1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. Reports Strong Revenue Growth for its Fiscal 2020 Third Quarter

For the third quarter of 2020, total net revenues increased 12.2 percent to $278.8 million compared with $248.4 million in the prior year period. The strong performance was driven by net revenue growth in all three business segments, with Gourmet Foods and Gift Baskets up 27.1 percent, Consumer Floral up 5.4 percent, and BloomNet up 7.9 percent compared to the prior year period. Gross profit margin for the quarter was 38.5 percent, a decrease of 80 basis points compared with gross profit margin of 39.3 percent in the prior year period. Operating expenses as a percent of total revenues were 42.4 percent, an improvement of 270 basis points compared with 45.1 percent in the prior year period.
Read More

Resolute Reports Preliminary First Quarter 2020 Results

Resolute Forest Products Inc. reported a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, of $1 million compared to net income of $42 million in the same period in 2019. Sales were $689 million in the quarter, a decrease of $106 million from the year-ago period. Excluding special items, the company reported a net loss of $29 million compared to net income of $30 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Read More

International Paper Reports First Quarter 2020 Results

• First quarter net earnings (loss) attributable to International Paper of $(141) million ($(0.36) per diluted share), compared with $165 million ($0.42 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2019 and $424 million ($1.05 per diluted share) in the first quarter of 2019. First quarter 2020 net earnings included an after-tax charge of $337 million ($0.85 per diluted share) for the impairment of the net assets and write-off of foreign currency translation adjustment following the announcement of the sale of our Brazil Packaging business. • Cash provided by operations of $649 million • Monetized $250 million of ownership position in Graphic Packaging • Liquidity position was $3.5 billion at quarter end, which reflects cash and committed credit facilities
Read More

‘Fast Company’ Debuts ‘Fresh’ Redesign Of Print Magazine (mediapost.com)

Fast Companyhas redesigned its print magazine. The process first began last summer, spearheaded by creative director Mike Schnaidt. It will debut with the May/June 2020 issue, out May 5. “I left the completion date open-ended. This would allow my crew the essential time to experiment and be as creative as possible,” Schnaidt wrote in a post to readers about the redesign process. Fast Company’s last redesign was in November 2018.
Read More

Lessons from pandemic life: we all need the option of paper notice

It was only last year that a whopping 86 percent of U.S. consumers expressed the desire of having a choice for how they receive important information from the companies they do business with. For critical correspondence such as bills and statements, the overwhelming majority want the option of paper or electronic delivery, and the ability to control their preferences. But as consumers trapped in the digital divide have pleaded for communications choices and relief from punishing paper fees, more and more companies have prioritized digital-first approaches to conducting business including how they send legal notice of account, tacking on new charges along the way. It might have been easy for some demographics and geographic regions to overlook this important issue, having taken for granted the luxury, convenience and complacency of a digital world where everything always just works amazing in a click.
Read More

Unboxing: The Original Remote Connection

Marketers and brand owners have been mastering the art of connecting with customers via social distance for a while now as people shifted to the convenience of online shopping for direct-to-home delivery. In fact, a Forrester study indicates that the emotional experiences – good or bad - with a company are one of the most telling indicators of brand loyalty. Emotional loyalty correlates with the likelihood of future orders and total spend with a brand. For example, if you are among the millions of people on Facebook, you have likely been targeted by various advertisements. At some point, you gave into the temptation and made a purchase. Not all experiences are bad, but odds are, you have experienced buyer’s remorse, at one time or another. Perhaps, the item took way longer than expected to get to you, so you were frustrated. The package arrived looking like it was dragged across three continents before it arrived. Or possibly, the items were not “as shown” in the ad. Maybe it arrived damaged and you had to start the return and reorder process. Disappointment, anger, and frustration are the emotions that are associated with the memory of a customer journey such as this one. And in today’s social environment, our experiences are not always a one-to-one relationship between the buyer and seller. Instead, they now have far-reaching implications as you use social media and rating sites to share with friends and family. click read more below for much more
Read More

Ahlstrom-Munksjö and Metsä Fibre collaborating on responsible sourcing

Ahlstrom-Munksjö and Metsä Fibre continue the collaboration by focusing on responsible wood sourcing. As part of a resource-intensive industry Ahlstrom-Munksjö, as a significant wood pulp consumer, and Metsä Fibre, as the world’s leading producer of bleached softwood pulp, have a particular responsibility to advance environmental performance and sustainability throughout their operations and supply chains. “We are committed to contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by reducing negative impact across the value chain. The collaboration with both the suppliers and customers is very important in developing and implementing our sustainability strategy, and thereby achieving these goals,” says Heli Nykänen, Manager, Group Sustainability and Capital Investments. The project that started in 2019 has mainly focused on responsible wood sourcing in the value chain from the forest to the end-products.
Read More

Mondi and RB partnership results in great Finish®

BarrierPack Recyclable provides sustainable solution for dishwasher tablet packaging. Leading global packaging and paper group Mondi has partnered with Reckitt Benckiser Group to launch a fully recyclable, mono-material flexible plastic packaging portfolio for the premium line of its Finish® dishwasher tablets Quantum Ultimate. This product line had previously used a multilayer, PET/PE laminate pouch construction that was not recyclable. With RB’s commitment that 100% of its plastic packaging must be reusable or recyclable by 2025 that had to change. RB has a “4 R” approach to using plastics –– reduce, reuse, replace, recycle.
Read More

Now’s the Time to Be Different

As the world changed almost overnight, so did advertising. First, it was “Our Response to COVID-19” emails from every brand we’ve ever purchased from. Now, it’s one commercial after another reminding us that “we’re all in this together.” While these messages are relevant and encouraging, many brands are starting to say and do a lot of the same things. Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s important to stay in front of your customers right now and acknowledge the situation. It’s also important to maintain momentum, because after the crisis passes, it will be easier to keep pace rather than trying to start from a dead stop. But that doesn’t mean you have to follow the herd. Three ways to stand out: 1. Reach out in a non-transactional way. One of the best (and most memorable) examples I’ve seen came from Glossier. The relatively new makeup company sent me an email last week with “A little something” as the subject line. click read more below for more information
Read More
Back To Top
×Close search
Search