Williams-Sonoma,
Inc. (NYSE: WSM) today announced operating results for the 13 weeks ended
August 4, 2013 ("Q2 13") versus the 13 weeks ended July 29, 2012
("Q2 12").
Net revenues grew 12.3% to $982 million
versus $874 million in Q2 12 with comparable brand revenue growth of 8.4%. Operating margin was 8.0%, equal to
Q2 12. Diluted earnings per
share ("EPS") grew 14.0% to $0.49 compared to Q2 12. Cash returned to stockholders totaled
$120 million comprising $90 million in stock repurchases and $30 million in dividends.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Williams-Sonoma Reports Q2 Results, Expands to Philippines
Cenveo to Purchase National Envelope
Cenveo, Inc. (NYSE: CVO) announced that it has
entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the
operating assets of National Envelope (“National” or the “Company”).
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.
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.
GE Set to Exit Retail Lending
General Electric Co. GE +0.12% is preparing to spin off one of
its most important financial assets—the unit that issues store credit cards for
55 million Americans—as it retreats from one of the high-growth businesses that
defined the modern conglomerate.
The
decision to divest the business, amid concerns about the company's exposure to
banking, marks an important moment in the evolution of GE and the country's
three-decade long consumer credit boom. GE Capital expanded to the point that
its portfolio of loans and other assets now would rank it as the country's
fifth-largest commercial bank.
Preliminary
work to separate the business through an initial public offering is under way,
according to people familiar with the matter.
GE
has said the U.S. consumer-finance business earned $2.2 billion last year. The
operation accounts for about $50 billion of the $274 billion in loans
outstanding by GE Capital.
Folio: People on the Move
Megan Tompkins, former Bicycle Retailer & Industry News editor, promoted to publisher, replacing Marc Sani who is leaving the company to focus on reporting on industry news and events.
Jeff Tkach named new group publisher of Backpacker and Climbing. Tkach started in advertising sales at Backpacker as an account manager and will now lead sales, marketing and events operations for both brands.
Colleen McCarthy named New York Media’s executive director of business development, effective Sept. 3. Most recently, McCarthy was director of business development and strategy at the New York Times.
Andy Friedman named executive director of content and user engagement for Penton's Electrical Energy & Mechanical and Manufacturing & Supply Chain markets.
Matt Vella appointed to senior editor at Time where he will oversee business coverage across all brand platforms. Vella was previously the technology editor at Fortune. And more...
People Prepares New Subscription Model
Time
Inc. cash cow People is preparing to unveil a new pricing model designed to
transform the way people think about subscriptions, according to people
familiar with the publisher’s plans. Other titles in the company are expected
to follow suit.
With
advertising sagging—PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that consumer magazine ad revenue will decline 7.3 percent
from 2012 to 2017, to $15.2 billion—Time Inc. isn’t alone in turning to consumers
for new revenue. Hearst Magazines priced its tablet editions higher than its
print editions, betting that people will pay more for an enhanced version.
Casting its net for more print subscribers, Condé Nast recently announced a deal with Amazon
to let people manage their orders on the e-commerce site.
Cygnus Names Taussig Group Publisher
Taussig joins Cygnus from Hanley Wood Business Media, where he spent 13 years, most recently as director-digital media for the Residential Remodeling Group. Taussig succeeds John Huff, who left the company.
UK Survey: Two Thirds Newspaper Readers Prefer Print
More
than two thirds of national newspaper readers say they prefer to read newspapers
in print format rather than on a computer, tablet or mobile phone, according to
new research for elephant communications.
The findings are from the latest edition of elephant’s British News Index, which explores consumer media habits and interest in current affairs. At a time when many see media habits as a black and white move from traditional to new media, the new data suggests old and new media are far more inter-connected, with specific segments using different combinations of media and platforms.
The findings are from the latest edition of elephant’s British News Index, which explores consumer media habits and interest in current affairs. At a time when many see media habits as a black and white move from traditional to new media, the new data suggests old and new media are far more inter-connected, with specific segments using different combinations of media and platforms.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Paper Recycling Rate in Europe Reaches 71.7%
http://www.paperage.com/2013news/08_29_2013europe_paper_recycling_rate_2012.html
Today the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) announced an impressive
71.7% paper recycling rate for Europe. In their annual monitoring report the
ERPC revealed that current paper consumption in Europe has dropped by 13% to
the level of 1998, but the recycled amount of paper is 1.5 times higher than in
1998 — a remarkable achievement.
Since 2000 the ERPC has worked consistently on improving the quantity and quality of paper available for recycling. The ERPC monitoring report releases extra insights into the wider context of paper recycling revealing that Europe is the global champion in this field.
Furthermore, the ERPC reports that in Europe paper fibre is recycled an astounding 3.5 times a year; world-wide the average is 2.4 times.
Since 2000 the ERPC has worked consistently on improving the quantity and quality of paper available for recycling. The ERPC monitoring report releases extra insights into the wider context of paper recycling revealing that Europe is the global champion in this field.
Furthermore, the ERPC reports that in Europe paper fibre is recycled an astounding 3.5 times a year; world-wide the average is 2.4 times.
Industry Leaders Address World Demand
PwC released an eight-page review of of its conference titled, "Growing the future: Global strategies for sustainable success in the forest, paper and packaging industry." The review begins by stating: "Competition is increasing for the world's limited landbase. As the population grows from seven billion people today to an estimated nine billion by 2050, so to does the demand for what's know as the "4Fs" — food, fuel, fibre, forests.
Gap Already Using Facebook GIFs
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/gap-and-other-brands-are-already-using-facebook-gifs-152107
Tech
firm Giphy this morning tweeted that it had launched a Facebook GIFs
product, and the digerati immediately buzzed with interest. Within a couple of
hours, The Gap posted one of the
first branded GIFs on the hugely popular social media platform and a handful of
other brands are readying theirs for release shortly, according to sources.
Gap's
GIF highlights its Tumblr-based "What's
Blue to You" contest while utilizing Facebook's months-old hashtag
feature with "#Backtoblue" copy. And a Giphy rep said via email that
the social startup is "actively developing partnerships with brands and
publishers."
Condé & Project Décor Relaunch Domino
Condé Nast’s Domino, limited to
twice-annual newsstand specials since 2009, is being revived this fall as both
a quarterly print magazine and an e-commerce site, WWD sources report. Taking
the lead on the relaunch are the founders of the e-commerce design site Project
Décor, which include one of the co-founders of the food delivery app
Seamless Web. Condé is believed to be holding on to the brand’s intellectual rights
and to have an ownership stake, though it’s not clear what the ownership
structure looks like. Project Décor, a quasi-shoppable Pinterest that
allows users to design rooms and also shop for furnishings, was founded in 2012
by three well-known entrepreneurs and angel investors. Their plan,
according to sources, is to redesign Décor under the Domino umbrella, while
continuing as a social media and shoppable digital catalog. The new
venture would not be in the business of holding merchandise or processing
transactions. Efforts to jump-start Domino (which was originally launched
in 2005, as a sort of combination magazine/catalog) shifted into high gear in
the last couple of months and are set to continue in coming weeks as the new
venture is shopped around to advertisers and vendors, writes WWD. No
confirmation from Condé or Project Décor.
MPA Asks for Help in Fighting Postal Rate Hike
MPA reports that, in partnership with
the Affordable Mail Alliance, it is “executing a highly focused and aggressive
national and grass roots campaign” to try to convince the USPS Board of
Governors that a decision to approve an exigent rate increase (which could cost
magazines $300M annually) would be “counterproductive for consumers, commercial
mailers and the Postal Service itself.” MPA’s summary includes links to the
AMA’s full letter to the BOG, and its press release on the issue. MPA has also
posted a call for assistance from publishers in the fight, asking them to push
the AMA’s messages out via their social media accounts and internal
communications, and to tweet/retweet MPA’s tweets on the issue
(@mapmagmedia).
MPA (how publishers can
help)
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Port Hawkesbury Weighs Options for Newsprint PM
The
owner of Port Hawkesbury Paper says mill management intends to make one last
effort to find a business case that would call for the operation of the mill's
newsprint machine.
But
Ron Stern said it's more likely that the machine will be sold off in the next
few months.
Since
taking over control of the mill last year, Port Hawkesbury Paper has only
operated the newer of its two paper machines, PM2, which produces
supercalendered paper for the magazine and catalogue market. The mill's
newsprint machine, PM1, has remained idle. By only operating one of the two
machines, the company cut its workforce by about half, and now employs about
300 people.
Twin Rivers Names President
Twin
Rivers Paper Company is pleased to announce and introduce Mr. Kenneth
Winterhalter as President of the Corporation effective August 26, 2013.
As
President, Ken will be instrumental in setting the strategic direction of the
company. Along with the board of directors and executive leadership team Ken's
attention will be to build a growing, profitable business and create long-term
value. He will be responsible for Sales, Marketing, Pricing, Distribution,
Business and Product Development, Commercial Strategy and Customer Service.
Ken
joins us with an extensive professional background in both private equity and
public sectors. His experience includes 20 plus years in Senior Management,
Manufacturing and Distribution.
Prior
to joining Twin Rivers, Ken held leadership roles of CEO, President, Vice
President Sales & Marketing, and Senior Vice President Strategic
Development. His most recent positions as CEO/President for National Envelope
and President for Unisource Worldwide demonstrated his strategic direction,
team building effectiveness and sales management.
Japan: Papermakers See Potential in Biomass Industry
Paper
manufacturers in Japan facing a lack of demand for their product are hoping to
energize profits by plugging into the biomass power generation industry.
Motivated
by a government feed-in-tariff system for clean energy, companies are also
hoping to promote more effective use of wasted wood chips from forest thinning
through their new business.
Between
last fall and this summer, Japan's largest paper maker, Oji Holdings Corp.,
decided to install biomass power generating equipment in its three plants in
Shizuoka, Miyazaki and Hokkaido prefectures.
How Catalogs Drive Your Business
The process of matching back order files to mail tapes gives companies the strongest sense of how catalogs drive web business.
When looking at your order curves, you'll see that online sales spike every time a catalog hits in-home
Contact strategy testing: Try testing holdout panels in mail vs. no mail split tests. The mailed segments always perform better.
A reduction in catalog circulation always results in a reduction of sales from the web.
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