Condé Nast Names President, China Business

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/merediths-liz-schimel-tapped-lead-cond-nast-china-151225

Liz Schimel, Meredith’s chief digital officer for its magazine division, has been tapped by Condé Nast International to lead its China business. As president of Condé Nast China, she’ll oversee the magazine brands Vogue, Self, GQ, AD and Condé Nast Traveler.

Condé Nast International president Jonathan Newhouse said Schimel’s publishing experience, including digital, and her family ties to China made her ideal to lead the business. Schimel is fluent in Mandarin, having studied in Beijing, where she met her future husband. In an interview, she once expressed interest in returning to China to work. Her appointment takes effect in October.

RRD, John Wiley & Sons Sign Agreement

http://www.piworld.com/article/rrd-awarded-agreement-to-provide-fulfillment-services-for-john-wiley-sons/1

R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company today announced that it has been awarded an agreement that expands its relationship with John Wiley & Sons. Under the terms of the agreement RR Donnelley will provide warehousing, distribution and fulfillment services for Wiley's North American professional development and research products.

Old Navy Splits With Crispin Porter + Bogusky

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/old-navy-splits-crispin-porter-bogusky-151209

Old Navy has parted ways with Crispin Porter + Bogusky, five years after first hiring the agency as its lead creative shop.

The marketer, owned by Gap, has no immediate plans to hire another lead agency to replace Crispin, and instead will work with a range of roster shops—including San Francisco-based Camp + King, and New York-based Chandelier—on an a project basis.

Old Navy spent more than $200 million across media in 2012, according to Kantar estimates.

The split follows the entrance of Old Navy's new chief marketing officer, Ivan Wicksteed, who started at the clothing retailer April 1.

Sun Media Continues Restructuring Initiatives

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130716-908084.html

Sun Media Corporation announces the elimination of 360 positions, the closing of 8 publications across the country and 3 of its free urban dailies, the 24 Hours newspapers in Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, as well as a series of initiatives to enhance operational efficiencies. The strategic overhaul is expected to yield annual savings of approximately $55 million. 
The closing of the three 24 Hours newspapers is a result of Sun Media's decision to focus on a single urban newspaper in each market, except Montréal and Toronto, where the mass transit systems warrant the continuation of Sun Media Corporation's free dailies as well. With the continued publication of 24 Hours in Vancouver, Sun Media remains present in all of Canada's major urban markets. 
In addition to these three 24 Hours, the following 8 titles have already ceased or will cease publication: L'Action Régionale in Montérégie (Québec), The Lindsay Daily Post (Ontario), The Midland Free Press (Ontario), The Meadow Lake Progress (Saskatchewan), The Lac du Bonnet Leader (Manitoba), The Beausejour Review (Manitoba), Le Magazine Saint-Lambert (Québec) et Le Progrès de Bellechasse (Québec).

Stora Completes Negotiations to Close PMs

http://www.storaenso.com/

Stora Enso has finalized discussions with employee representatives regarding job cuts at its Hylte mill in southern Sweden in relation to the permanent closure of two newsprint machines at the factory.

Stora Enso stopped production at the site's 205,000 tonne/yr newsprint PM 2 for market-related reasons on May 16, and after discussions with unions the closure later became permanent. The firm halted the 180,000 tonne/yr newsprint PM 1 on December 27 last year. Layoff negotiations related to the closure of PM 1 were finalized in March, and those relating to PM 2 in June.

After the closure of PMs 1 and 2, the factory will change from a six- to a five-shift system, as it no longer needs to run all year around, according to Henrik Axelsson, communications officer at the factory. This will reduce production slightly, as the factory will not operate during major holidays.
The Hylte mill now has a capacity of some 480,000 tonnes/yr of newsprint on two machines.

Court Rules Out EPA Delay

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-07-12/epa-delay-on-greenhouse-gas-rules-for-biofuels-tossed-by-court

A decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to delay for three years making rules to curb carbon dioxide emissions from biofuels was thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. 
The EPA failed to spell out what the delay, known as the deferral rule, would accomplish, according to a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel.
The EPA’s position was backed by the American Forest and Paper Association, which intervened in the case in support of the agency’s postponement of regulation.
“The court’s ruling creates great uncertainty about the permitting requirements for biomass energy and underscores the need for EPA to finalize its rulemaking on the treatment of biogenic emissions,” Donna Harman, chief executive officer of the Washington-base trade group, said in an e-mailed statement.

Time to Modernize Direct Mail Measurement

http://www.dmnews.com/its-time-to-modernize-direct-mail-measurement-for-a-digital-world/article/303078/

With so much attention being paid to new digital channels and the emergence of RTB, it's easy to overlook advertisers' sustained reliance on direct mail, which last year accounted for more than $51 Billion across catalog and non-catalog spending. A primary reason for brands' continued fondness for direct mail is that it has traditionally outperformed most (if not all) other channels and advertisers' know that consumers are increasingly wary of online display ads, which are often perceived as intrusive and annoying, whereas many find direct mail to be more convenient and easier to digest (or ignore) on their own terms.

However, while direct mail's resilience during the digital marketing era is worthy of attention, it remains a blind spot for many marketers looking to understand the impact of all marketing efforts. This is particularly true as it relates to their ability to quantify the impact direct mailing has on conversions, both online and in-store, and how much conversion credit it deserves relative to other marketing touchpoints. With the push towards data-driven marketing decisions, personalized media, granular audience targeting, and real-time budget optimization this lack of understanding limits advertisers' ability to identify the right mix of marketing levers—messages, media, and channels—and often leads to overvaluing, or overspending, on other channels.

Continuous-Feed Inkjet Production Market

http://whattheythink.com/articles/64457-continuous-feed-inkjet-production-market2013/

Now in its fifth full-year since its introduction, the continuous-feed inkjet printer market shows no signs of maturity. There are few other markets in either the printer segment or consumer electronic segments that continue to show growth after five years. This doesn’t mean that the path forward is lined with rose petals; the challenge of where to continue to find enough pages to fill these highly productive printers is not an easy challenge.

Transaction printing remains the largest application of all pages printed on these devices. While actual pages will double through the forecast period, I.T. Strategies is projecting that by 2017, nearly all toner-based mono continuous-feed pages remaining will have been replaced by continuous-feed inkjet printers. This means that future page volume growth will become more dependent upon a combination of both offset page replacement and new application page volumes.

House Returns to Postal Reform

http://postandparcel.info/56896/news/regulation/us-house-committee-to-consider-postal-reform-proposals/

The issue of postal reform is set to return to the US House of Representatives tomorrow, as the Oversight and Government Reform Committee examines proposals for legislation to rescue the Postal Service. 

The hearing under Chairman Darrell Issa has been scheduled following the release of legislative proposals from both the House Republicans and the House Democrats. 
The proposals seek ways to pull the US Postal Service back from the major losses it has been generating since 2006. 
Last year USPS recorded a $15.9bn annual loss, although $11bn of this was defaulted payments that were not made. This year USPS is expecting to lose about $7.5bn, while the federal agency’s debt remains at the legal maximum of $15bn. 
USPS needs to cut its operating expenses by more than $20bn to return to a balanced situation, but needs Congressional action to achieve half of this, according to executives.
The US Congress failed to reach agreement on postal reforms last year, with the House of Representatives proving the key hurdle to legislation being passed.

U.S. Ad Expenditures Flat

http://printinthemix.com/Fastfacts/Show/747

Total U.S. advertising expenditures the first quarter of 2013 declined 0.1 percent from a year ago and finished the period at $30.2 billion, according to the latest data from Kantar Media, a provider of strategic advertising and marketing information. Ad spending during the fourth quarter of 2012 rose 2 percent versus the year ago period.   

"It has been a lackluster start for 2013, with flat year-over-year results due in part to strong 2012 growth caused by political and Olympic ad spending,” said Jon Swallen, Chief Research Officer at Kantar Media North America. “Data from the early second quarter are mixed, suggesting marketers are still being cautious and conservative with ad budgets. However, there are some bright spots, including healthy growth for Hispanic media and Outdoor.” 

AF&PA Encourages EPA Cofirmation

http://www.afandpa.org/

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement on expected action by the U.S. Senate to confirm Gina McCarthy as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new administrator.

"On behalf of the paper and wood products industry, we are pleased to see progress toward the confirmation of Gina McCarthy as the new administrator for the EPA.

"We are encouraged that the Senate is expected to vote soon on her confirmation. If confirmed by the full Senate, we look forward to working with Ms. McCarthy, whom we've found to be an objective and deliberative decision maker with an appreciation for due process and engaging different perspectives.

Restoration Hardware Is Private-Equity Boon

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323664204578605761992293042.html

RH -3.83% Once teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and subject of a buyout bidding war during which offers shrank, Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. RH -3.83% is turning into a bonanza for its private-equity owners.

The firms that bought the luxury-home-furnishings retailer in 2008 are on track to make about eight times their initial investment, when including their remaining stock holdings in the company, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings. This is a huge return among deals struck in the years leading up to and during the financial crisis.

Restoration Hardware has a stock-market value of about $2.7 billion.

Five years ago, as the housing crash crimped the company's profits, a group led by Connecticut private-equity firms Catterton Partners and Tower Three Partners LLC and the retailer's chief executive took the company private for about $177 million.
Restoration still doesn't turn out consistent profits. But today the retailer, which returned to public ownership in a November initial public offering, has a stock-market value of about $2.7 billion.
At one point last week, shares traded at more than three times their IPO price of $24. The surge has prompted the company's owners to cash in. Late Thursday, the buyout group and executives sold some $560 million of stock.
The deal followed a similarly sized sale in late May that returned about $497 million.
The success shows that even as the buyout business matures and big gains are seen as more difficult to come by, some deals can prove runaway winners.

Forbes Names Howard CRO, Levien Leaves for NYT

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/204519/howard-to-cro-forbes-media.html?print#axzz2Z96zvO8T

Forbes Media today announced the promotion of Mark Howard to Chief Revenue Officer. Previously, he was senior vice president, digital advertising strategy. Forbes Media Chief Revenue Officer Meredith Levien has decided to leave Forbes to assume the role of executive vice president, advertising at The New York Times.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/new-york-times-names-new-ad-chief-151168

Back in March, The New York Times Co. announced a new structure, recognizing a need to speed up its operations and boost its digital operations amid a slump for print newspapers. The company created three new groups, for digital products and services, print products and services, and advertising. Today, the Times continued that process, naming Meredith Levien from Forbes to head up the last one.

As evp of advertising, a newly created position, Levien will oversee advertising revenue coming from all the Times’ products and services. She’ll be on the executive committee and report directly to Times president and CEO Mark Thompson, starting Aug. 5.

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/levien-out-forbes-cro#.UeRP9VOYyKw

Forbes has found success in its digital sales lately, but its team is in the midst of a shakeup.

Programmatic and native sales advocate Meredith Levien has left her role as Forbes Media Chief Revenue Officer to become executive vice president of advertising at The New York Times. 
Mark Howard, previously the senior vice president of digital advertising strategy at the company, will assume Levien's CRO role, effective immediately. 
The move is the second major leadership change in as many weeks for Forbes. Mike Smith, formerly chief digital officer of Forbes Media, was recently named vice president of revenue platforms and operations for Hearst Magazines Digital Media.

Gap, Old Navy Lead Retail Sales Growth

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/aggregatedcontent/clearance-racks-help-june-retail-sales

Retailers’ sales continued to heat up in June amid improving weather and discounting as chains looked to clear out spring merchandise and prepare for the back-to-school season. One standout was Gap, which continued to record strong sales. Its same-store sales growth of 7 percent handily topped expectations. Gap stores posted a 5 percent rise when 6.3 percent growth was expected, while Banana Republic's same-store sales declined 1 percent, compared with expectations for 0.7 percent growth. Old Navy recorded 13 percent growth, well ahead of expectations for 5.4 percent growth.

Hearst Mags Retains IMG Licensing

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/204508/hearst-mags-retains-img-licensing-for-global-brand.html#axzz2Z96zvO8T

Hearst Magazines International announced that IMG Licensing will be the exclusive product licensing representative for key Hearst Magazines brands, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar outside of the U.S. and Canada. Cosmopolitan reaches more than 100 million readers, through 62 international editions. Esquire is published in 14 languages and distributed in 45 countries. Harper’s Bazaar is published in 17 languages and has 34 international editions.

Where’s Direct Mail in This Survey List?

http://thedigitalnirvana.com/2013/07/hey-wheres-print-in-this-media-list/

I was browsing email subject lines and one about Millennials using print caught my eye. Every now and then, you see data showing that direct mail and other print media carry weight — and influence — among this coveted and digital-media-heavy demographic. 

I clicked through, and the data from was Experian (Digital Marketing Report 2013).  It did show Millennials using print, but it was newspapers and magazines. In a seven-day span (“seven-day platform reach”), the chart indicated, approximately 70% of 18-24-year olds were reading newspapers and magazines.  Nice to know, but . . . 
Television, mobile phone, radio, newspaper, home computer, magazine, work computer, game console, MP3 player, tablet, e-Reader. Those were the categories included, leaving magazines and newspapers the print representatives. 
Where was direct mail? Despite the power that print continues to show in influencing consumer decisions and as part of consumers’ preferences, somehow it was not included in the media mix being studied.  How did direct mail get overlooked?

Retailers, Tracking and Big Data

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper-stores-are-tracking-your-cell.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&ref=business&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1373890996-pc43mkypsX80n8DZ/Rzhvw&

Like dozens of other brick-and-mortar retailers, Nordstrom wanted to learn more about its customers — how many came through the doors, how many were repeat visitors — the kind of information that e-commerce sites like Amazon have in spades. So last fall the company started testing new technology that allowed it to track customers’ movements by following the Wi-Fi signals from their smartphones. 

But when Nordstrom posted a sign telling customers it was tracking them, shoppers were unnerved.
“We did hear some complaints,” said Tara Darrow, a spokeswoman for the store. Nordstrom ended the experiment in May, she said, in part because of the comments.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paularosenblum/2013/07/08/retailers-and-big-data-the-creepy-continuum/

We’ve certainly read and heard a lot about data gathering lately, and the term “Big Data” is making its way into the public lexicon.  One issue that’s come up often is “Given what we’ve found out about what is being done by government agencies with available data, will we see a consumer backlash against giving retailers information?  Will consumers batten down their privacy hatches?” 
I’m a firm believer that an educated consumer will make better decisions, and so I thought I’d spend a few hundred words giving you some correct definitions, followed by some realistic retail scenarios.