ETD: 739 60 million and counting; S.C.O.R.E.; Catalogers news;
The US Logistics Market - An Overview; Franklin Mint's Shut Down Marks
End of "Cocooning" Trend
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post@gapent.com
Tue, 18 Nov 2003 00:24:30 -0500
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0739 November 18, 2003
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem@gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] 60 million and counting
[3] S.C.O.R.E.
[4] Catalogers news
[5] The US Logistics Market - An Overview
[6] Franklin Mint's Shut Down Marks End of "Cocooning" Trend
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
A week from Friday is Black Friday - are you ready?
Alan Zell was kind enough to provide more information on SCORE. A great
resource.
John Schulte brings us an update on catalog news. John is President and
Chairman of National Mail Order Association (NMOA), a great resource for
those in catalog sales.
For those interested in US logistics, Amy Cole has a report available.
And Pam Danziger reports on the closing of Franklin Mint. What a
shame. That hits home, as I was offered the CEO position there a couple of
years back, which I declined.
Let's hear about your business, which will remain for posterity at
our "Members: Who Are You?" site.
http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have a form
there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed this
idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't know
anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem@gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] 60 million and counting
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Remember our discussions about Kazaa the peer-to-peer (P2P) file transfer
system that folks use to download music? Well I just read that 300 million
copies of the software were downloaded and they have 60 million users of
which there are 4.2 million users online at any given time. I'm not sure
how may paid the $29.95 they charge for a commercial-free product, but that
adds up to a lot of shekels for Nikki Hemming, CEO.
Kazaa is an Australian-based company, and to-date has remained silent with
the issues surrounding downloading of music. Starting next month they
begin a massive ad campaign in newspapers, aiming to mobilize Kazaa users
to fight back. It's going to get interesting.
What do you think about this P2P process? Is it illegal, or are their some
good uses? Obviously sharing programs or music or videos is illegal. So
why would 60 million people use the app?
Interesting to note that Niklas Zennstrom, founder of Kazaa has now formed
another company - Skype - to offer free telephone service over the Internet
using P2P technology. Some banks are now using P2P to transfer data to
branches.
George
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[3] S.C.O.R.E.
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Your members can find info about SCORE on their web site www.score.org.
Under "find score" link anyone can find the closest of the almost 400
offices by putting in their zip code and they'll get a map and a listing of
the chapter(s). All chapters have "in-house" counselors who put in a half
or full day at the chapter office and all chapters have "out-house"
counselors (for lack of a better term) who are willing to meet with clients
at a time and place convenient for both. We have, for example, over half
our members who do not come into the office some of whom live 90 miles from
Portland and most chapters have members in the area but not close to the
office. Since most counselors have Internet access they will, with local
clients after a first meeting do follow-on work via e-mail.
Also, about1400 of the 13,000 plus members of SCORE also participate in a
Cyberchapter for those that:
* are not within driving distance of a chapter or there is no counselor
available to meet at a convenient time and place for both.
* they cannot find the expertise needed or they think they need,
* want the "fire-wall" between them and the counselor.
Besides doing individual counseling, many counselors participate in
co-counseling with the client either with counselors in their own office or
with counselors in other offices or with a Cypberchapter member. Those in
the Cyberchapter often have to call in counselors in chapters the state the
client is in for local things as taxes, regulations, licenses, etc.
All counseling is confidential and free. There are times when a counselor
will discuss a case with other counselors for their opinions and inputs.
Most chapters offer workshops periodically during the year on beginning
business, business plans, and other specific business topics. Charges for
these workshops are quite reasonable.
That, George, is the nuts'n'bolts of what SCORE is all about.
Alan J. Zell, Ambassador Of Selling
Member of SCORE CyberChapter and SCORE Chapter 11, Portland, OR
azell@aol.com
Winner of the Murray Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sales & Marketing
Chairman, PNW Sales & Marketing Group
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[4] Catalogers news
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I just wanted to give you an update about our Made in America-Hot Product
Contest. We have now added "Best of State" winners. In addition to the
product category winners, there will now be a winner from each state as
well. http://www.nmoa.org/contest
Also, did you know this about the products sold by many catalogers?
When it comes to sourcing and manufacturing merchandise, the U.S. is still
the number-one place that catalogers turn to, at least among participants
in the Catalog Age® Benchmark Report on Merchandising. And this is not a
new trend; mail order marketers have consistently been big supporters of
American made products.
The U.S. remains the favorite sourcing location for those catalogs
surveyed, with 89% rating the States as a "very good" or "good" sourcing
locale. U.S. made goods represent, on average, over 70% of dollar sales
volume for these surveyed catalogs.
The U.S. also remains the most popular place to manufacture or contract for
the manufacture of products: Among the 78% of catalog respondents that
manufacture or contract for manufacture, 94% do so in the U.S. The Far East
has lost ground with catalogers, with only 19% of respondents manufacturing
there, down from 24% from 1999.
--
Best regards,
John Schulte
President and Chairman
National Mail Order Association (NMOA)
http://www.nmoa.org
Email: schulte@nmoa.org
Tel: 612-788-1673
http://www.nmoa.org/schulte
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[5] The US Logistics Market - An Overview
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I enclose details of our latest Logistics report - an introduction to the
logistics market in the US, including US logistics spend analysis.
In the research phase of this analysis, over 750 US companies in the
automotive, consumer goods, hi-tech, pharmaceutical and retail sectors
provided information on the breakdown of their logistics spend.
Report Highlights:
In no sector does average outsourced logistics spend exceed 70% of total
logistics spend. Where logistics activities are outsourced, they are
overwhelmingly transport, parcel delivery, distribution and warehousing
operations the level of outsourcing of value-added activities, such as
kitting and light manufacturing, remains extremely low.
The most frequently outsourced logistics activity in every sector except
automotive is transport or haulage. This is the sole logistics activity
that a large number of companies outsource. This indicates that there
remains significant scope, in all sectors, for logistics companies to take
over clients' supply chains.
Low outsourcing rates for value-added services suggest that many LSPs are
currently failing to attract clients with their current service offerings.
There is potential for LSPs, particularly with clients in the automotive
and hi-tech sectors, to expand their portfolio of value-added services.
For a complete index of this report click on
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/40085. The US Logistics Market -
An Overview
Amy Cole
Senior Manager
Research and Markets Ltd
amy.cole@researchandmarkets.com
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[6] Franklin Mint's Shut Down Marks End of "Cocooning" Trend
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The Franklin Mint sent home all but a handful of essential staffers. In
closing its doors, Howard Lucker, a company spokesperson, told the
Philadelphia Inquirer that, "We’re going to develop a new, smaller business
focused on our core competencies of product development and marketing...
We’ve recognized that attracting new collectors under our prior business
model was not working."
The story of The Franklin Mint, an icon of collecting, is the story of
the rise and fall of the collectibles industry, which peaked in the late
1980s through mid 1990s along with the "cocooning" trend.
In the heyday of "cocooning," consumers were focused on hearth and home and
feathering their nests. Consumers were driven to fill up the emotional
empty spaces with things and collecting was the perfect expression of their
need. Companies like The Franklin Mint, among others, rode the rising tide
of the cocooning-collecting trend.
Based on new research from Unity Marketing, "consumers today are like
butterflies emerging from their cocoons and rejecting the overt materialism
that characterized the cocooning trend, " says Pam Danziger president of
Unity Marketing and author of Why People Buy Things They Don't Need. "With
a ‘been there, done that’ attitude shoppers are turning their attention
away from continued ‘feathering of the nest’ toward reconnecting with the
outside world. Consumers today are striving for real meaningful
experiences, deeper personal feelings, and an expression of personal values
in their consumption and shopping choices."
With the end of cocooning, shoppers are more discriminating about the
things they buy and bring home. Today’s connecting consumer seeks to
simplify their lives by removing unnecessary clutter to create a more
harmonious, life-affirming home environment. Real Simple magazine perfectly
expresses the new down-sizing mentality that is taking hold in America.
This trend is also reflected in new reality shows devoted to household
organization, such as HGTV’s Mission: Organization and The Learning
Channel’s Clean Sweep. Consumers’ drive to end household clutter means it
is getting harder to justify buying purely decorative, nonfunctional items
into the home.
Unity Marketing’s new research report, The Gifts and Decorative Accents
Report, 2003: The Market, The Competitors, The Future Trends, will help
marketers in the gifts and collectibles industry use consumer research to
point them away from categories that consumers don’t want, such as
figurines, to those for which they have an appetite. This in-depth research
report is available directly from Unity Marketing. Click here for more
information. http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/gifts/gifts1.html
Len Stein,
Visibility,
914-712-2610
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