining its core business around developing and delivering data products and services to its clients. “This sale helps create strategic efficiencies for us as we continue in this direction,” said company chairman and CEO Michael Iccarino in a release. “We will continue to invest in capabilities, such as GoTime and the expansion of our social data solutions through our Market Intelligence acquisition earlier this year.”
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10.03.2012
North America's fourth largest producer of towel and tissue paper, Cascades Tissue Group, announced today the U.S. launch of the Cascades Antibacterial Paper Towel. Redefining the hand towel's role in enhancing hygiene, the Cascades Antibacterial Paper Towel minimizes hand contamination by killing 99.99 percent of harmful bacteria almost instantly unlike ordinary paper towels.
Since 80 percent of all infections are transmitted by hand, the lack of proper hand hygiene, in particular inadequate hand washing and drying practices, continues to be a consistent, if not deadly, problem. The distinctly green-colored Cascades Antibacterial Paper Towel can fit anywhere, doesn't require additional steps and compensates for people's imperfect hygiene habits without changing the way they wash or dry their hands. The towel releases the active ingredient Benzalkonium Chloride when in contact with wet hands. This active ingredient has been around since 1935 and is safely used in common products, including gel sanitizers, baby wipes and antiseptic skin solutions.
First cleared by Health Canada, Cascades' innovative paper product now complies with the regulation and policies of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is expected to be a hit for the healthcare, foodservice, food processing and education industries, where businesses face a daily challenge: reduce bacterial contamination and transmission. As one example, the U.S. Department of Health estimates that at any given time about one in every 20 inpatients has an infection related to hospital care.
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10.03.2012
Oil fell to its lowest in four days after U.S. crude stockpiles climbed for a fourth week and a measure of China’s economy declined, signaling fuel demand may be faltering in the world’s biggest users of the commodity.
Futures fell as much as 0.9 percent in New York after the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute said yesterday inventories rose 462,000 barrels last week for the longest run of gains since May. An Energy Department report today may show supplies increased 1.5 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. China’s purchasing managers’ index for non- manufacturing industries expanded at the weakest pace since at least March 2011, data from the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed.
“Demand is increasing slightly, slowly, whereas supply is increasing a little bit faster,” said Andy Sommer, a senior oil analyst at Axpo Trading AG in Dietikon, Switzerland, who predicts Brent crude will trade from $105 to $112 a barrel this month. “I don’t see big potential to the upside for oil. Of course there’s always risk from the political side, but from a fundamental point of view there’s more downward pressure.”
Crude for November delivery slid as much as 80 cents to $91.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since Sept. 27, and was at $91.45 at 11:30 a.m. London time.
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10.03.2012
The advertising community took advantage of Advertising Week here to criticize Microsoft Corp. for its decision earlier this year to ship its new version of the Internet Explorer Web browser with “do not track” as the default setting.
The board of the Association of National Advertisers, which supports advertiser self-regulation in the use of data for targeted advertising, sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other company officers asserting that the company's decision “will undercut the effectiveness of our members' advertising and, as a result, drastically damage the online experience by reducing the Internet content and offerings that such advertising supports.”
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10.03.2012
An increase in economic confidence at the end of September pushed the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor up 2.7 points to 91.3 in September, reversing a 4-month decline. The Monitor is a 5-year-old daily poll tracking economic confidence and spending intentions of nearly 8,200 consumers throughout the month. The 91.3 reported in September’s Monitor is 14.3 points higher than what was reported a year ago.
The percent of consumers rating the U.S. economy as good or excellent increased 2 points to 13 percent from August, and those viewing it as poor remained at the same level as August at 56 percent. However, this is 10 points lower than the 66 percent of consumers who rated the economy as poor in September 2011.
The number of male respondents who rate the economy as poor in September declined 14 points year-over-year to 56 percent; female respondents with the same rating declined 8 points year-over-year to 56 percent.
Respondents expecting the economy to improve increased 4 percentage points from the prior month to 30 percent. This is also up year-over-year by 18 points.
Consumers with an income of greater than $75,000 had the highest percentage of any income level in September expecting the economy to improve, at 39 percent, versus 29 percent for those making between $40,000 and $75,000, and 25 percent for those making less than $40,000.
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10.02.2012
NewPage Corporation (NewPage) announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with all of its major creditor groups concerning the terms of its chapter 11 plan. A brief summary of the agreement in principle has been posted to the KCC restructuring website, www.kccllc.net/NewPage.
"This is a very important step for NewPage, and assuming satisfaction of certain conditions, this agreement should allow us to emerge from chapter 11 in the near term," said George F. Martin, President and CEO of NewPage.
The agreement was reached as part of court ordered mediation conducted by the court-appointed mediator, Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain. At the request of certain parties participating in the mediation, the mediator did not provide any of the term sheets proposed by the parties to the mediation (or any of their material terms) to certain other parties participating in the mediation. Rather, the mediator served as an intermediary, facilitating discussion among the parties and encouraging the parties to make concessions in an effort to reach agreement upon a consensual chapter 11 plan.
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10.02.2012
The $33-million sale of the Port Hawkesbury paper mill is complete, and the first paper is expected to roll off the line in the first few days of October. One year after the former NewPage facility in Nova Scotia shut down, the sale to Pacific West Commercial Corp. was completed on Sept. 28. Two hundred and fifty employees returned to work within days.
The mill is restarting under the name Port Hawkesbury Paper.
“In the past three days more than 150 trucks have arrived to supply the mill. We plan to have paper on the reel early next week,” said Ron Stern, owner of Pacific West Commercial.
“We have together embarked on the mission to make Port Hawkesbury Paper the highest quality and most competitive producer of supercalendered paper in North America while at the same time being a great place to work, environmentally responsible and a strong contributor to the province of Nova Scotia,” he continued.
The mill will operate a thermomechanical pulp line and the supercalendared paper line, but not the newsprint line.
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10.02.2012
Integrated media company Access Intelligence announced today the acquisition of several leading media brands serving the marketing industry, including Chief Marketer, Multichannel Merchant, Direct and PROMO. These brands, which lead their sectors with strong print, online and event businesses, will expand AI’s growing portfolio of properties serving this key market. This transaction bolsters the company’s leadership position in delivering high-quality multimedia content to marketing and media professionals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquired assets will become part of Access Intelligence’s Marketing and Media Group, which includes Event Marketer, EXPO, Best Events, Event Design, LeadsCon, DM Confidential, min, Folio, PR News, Cynopsis and CableFAX. Together, this group represents one of the largest and most robust marketing and media information offerings for business-to-business professionals.
Chief Marketer,
www.chiefmarketer.com, provides daily market intelligence on direct marketing, social media, lead generation, mobile and other measurable marketing strategies. Multichannel Merchant,
www.multichannelmerchant.com, covers cross-channel marketing techniques, including catalog, list sales, data mining and ecommerce. It produces the Operations Summit each spring, focusing on direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment.
“We’re excited to be rounding out our leadership position in advanced marketing with these top-drawer brands and joining their talented team with ours to supercharge our offerings,” said Don Pazour, President & CEO of Access Intelligence. “With rapid changes in customer buying habits and the exciting opportunities to reach buyers through new channels, Chief Marketer and Multichannel Merchant teaming up with brands such as Event Marketer and LeadsCon is a winning proposition for our audience and for our position as a media company.”
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10.02.2012
Avery Dennison Medical Solutions, a business unit of Avery Dennison Corporation, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) transparent film dressing, known as BeneHold™ CHG Transparent Film Dressing. In-vitro test data demonstrate the new dressing’s antimicrobial efficacy across a broad range of bacteria and yeast commonly found in catheter-related blood stream infections.
Tests show that the dressing is appropriate for applications where the spread of infection is a concern and moisture management is required, such as the securement of IV catheters. The patent-pending CHG adhesive formulation used on the dressing is transparent to allow visualization of the access site—a critical parameter for vascular access professionals, including nurses and infection-control specialists.
In-vitro test data also show that the BeneHold CHG Transparent Film Dressing demonstrates a significant reduction in bacteria and yeast from day 1 through day 7. Additionally, the dressing is non-cytotoxic, exhibiting a grade 0 profile (ISO 10993). High antimicrobial efficacy can often be associated with cytotoxic effects, commonly due to the concentration of the antimicrobial agent present in the product.
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10.02.2012
Wausau Paper said today that Paper segment earnings in both the third and fourth quarter will be impacted by lower profitability at its Brainerd, Minnesota, facility, as well as recent further weakening demand in its economically sensitive industrial product categories.
Henry C. Newell, president and chief executive officer, stated, “We made the choice to accelerate the conversion of the Brainerd mill to technical paper grades as part of our strategy to divest the print franchise. While the pace of the transition resulted in above-target cash generation, the compressed time period added complexity to the ability to position the additional capacity creating higher-than-expected margin pressure, increased product development costs and reduced operating efficiencies. Weakness in industrial end-use market demand has exacerbated the impact. With few signs of a general economic recovery, we now expect pressure on Paper segment profitability through year end.
“The Company’s Tissue segment continues to demonstrate strong operational performance, driven in part by above-market case shipment growth of 3 to 4 percent. Our expansion program, including product development activities, remains on schedule, with initial start-up of the new paper machine in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, expected in the fourth quarter. Additionally, our balance sheet is strong due to above-forecast cash generation and working capital reductions in our Paper segment."
Mr. Newell continued, “In the near-term, Paper segment profitability challenges will significantly affect second-half adjusted earnings. Consequently, we are reducing our full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $0.28 to $0.30 per share, and anticipate mid-single digit adjusted earnings per share in both the third and fourth quarters.” The Company’s previous guidance was for full-year adjusted net earnings in the $0.39 to $0.41 per share range versus prior-year adjusted net earnings of $0.33 per share.
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10.02.2012
Nine months into the year, one media trend seems clear: titles may come and go, but magazines made from paper-and-ink are sticking around.
Publishers launched 155 magazines in the first three quarters of 2012, among them Fairchild Publications' men's fashion quarterly M and northeast Mississippi's new lifestyle title Mud & Magnolias. That marked a slight improvement over the 151 print titles that came to life in the same period a year ago, according to numbers released Monday from MediaFinder.com, which calls itself the largest online database of U.S. and Canadian publications.
An even more promising statistic for the period: Only 55 magazines folded, compared to a loss of 119 titles a year ago.
"We're going to have print until people work out the monetization of digital," said Trish Hagood, president of MediaFinder.com. "It's like the new normal."
Lifestyle—particularly luxury lifestyle—has been a growth category this year, with high-end freebie DuJour joining M. (Later in October, Rodale will bring Best Life back to newsstands. The men's luxury title was folded in 2009.)
Among the titles that ceased publishing was Stuff Magazine. This summer it was folded into alternative weekly The Boston Phoenix, which was renamed The Phoenix.
MediaFinder.com also counted 26 digital-only "magazine" launches, including Atlantic Media's global business website Quartz.
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10.02.2012
USA Today is looking to foster creativity in print advertising with a new competition highlighting print’s versatility and potential. The 2012 USA Today Print Advertising Competition is soliciting entries from advertising agencies, marketers and nonprofits. They submit their most creative ideas for a chance to win $1 million worth of full-page print advertising in the iconic national newspaper.
Entries will be judged on the creativity and originality of the ad visual storytelling and clarity of writing, according to USA Today, which said the competition will be judged by industry execs, including Andrew Essex, CEO of Droga5; Chip Kidd, designer and writer at Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; Sean McLaughlin, creative director at Wieden + Kennedy; Chuck Porter, chairman at Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Ty Montague, co-founder and co-CEO of the Co Collective; and Michael Wolff, the media columnist for USA Today.
Entries can be submitted beginning Oct. 8 and the contest will remain open through Nov. 26. A grand prize winner and two runners-up will be announced in January 2013.
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10.02.2012
Holmen Paper is starting work aiming to concentrate production at the mill in Hallstavik to two paper machines with strong positions in their respective product segments: MF Magazine and book paper. The result of this is that the mill’s oldest machine, PM 3, is being shut down. At the same time, there are plans to invest in energy efficiency measures that, together with the closure, will considerably reduce the mill’s future investment needs. These measures will strengthen the mills competitiveness.
“The restructuring programme will ensure that Hallsta Paper Mill continues to play an important role in the switch towards becoming a speciality paper company, a process that has been under way at Holmen Paper’s Swedish units for a long time. It will help improve our chances of growing in the areas of importance to us,” says Henrik Sjölund, head of Holmen Paper.
The aim is to close down PM 3 during the second half of 2013. The paper machine manufactures 140 000 tonnes of SC paper annually for a market with excessive overcapacity. Closure is assessed to lead to a reduction in the workforce of around 230.
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