NEWS
Discussions Energize Distributors at Small Distributor Summit
The 2005 Small Distributor Summit drew more than 80 attendees to the Embassy Suites Hotel, Grapevine, Texas. The summit, held March 12-14, is an educational and networking program for distributors with annual sales volumes of $2.5 million or less. Dick Gray, CDC, president of distributorship Xtension Technologies Inc., Laguna Hills, Calif., served as the event's chairman.
First-time attendee Thomas Kujawski, owner of M7 Business Systems, Denver, arrived with a list of goals. "It was a very good opportunity to meet with industry leaders and glean their expertise and knowledge," he says. Kujawski, who started his distributorship in October 2004, compares the open exchange of ideas to having an 80-person board of directors: "It's a group that you open the inside of your business to and get opinions on what you're doing right or wrong," he says.
Steve Richmond, production manager at Olivan Marketing Ltd., Brampton, Ontario, looked forward to sharing the ideas he learned with his co-workers and returning next year. "It made good use of everybody's time," he says. "A whole lot of very good information was shared."
The Small Distributor Summit included distributor-run sessions on balancing business and personal time; educating employees; capturing customers' promotional products business; growing a distributorship; and email marketing. The meeting also included manufacturer-education sessions by sponsors Ennis Inc., Midlothian, Texas; The Flesh Company, St. Louis; National Imprint Corporation, Deer Park, N.Y.; Telemark Diversified Graphics, Sturgis, Mich.; and Wise Business Forms Inc., Alpharetta, Ga.
At lunch, attendees discussed topics such as changing sales compensation plans, ways to reach decision-makers and working with graphic artists. For instance, one group discussed distributor and end-user relationships. Jerry Ballone, president of Computer Business Forms Inc., Marietta, Ga., emphasized the need to be honest with customers and their expectations. "If I have an order I think I can get shipped in three days, but I know I can get it shipped in four, I tell my customer four."
Click here for photo coverage of the event.
Deluxe Net Up Slightly
Deluxe reported net income of $198 million in 2004, up slightly from 2003. Other items from the annual report to shareholders:
- Revenue was $1,567.0 million, up $324.9 million from 2003. NEBS contributed revenue of $363.2 million. (Deluxe acquired NEBS in the summer of 2004.)
- Gross margin was 65.8%, flat compared to 2003. NEBS results decreased our gross margin by 1.1 percentage points, offsetting the savings from manufacturing efficiencies. NEBS has historically had lower gross margins than our other businesses because of its non-check product mix.
- Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense was 43.6% of revenue, compared to 39.7% in 2003. NEBS results increased our SG&A percentage by 3.7 percentage points. Full story.
Relizon Awarded 5-Year, Multimillion Dollar Contract Extension
The Relizon Company, Dayton, Ohio, announced that it was awarded a 5-year, multimillion dollar contract extension by Southern New Hampshire Medical Center (SNHMC). Under the agreement, Relizon will continue to manage the entire document process for SNHMC's clinical and non-clinical documents, a solution Relizon has been providing the center since 1999.
FormStore Incorporated Gets Huge Response to its Health Care Program
FormStore Incorporated, Fenton, Mo., reported a huge response to its new Digital Print Solutions for HealthCare Program. More than 550 distributors responded to the initial promotion, company President Paul Edwards, CFC, said. The new sales kits, including the 22 digitally printed health care application samples, the digitally imaged donut box, tissue box cover and presentation folder, are designed to help distributors get entire digital print programs. FormStore also is seeking feedback on how the kit works in presentations to clients. Users can complete a survey and be entered in a drawing to win an Apple iPod.
OfficeMax Earnings Drop 90 Percent
OfficeMax Inc., Itasca, Ill., reported a 90 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings to $700,000, but its chairman dismissed the need to consider splitting up the beleaguered company, as a shareholder group has proposed. George Harad, who also became interim CEO last month when Christopher Milliken resigned in the wake of an accounting scandal, said this would be "a particularly inopportune time" for the company to change direction since other strategic steps already are being taken. Those actions, he said, include reshaping top management, integrating contract and retail operations, being more selective with promotions, reducing debt and committing $775 million to $815 million toward a planned share repurchase.
Newgen Acquires Reynolds' Campaign Management Services Business
Newgen Results Corporation, San Diego, and The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, Dayton, Ohio, announced Newgen's acquisition of Reynolds' Campaign Management Services business consisting of dealer contracts and software licenses. Additionally, Newgen has been named a Reynolds Certified Interface partner, with access to the Reynolds ERA® and ERA XT dealer management systems, as well as the Reynolds ERA XTR and Reynolds Generations Series Suite retail management systems.
International Paper to Sell Industrial Papers Business
International Paper Co., Stamford, Conn., agreed to sell its industrial papers business for $180 million to private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. The business includes paper mills in DePere and Kaukauna, Wis., and paper converting facilities in Menasha, Wis., Lancaster, Ohio, and Heerlen, Netherlands. The operations employ 1,400 workers.
Call for Entries: 2005 Print Solutions Magazine PEAK Awards
Win a Print Excellence And Knowledge (PEAK) Award and prove your talent to the marketplace! A PEAK award is a valuable marketing tool that will raise your company's profile and show clients and prospects that your work is the best in the industry. PEAK awards recognize companies that meet customers' printing needs through creativity in design, manufacturing, fulfillment, and other services that solve problems or improve a client's business. Click here for complete information and entry forms. The deadline for entries has been extended to June 1.
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Sales and Marketing Tip
Even Search Engines Know The Value Of Blogging
You can't look very far online without seeing a weblog or blog. They're increasing in popularity and many companies are starting to use them to communicate with their customers about latest projects or new products in a "human voice." Full story.
E-Commerce Spotlight
Improve Web Sales Figures Forever And Ever
"How do I improve web site sales figures?" The CEO roared at the web developer. The developer looked a little confused and mumbled something. The CEO then went to his marketing department and bellowed "How do I improve our web site sales conversion rates?" A few mouths opened as if to speak, but nothing came out. Exasperated, the CEO turned to a guy painting a wall and said, "Can you answer this question?" What did he say?
Full story.
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