Net Income Falls 25% at PC Connection
Strong year-over-year sales growth in large accounts was offset by softness in small, midsize, and public sector segments at Merrimack, NH-based computer reseller PC Connection (Nasdaq:PCCC).
News
OfficeMax Bottom Line Tumbles 96%
Itasca, IL-based OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX) reported its quarterly profit fell 96% including severance charges and a loss from discontinued operations, as sales dropped following the sale of its paper, forest products, and timberland assets.
Sales Up Slightly at Office Depot
Delray Beach, FL-based office products Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), the parent of the Viking Office Products, reported that its strong retail performance in the U.S. and Canada was offset slightly by its business services and overseas operations.
Pacing the E-commerce Marathon
To succeed online, it helps to think of e-commerce as a marathon, not a sprint, says Lauren Freedman, president of Chicago-based e-commerce consultancy The E-tailing Group.
Financial Report: Blair Profitable on Reduced Circ
Warren, PA-based apparel and home products mailer Blair Corp. posted lower first-quarter sales but an improved bottom line thanks largely to less prospecting and stricter credit requirements.
Medical Arts Press, Urban Outfitters Relocate Jobs
Nearly three years after acquiring the Medical Arts Press family of catalogs, Framingham, MA-based Staples is relocating several business functions from Medical Arts
Financial Report: CDW Posts Strong Quarter
Vernon Hills, IL-based computer products cataloger CDW Corp. reported an 11% rise in first-quarter profit, driven by strong growth in sales of computers, servers, and software.
CWD Finds Fitting Way to Reduce Returns
All catalogers would like to reduce their return rates, but Richmond, VA-based children’s apparel cataloger Children’s Wear Digest tries to head off the likelihood of returns even before shipping the merchandise to customers.
The Dilemma of Two Masters: Marketing and Sales
“Marketing staffers sometimes try to have salespeople help them profile customers. ‘After all,’ they think, ‘the salespeople know their customers better than anyone else, so why shouldn’t they fill in their demographics or firmographics?'” notes Bill Singleton, president of Algonquin, IL-based database marketing consultancy Singleton Marketing. But they forget that no one can serve two masters at the same time. Salespeople are paid for selling, not demographic profiling, just as marketing staffers are paid for planning, promoting and tracking but not for pushing products.