Borders Files Chapter 11
Borders Files Chapter 11...
Outlook Worsens for Harry & David
Harry & David Holdings confirmed Tuesday that its second-quarter sales were lower than the same period last year. And there’s a growing concern that the mailer, which owns food-gifts merchants Harry & David, Wolferman's and Cushman's, won’t be able to stay in business....
Court Sides with DMA in Suit Against Colorado
The Direct Marketing Association earned a victory in its case against the state of Colorado and its new out-of-state tax law. ...
Survey Says: Retailer Associates Want Mobile Capabilities
The majority of surveyed retail associates, 55%, believe that this holiday season’s shoppers were better connected to consumer information than in-store associates. That’s largely because of the increasing availability of online shopping tools and mobile phone applications that allow price comparisons, access to coupons and social-networking. ...
Roaman's Reveals Rebrand Online
Roaman's has rebranded. The multichannel plus-size women's apparel merchant began showing off its redesigned logo and catalog pages and its "All About You… All About Savings" campaign on its website and social media pages last week....
Early Holiday Sales Up, AOV Down for Fairytale Brownies
Sales for the Black Friday-Cyber Monday period for Fairytale Brownies rose about 9%. But marketing coordinator Kari Gayes says the desserts merchant saw a slight drop in average order value because “we are offering a wider selection of gifts at a slightly lower price point this year and had more promotions earlier in the year than usual.”...
Boston Proper Has Swell Cyber Weekend
Women’s apparel cataloger Boston Proper saw its Black Friday weekend online sales increase 50% compared to last year, and Cyber Monday online sales increased 40%, along with visits and conversions. Here's how they did it....
Debt Forces Oriental Trading Into Chapter 11
In an effort to pay down debt, OTC Holdings Corp., owner of gifts and novelty merchant Oriental Trading, on Aug. 25 filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware....
Four Tips for a Holiday Strategy
To make the most of your holiday, it helps to map out the season’s marketing and merchandising plan well before it occurs. Here are four tips to get you started on this. ...
Food for Thought: Q&A with 5th Food Group's Tony Cox
Food and gift merchants face unique challenges with shipping costs, profit margins and seasonality. We asked Tony Cox, founder of multichannel food consultancy 5th Food Group, to share his thoughts and discuss some of the latest trends in the food and gift industry....
Not Much M&A for the First Quarter
WITH JUST SIX MULTICHANNEL CATALOG TRANSACTIONS, the first quarter of 2009 was unusually slow. That's half as many deals compared to the first quarter...
Making the grade with e-mail tests
Many students approach tests with dread. So do many e-mail marketers. But they shouldn't. Conducting e-mail tests may seem overwhelming: Which variables...
Delia’s Direct Biz Sees Margin Boost Despite Sales Drop
Forgive the management at Delia’s for not breaking out the champagne at the end of its most recent quarter. The company’s total sales amounted to $50 million, down from $52.1 million in first-quarter 2009. And its net loss widened from $3.6 million a year ago to $5.8 million....
Fourth Quarter Shows Slight Movement
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES. Just ask Williams-Sonoma. The high-end kitchen and home goods merchant's fourth-quarter revenue a year ago fell 26.7%,...
3Q Sales Barely Up at 1-800-Flowers.com
Third-quarter sales for multititle mailer 1-800-Flowers.com were nearly flat, or up less than 1%, to $155.5 million, from $154.5 million last year....
Delia’s Down in Q4, Up Slightly for 2009
Fourth-quarter sales at Delia’s decreased 1.4%, to $66.3 million for the three months ended Jan. 30. ...
A Solid Fourth Quarter for Sonoma
Fourth-quarter sales for cataloger/retailer Williams-Sonoma increased 8.1%, to 1.09 billion, up from $1.008 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008...
Matt Shay to Head National Retail Federation
Matt Shay has been selected to serve as the next President and CEO of NRF. Shay will be elected formally at the June 22 NRF Board meeting. ...
Orchard Brands Acquires Linen Source; Thompson Group to Focus on Cigar Biz
Orchard Brands, a multititle mailer of catalogs that target consumers over age 55, has acquired home goods title Linen Source. Investment bank Tully & Holland, which initiated the transaction and acted as the exclusive investment banking adviser to Linen Source, announced the deal on March 15....
ONCAP Acquires Sport Supply Group
Sports equipment merchant Sport Supply Group announced today it entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of ONCAP Management Partners, the mid-market private equity business of Onex Corp....
Live from NEMOA: Keeping Up With The Changing ConsumerLive from NEMOA: Keeping Up With The Changing Consumer
The consumer is changing—are you? That was the title of Wednesday's opening session at the NEMOA conference. Marketers need to keep up with the ever-changing consumer landscape...
Live from NEMOA: Why Your Brand Should Be Like Elvis
Do you want to make your brand relevant in today's mercurial consumer market? Then set yourself apart. Find one simple truth. Specialize. Be consistent. And be origina...
Sales Up at Systemax
Sales at manufacturer/marketer Systemax were up for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31. ...
