Separately,
UTIPULP
reported European
pulp consumption increased 5.9% in May and inventories fell by 2.5%.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Domtar Lowers NBSK Pulp Price
Domtar
is reported to be the first to announce another change in northern bleached softwood kraft
(NBSK) market pulp prices. The North American NBSK price will decrease by $20/tonne, effective July 1.
Novia Scotia Power and Port Hawkesbury Getting Closer to Deal
Nova Scotia Power’s plan to become a limited
partner in the former NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill could affect the
utility’s credit rating, a consultant says. John Athas of Boston-based La Capra
Associates says that’s one of the risks to ratepayers of a proposed agreement
between Nova Scotia Power and the mill’s would-be owner, Pacific West
Commercial Corp. of Vancouver.
Kruger & Unions Leave the Table
Kruger Inc. has left the
bargaining table in Corner Brook without reaching an agreement with the unions.
However, all union locals have agreed to meet with their members this coming
week to hold a vote on the company’s final proposal,
Catalyst Gets Approval
Catalyst
Paper today announced that, further to its news release dated June 14, 2012, it
has received approval from the Court for additional meetings of its secured and
unsecured creditors.
Bowater Mersey Assets Valuable, Sale Unlikely
Potential buyers may be quietly eyeing
timberland, power facility
A forestry analyst says it’s highly
unlikely the Bowater mill will rise again to make newsprint, but Resolute
Forest’s timberlands and power facility are part of a “very desirable asset
class.”
Another paper mill is unlikely to rise from
the ashes of the Bowater Mersey newsprint facility, a forestry analyst says.
UPM Plans Biomass Plant in Uruguay
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/electricpower/ute-upm-biomass-plant-online-by-2015
UPM is planning to build a 50MW biomass plant at its pulp mill in Fray Bentos, Uruguay. The US$130-million power station would be operating in 2015 and sell its excess power to Uruguay state-run power company UTE.
Q1 U.S. Ad Spending Up 2.6%
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120618005290/en/Kantar-Media-Reports-U.S.-Advertising-Expenditures-Increased
Total advertising expenditures in the first
quarter of 2012 increased 2.6 percent from a year ago and finished the period
at $32.9 billion, according to data released today by Kantar Media, the leading
provider of strategic advertising and marketing information. The gain
represents a modest rebound compared to flat spending in the second half of
2011.
Trigger-Based Marketing Up, Good for Printers
Survey Shows Rise in Trigger-Based Marketing:
An interesting survey was just released by Forrester Research and Silverpop. According to a survey of 155 marketing professionals, 59% plan to increase their use of marketing automation over the next 12 months. One of the most popular uses for this automation is trigger-based marketing. This is interesting because trigger-based marketing is a terrific application for digital production. It is short-run, often personalized, and provides a recurring revenue stream for the printer.
An interesting survey was just released by Forrester Research and Silverpop. According to a survey of 155 marketing professionals, 59% plan to increase their use of marketing automation over the next 12 months. One of the most popular uses for this automation is trigger-based marketing. This is interesting because trigger-based marketing is a terrific application for digital production. It is short-run, often personalized, and provides a recurring revenue stream for the printer.
Cabela's Launches Facebook Promotion
Cabela's,
a cross-channel retailer of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, launched a
Facebook promotion in March around its TV show "Ultimate
Adventures" and its Outdoor
Adventures travel program. The promotion was designed to drive customer
engagement.
MagnaGlobal: NA Ad Revenue Forecast Revised Up, Global Down
Interpublic Group’s MagnaGlobal has
downgraded its ad revenue growth forecast for 2012. The firm, part of IPG’s
Mediabrands unit, now predicts global ad revenues will rise 4.8% to $480
billion, which is two-tenths of a percentage point less than its December 2011
forecast.
For North America, the firm upgraded its
forecast slightly, now predicting growth in regional ad revenues of 3.9% to
$165 billion.
Development in Marketing Services
http://www.foliomag.com/2012/new-developments-marketing-services
Marketing services caught fire in 2011, with
major b-to-b and consumer publishers, and even regional media companies getting
in the game. A new revenue stream from advertisers outside print pages excited
publishers, as ad pages aren’t recovering the way initially hoped.
Fortunately, marketing services appears to be
living up to the hype. FOLIO published interviews with two publishers on how their
marketing service divisions are faring, and what’s next for the sector.
JC Penney President Out
After
only eight months, Michael Francis , one of the key architects of
J.C. Penney's high profile turnaround efforts, is leaving the company,
effective immediately. In October, the former Target exec became J.C. Penney's
president, responsible for merchandising, marketing, planning and allocation,
and product development and sourcing. CEO Ron Johnson will assume direct
responsibility and oversight of the company's marketing and merchandising
functions.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Pacific West on Port Hawkesbury Mill
In a letter to customers, Pacific West Commercial Corp., which is in the process of acquiring the NewPage Nova Scotia mill and also owns West Linn Paper, updated the status of Port Hawkesbury: "The Port Hawkesbury Mill’s PM2 machine is in excellent condition, an asset that will produce the highest quality, low cost SC paper in North America...By August of this
year, it is our intent to begin work on starting up the machine and
fulfilling customer orders. We have concluded, or are in the midst of
finalizing secure, long term agreements with key stakeholders including
the union, the local electric utility, Nova Scotia Power (NSPI), raw
product suppliers and the Province of Nova Scotia (to ensure a long
term, secure, competitive and sustainable fibre supply) – all of which
will allow us to be a low cost producer of SC paper in North America for
the foreseeable future. We would not re-start the mill unless we were
able to achieve this goal.We are in the process of finalizing a lending
agreement and are equally
committed to ensuring the mill is in the best position possible to
compete and succeed in the marketplace..."
Reverberations from Closure of Bowater Mersey
Leaders
of Canada’s largest forestry union are calling on Government of Nova Scotia to
step up to the plate, following today’s announcement of the indefinite closure
of the Resolute Forests Products mill in Brooklyn, N.S. “We
call on the government of Nova Scotia to immediately purchase the private
forest lands owned by the company to ensure the citizens of Nova Scotia have
access to forest-dependent jobs and their community for the long run,” says
Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of
Canada.
The owner of the troubled paper mill in Brooklyn is
putting off $25 million worth of upgrades, prompting questions about the
future of the operation on Nova Scotia's South Shore.
Resolute
Forest Products, owner of the Bowater Mersey paper plant, was offered that
money in the form of a capital loan last December as part of a $50-million
rescue package to secure 2,000 jobs. The
company was supposed to buy new machinery to make the mill more productive
and energy-efficient. |
Hearst Revives Elle Accessories
Elle Accessories, devoted to fashion accessories like handbags, jewelry and
shoes, was a spinoff of Elle magazine that was introduced by Hachette
Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2005 and closed in 2008. (Some overseas editions have
continued to publish.) Hearst Magazines, which acquired Hachette Filipacchi
Media U.S. last year, has decided to revive the American edition of Elle
Accessories with the same frequency as before, twice a year, in spring and
fall.
J.Crew Expands to China
J.Crew, the iconic American
retailer and Lane Crawford, Asia's leading designer
specialty store, are excited to announce a strategic partnership, providing
customers in Asia with special access to the
J.Crew women's and men's collections through Lane Crawford's retail and online
stores.
Ascena May Sell Figi's, Close FASHION BUG
Ascena also announced that, based on the results
of its strategic review of Charming Shoppes’ operations, it plans to cease
operating and close down Charming Shoppes’ FASHION BUG® business by early 2013. In addition, Ascena announced that it is exploring a potential sale of
Charming Shoppes’ Figi’s® business, which markets food and specialty gift
products. Although the Figi’s business is a growing and profitable business, it
is clearly a different type of business than Ascena’s other apparel brands.
Publishers Using Innovative "Bookazines" to Sell Content
At the Publishing
Business Conference in March, Mark White, vice president of specialty marketing
at U.S. News, spoke about his company’s marketing of bookazines— hybrids of
books and magazines that hold promise for publishers looking for new ways to
reach niche audiences with repurposed content. Bookazines combine all that people find pleasing about magazines with the permanence, niche
appeal and price-point of books. National Geographic has also seen bookazine opportunity in its extensive
content archives geared toward niche interests with National
Geographic Magazine Collector’s Editions.
Postal Vision Conference: Future Opportunities
The second Postal Vision conference drew 150 attendees to Washington DC’s
L’Enfant Plaza Hotel. No one from Congress could
squeeze it in but USPS’ new Digital Solutions President and Strategic Planning
Manager were in attendance...The real benefactors of this conference were the entrepreneurs in the
audience. They recognize (1) Congress will never let the USPS go under, (2)
USPS can only embrace digital technologies via work share contracts with the
private sector, and (3) despite cascading physical mail volumes the USPS is
still a $50 billion dollar business projected to handle half the world’s mail
volume by 2020.
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