AF&PA Reports P & W Shipments

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/08_21_2013afpa_printing_writing_report.html

The American Forest & Paper Association  has released its July 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report. According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments were within 1 percent of the comparable shipments of July 2012, with total inventory levels increasing 3 percent from June.

June coated free sheet (CFS) papers shipments of 322,600 tons brought the year-to-date CFS shipments essentially flat compared to 2012. U.S. imports of CFS papers increased 21 percent year-over-year in June. Uncoated free sheet (UFS) paper shipments increased 2 percent year-over-year in July. For the year, shipments are down 3 percent in 2013. Imports of UFS were flat compared to June 2012, with exports of UFS up 10 percent. July uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 3 percent when compared to July 2012, with year-over-year imports through June up 6 percent. UM exports are up 11 percent in 2013 compared to the first six months of 2012. Coated mechanical (CM) shipments in July decreased 6 percent, the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases. Shipments of CM are down 12 percent for the year, with imports down 3 percent year-over-year in June.

The complete report with detailed tables, charts, and historical data can be purchased by contacting Caroline Nealon at Statistics_Publications@afandpa.org or 202-463-2448.

Metsä Fibre Announces Price Increases

https://newsclient.omxgroup.com/cdsPublic/viewDisclosure.action?disclosureId=569924&lang=en

Metsä Fibre increases the price of Botnia Nordic Pine (Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft) in Europe, effective 1 September 2013. The new price is USD 880 per tonne, CIF Metsä Fibre’s frequently used European ports of destination.

https://newsclient.omxgroup.com/cdsPublic/viewDisclosure.action?disclosureId=569926&lang=en

Metsä Fibre increases prices of Botnia Nordic Pine and Botnia Nordic Strong (Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft pulps) in China, effective 1 September 2013. The new price of Botnia Nordic Pine is USD 710 per tonne and Botnia Nordic Strong USD 720 per tonne.

G-P/Buckeye Merger Could Cost Memphis Jobs

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2013/08/21/buckeye-merger-could-cost-memphis-jobs.html?ana=e_memp_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2013-08-22&u=229OG2V2o/XXs5VwySVeYw0d0dcf7d&t=1377177623

Assuming the Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of Memphis-based Buckeye Technologies Inc. with Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific LLC, the company could see an infusion of capital on its manufacturing side. The future of certain employees may not be as bright.

On Aug. 15, more than 84 percent of Buckeye’s shareholders voted in favor of the deal, which was valued at about $1.5 billion, and will pay shareholders around $37.50 per share. The original deal was announced as a potential acquisition in April, but changed to a merger in late June.

Even though the vote was favorable, Georgia-Pacific still has to wait on the FTC to review it through the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

David Braun, CEO of Capstone Strategic, an industry analyst, said the deal probably will be finalized, but Georgia-Pacific will most likely have to divest some existing facilities, similar to what Memphis-based International Paper Co. did when it finalized its acquisition of Temple-Inland in early 2012.

“(The federal government) will want to make sure they’ve got local competition in some of those areas to keep everything honest in terms of supply and local manufacturing,” Braun said.

The review process could be done in the next 60 days, but there’s no set timetable.

When, and if, the merger is finalized, Georgia-Pacific will have a foothold in the specialty fibers industry. And the company’s history is to invest and improve its manufacturing operations. However, as the integration of Buckeye into Georgia-Pacific begins, there will inevitably be some elimination of office positions. When it released its fiscal fourth quarter and 2013 earnings last week before the vote, Buckeye reported a 4 percent decline in sales for the fourth quarter and a 17 percent decline in income to $92 million. “The corporate folks have a right to be nervous,” Braun said. “The financials for Buckeye haven’t been good for the last few years. Who is the best owner? A parent company like Georgia-Pacific is favorable.”

Media Growth Up

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207323/media-growth-up-cable-leads-drive.html#axzz2chce16yB

Total media growth is now up nearly 10% through the first six months of the year in terms of advertising revenue -- and up 2% in July -- with national cable TV still commanding the highest share and healthy gains. The Standard Media Index, which culls data from media agencies amounting to an estimated 60% of total agency spend, says national cable networks grew 5% in ad revenues versus the same time period of a year ago. For the first half of the year, spot TV is 2% higher (an 8.1% share), syndicated TV is flat (a 2.2% share), and local cable 9% is higher (a 1.9% share). Overall, all of U.S. TV is 4% higher in ad revenues, with a 60.1% for the first half of 2013. SMI also says that overall media spending in July was up 2%. Digital media continues to drive upward -- adding 13% in July and 23% for the first six months of the year. It commands a 24% share of media -- second only to national TV cable networks, which have a 25.8% share. Broadcast TV has a 21.3% share -- in third place overall from January to July 2013. Other media show continued strong results for the first six months of the year: magazine revenues grew 15% (a 5.5% share); Radio was 7% improved (a 4.8% share); out-of-home was 12% higher (a 3.8% share); and newspapers grew 15% (a 1.5% share).

MagNet Releases Newsstand Stats

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=2288c68d-33ea-4710-84c3-030e162c7d1d&c=56934470-dfb6-11e2-baf7-d4ae52754950&ch=56987490-dfb6-11e2-baf7-d4ae52754950

After a devastating newsstand sales environment during the first quarter, 2013, second quarter numbers were improved, but were still down compared to the same period in 2012. Second quarter sales were helped by the fact that there were over six hundred more releases in the second quarter 2013, compared to second quarter, 2012. While the AAM  estimated first half sales down 10.6% in dollars, MagNet's numbers, which include sales of all titles sold at retail, including the over 300 titles tracked by the AAM, has dollar sales down in the US by 9.25%, and by 9.4% in the US and Canada combined. Our numbers include book-a-zine titles, which continue to perform well, and aren't tracked by the AAM. Several other titles performed well in the first half 2013, including Sport's Illustrated, HGTV, Woman's Day, Shape and Vogue. Many gun titles performed well also, as reflected in the Outdoors subject category sales jump of 13.7% compared to 2012.

US/Japan Show Growth In Q2 Printer Shipments

http://www.piworld.com/article/us-japan-show-growth-in-large-format-printer-shipments-in-q2-2013/1

According to the latest results from the International Data Corp. (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker, the market showed a year-over-year decline of -4.2 percent, with nearly 73,000 units shipped in the second quarter of 2013 (2Q13). Shipment value also experienced a year-over-year decline of -3.2 percent to $781 million. However, for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2010, two of the four largest large-format printer (LFP) markets posted year-over-year growth in this period. The United States and Japan posted 5.0 percent and 4.2 percent growth in unit shipments in 2Q13. "While the worldwide LFP market is mature, we do see pockets of growth opportunity that can be very lucrative in the eco-solvent based printers segment," said Phuong Hang, program manager, Worldwide Large Format Printer Tracker. "We expect vendors to introduce new products soon to target these emerging markets."

U.S. Digital Ad Spending Forecast Upward

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130821/ADVERTISING13/308219993/emarketer-revises-u-s-digital-ad-spending-forecast-upward

U.S. digital ad spending will reach $42.26 billion this year, up 14.9% over last year's spending, according to a new forecast from eMarketer Inc. The projection is up slightly from a June forecast of $41.94 billion. eMarketer made the adjustment largely due to a revision in its mobile ad spending forecast, which is now set at $8.51 billion for the year, up from a June projection of $7.65 billion.

This year, 22.1% of all U.S. digital search spending will be on mobile devices, according to eMarketer. By 2017, U.S. advertisers will spend 59.6% of all digital search dollars on mobile, it projected.

Source Interlink Deleverages' Business

http://www.audiencedevelopment.com/2013/source+interlink+significantly+deleverages+business#.UhURXryG4oY?utm_source=MV_Audience+Development&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTMLLinkID%3a+18&utm_campaign=Source+Interlink+%e2%80%9cSignificantly+Deleverages%e2%80%9d+Business...Summit+Business+Media+Reorganizes%2c+Changes+Name...The+Circulator+%7c+08.21.13

Source Interlink has reached an agreement with investor GoldenTree Asset Management to recapitalize the company. The deal "significantly deleverages" each of the company's core business units, Source Interlink Media and Source Interlink Distribution, while increasing GoldenTree's stake in the group. "The tremendously improved capital structure will provide both Source Interlink Media and Source Interlink Distribution with the ability to maximize transformational opportunities across their respective industries," says Michael Sullivan, president and CEO of Source Interlink, in a statement. "This transaction will put both businesses in better positions to strengthen strategic partnerships and make investments to enhance their position in their respective industries." "This is a very typical move that most media companies that were acquired by private equity firms in the past 5-7 years are making," says Reed Phillips, CEO and managing partner of investment firm DeSilva + Phillips, in an email to Audience Development. "Most of these buyouts were overleveraged and can no longer support the level of debt that was originally put on the businesses, and are thus being restructured. That simply means that debtholders take equity in exchange for reducing the debt load on the company and the equity holders see their positions shrink to the point where many are no longer in control of the business. The net result is that this is very good news for the company because they can start to run their businesses without the constraints they had when the company was overleveraged."

Chris McLoughlin Moves Over To Rolling Stone

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/wenner-media-mens-journal-rolling-stone-chris-mcloughlin_b92561

It was just last month that we were writing about the strategic alliance between Wenner Media’s Fitness and Men’s Journal. And how that deal quickly came together through the efforts of respective publishers Eric Schwarzkopf and Chris McLoughlin. This week, McLoughlin is on to bigger and better Wenner things. A year and a half after being appointed publisher of Men’s Journal, the magazine industry vet is moving over to Rolling Stone in the same capacity. From this afternoon’s announcement: “We’re thrilled to see Chris apply the strategic thinking he displayed at Men’s Journal as he assumes his new role at Rolling Stone,” said Jann Wenner, chairman of Wenner Media. “Chris’s sales and marketing expertise will further redefine and expand the Rolling Stone brand as we increasingly engage and grow our audiences in both the print and digital space.” McLoughlin arrives at RS on the heels of a devastating piece by Matt Taibbi about the looming, disastrous potential bursting of the American student loan bubble. Prior to joining Wenner Media, McLoughlin was most recently associate publisher of Redbook and executive director of golfdigest.com

J. Crew Pinterest Debut For Fall Cat

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/15069.aspx

The first look at J. Crew’s fall catalog isn’t reserved for the glossy pages of a traditional mailer anymore. This year, the fashion retailer is getting hip to glossy (and matte) displays of another sort: any device with access to Pinterest.  On Monday, J. Crew unveiled its fall catalog board on Pinterest, giving loyal followers an early glimpse at the collection and the opportunity to preorder new styles. The effort is a social media marketing first for any fashion brand on the virtual pinboard site.  It’s a fresh move for J. Crew, which just last year didn’t have even a smidge of social media presence. The board features all the women’s looks for fall. No mere coincidence there: The overwhelming majority of Pinterest’s 70 million users are women. We’ve seen Nordstrom integrate the social scrapbooking site in a novel way, but this is the first time a brand has debuted a full catalog on Pinterest.  As fashion magazines release their biggest September print issues to date, J. Crew’s Pinterest strategy leads the retailer’s oncoming digital marketing sprint, which includes a Style Guide campaign on Instagram, as well as a new online video series.

Skateboarder Mag to Cease Publication

http://www.pubexec.com/aggregatedcontent/skateboarder-magazine-cease-publication

Skateboarder Magazine killed most of its print circulation to try a digital-first approach in May, but the experiment was short-lived. The 49-year-old title, operated by Source Interlink Media's enthusiast GrindMedia division, is ceasing regular publication after the release of its current issue. All platforms will be shut down by October 15. Norb Garrett, senior vice president and group publisher at GrindMedia, explained the rationale for the decision in a video on the brand's website. Garrett blames the skateboarding market rather than the performance of the digital magazine itself.

Despite the challenges posed by the industry however, GrindMedia will continue to publish TransWorld Skateboarding. Garrett hinted at the possibility of special collaborative projects between the two titles in the future. It's the third time Skateboarder Magazine has shut down—once in late 1960s before coming back in 1975, and then again in the 1980s before returning in 1999.

Cenveo In Agreement to Purchase National Envelope

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130821-910452.html

Cenveo, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the operating assets of National Envelope In conjunction with Cenveo's agreement, Hilco Receivables has agreed to acquire substantially all the accounts receivable and Southern Paper has agreed to purchase the inventory of the Company. Cenveo's purchase price is expected to consist of approximately $20 million of cash and $5 million of Cenveo common stock. The closing is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval and customary closing conditions. Cenveo expects that the acquisition of National will deliver approximately $300 million in incremental annual sales and $30 million of incremental EBITDA when the integration of the two companies is complete. Cenveo expects the acquisition will better position it for continued revenue growth through an enhanced portfolio of products and services, increased geographic presence, and improved financial stability. Cenveo also expects to benefit from overhead cost actions and facility consolidations, as well as implementing and investing in manufacturing efficiencies and best practices. The transaction is expected to enhance Cenveo's credit profile and be accretive to earnings and cash flow per share. National Envelope filed Chapter 11 on June 10, 2013 in order to facilitate a sale. Pursuant to the definitive agreements with Cenveo and its partners, the Company will request the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to authorize the Company to proceed with the sale on September 13, 2013. National and Cenveo assure its customers that a smooth integration is expected and that orders will continue to be produced and shipped in the normal course of business.

Ratios Show Printing Ind Profits Increasing

http://www.printing.org/news/11519

North American printers are learning to improve their profitability even as top-line challenges in sales remain. Printers participating in this years’ Ratios Survey attained average profit rates of 2.7 percent on sales—up from 1.8 percent last year. This is the highest level in the past six years, but it is still not back to the pre-recession level of 3.1 percent in 2008. Profit leaders—printers in the top 25 percent of profitability—saw profits increase slightly to 9.9 percent compared to 9.6 percent last year. This rate of profit brings profit leaders to their highest level since before the recession in 2007. According to our 2013 survey results, materials accounted for the largest single cost category for the typical printer—approximately 36 percent of sales. Total materials expenses increased slightly in 2013 from their previous level of 35.5 percent in 2012. Paper alone consumed more than one-in-five sales dollars last year. Other major costs incurred by printers last year included factory payroll (24.6 percent of sales) down from 24.8 percent in 2012, factory expenses (16.9 percent of sales) down from 17.6 percent in 2012, and administrative and selling expenses (19.3 percent of sales) down from 19.6 percent in 2012. Sales per employee for all printers stood at $155,348. Profit leaders’ sales per employee were significantly higher at $171,153.

J.C. Penney's 'Turnaround'

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12015382/1/jc-penneys-turnaround.html

Dismal second-quarter results don't suggest the company is on the mend. However, is the department store chain really doomed? Retail and turnaround experts make the case for J.C. Penney's comeback.

"The company still has brand equity among its core consumer, "says Michael Appel, president of Appel Associates, a turnaround and performance improvement consulting firm. "  Appel believes that although J.C. Penney has tough competition, there's nothing to suggest the company can't right itself. "In the moderate price point there's so much competition," Appel said. "That doesn't mean with the right management and the right strategy and positioning and right product they can't do it."

J.C. Penney reported a worse-than-expected net loss of $586 million, or $2.66 a share, chock full of extraordinary charges pulling the number down. Net sales slumped 12% year-over-year, and gross margin fell to 29.6% in the quarter. The company plans to end the year with $1.5 billion of cash.

CEO Myron 'Mike' Ullman noted on the company's earnings call that the reversal of initiatives by its former chief executive Ron Johnson will take time - and money. Essentially reversing initiatives to reinstate things like sales and promotions instead of the everyday pricing, clearly identifiable staff and checkout stations as well as a newly launched home section that already was not resonating well with customers and needs modification all requires investment.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207340/admitting-mistakes-in-retail-ackman-remains-feist.html#axzz2chce16yB

Admitting Mistakes In Retail, Ackman Remains Feisty

With his billion-dollar bets on J.C. Penney and Herbalife situated far south of where he expected them to be, it has been increasingly clear that Pershing Square Capital Management honcho William Ackman would have “some splainin to do,” as Ricky used to say to Lucy. Yesterday he did so in a 23-page letter to his shareholders replete with disclaimer and notes. “Clearly, retail has not been our strong suit, and this is duly noted,” he said, referring not only to Penney, from whose board of directors he “voluntarily” resigned earlier this month after yet-another spat in public with other members over the performance of a sitting CEO, but also to past failures Borders and Target. “He said he may exit Penney, where he owns 39 million shares and is the company’s biggest investor, but would not say when. At Target, he stuck it out for 19 months after losing a bitter and expensive proxy fight, he reminded investors,” reports Reuters’ Svea Herbst-Bayliss.

As for Borders, Pershing “took a $200 million bath,” as the New York Post’s Mark DeCambre puts it, when it went belly-up in 2011. “Borders was a big mistake on the buy,” Ackman told “CNBC producer and Wall Street insider” Maneet Ahuja for the “hedge-fund tome,” The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds, DeCambre reports. “Retailing is for retailers. It’s not for hedge fund managers,” Erik Gordon a law and business professor at the University of Michigan, tells Herbst-Bayliss. “Successful retailers have spent their whole lives in the business. Ackman finally figured that out.”

Las Vegas Papers Go To Court To Prevent Monopoly

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207306/las-vegas-sun-sues-joa-partner-las-vegas-review.html#axzz2chce16yB

Another newspaper joint operating agreement is coming under pressure in Las Vegas, where one partner in the JOA -- the Las Vegas Review-Journal -- wants to dissolve the JOA and then stop printing and sharing advertising revenue with the other partner, the Las Vegas Sun. The Sun’s publisher and editor, Brian Greenspun, is suing Review-Journal owner Stephens Media to stop the dissolution of the JOA, according to the Sun.  As in other cities, the JOA was agreed by the newspapers at the behest of the U.S. Department of Justice, with the goal of keeping both newspapers viable and thus ensuring continued diversity of reporting and opinion, as well as competition for readers and advertisers in the Las Vegas market. Greenspun is arguing that the dissolution of the JOA would allow Stephens Media to force the Sun out of business, leaving the Review-Journal with a de facto monopoly.  The story becomes more complicated because several of Greenspun’s own siblings, who co-own the Sun, agreed to terminate the JOA in return for receiving ownership of the valuable lasvegas.com URL. Until now, the Greenspun family has been paying Stephens Media $2.5 million a year for the right to use the URL. However, Brian Greenspun contends that his siblings have no right to dissolve JOA, as doing so would violate federal antitrust laws.

Mag+ and Appboy Partner

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/mag-and-appboy-partner-offer-publishers-expanded-mobile-platform#.UhYZ8xushcZ

Mag+ announced its partnership with Appboy Wednesday, bringing a new management platform to the company’s various digital publishers looking to deepen reader relationships on mobile.

Mag+, a publishing platform for creating content optimized for mobile, counts magazines like The Atlantic and New York Magazine and international corporations among its customers. These publishers will now have access to Appboy’s mobile relationship management (MRM) platform to build their businesses through mobile.  “Monetization and engagement are the biggest challenges of digital publishing today,” contends Mike Haney, Mag+ co-founder and chief creative officer, in a statement. “Appboy helps companies by offering deep insights about their readers and targeted communications to segments of those readers.” In a rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem, the partnership between the two companies will help Mag+’s nearly 1,500 apps build a long-term, sustainable mobile business, contends Mark Ghermezian, CEO of Appboy.  “By bringing sophisticated marketing tools to mobile, the platform empowers digital publishers to derive more value from their apps,” says Haney.

Xulon To Offer Free Publishing For Faith Titles

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/58754-xulon-to-offer-free-publishing-for-faith-titles.html

Xulon Press, one of the leaders in Christian self-publishing, has announced what it is calling a first-of-its-kind free book publishing program for the faith-based market. Through FreeChristianPublishing.com, writers will be able to prep their manuscripts for print and e-book publication at no charge. Xulon will make its money from the new venture through printing copies to order, and up-selling such other services as marketing and promotion. The website will go live next month, with print-ready PDFs being accepted for automated checking and processing. A do-it-yourself system that will guide writers through formatting their manuscript for production—including access to a selection of free stock covers—will follow later in the year, or early in 2014. “We have been talking about this concept for a while,” said Chad Nykamp, Xulon v-p and general manager. “Xulon has a long life as a high-end, high-service, high-touch publisher, where we serve a certain segment, but there were a lot of authors we just couldn't help because the price was out of their range.” The new service will enable Xulon to break out its existing packages—which range from $1,699 to $4,999—into a la carte options. In addition to printing and distribution, Xulon services include editorial help, press releases, and video trailers. While free formatting options exist in the general market, until now there has not been anything available for the faith-based market. The process “not only provides (authors) the ultimate level of control over their publishing journey, but also dramatically lowers the cost of bringing a book to market,” said Nykamp. Xulon is on track to publish around 3,000 titles this year.