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| Counselor
PromoGram |
Volume
504 / September 4, 2007 |
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Sponsored
By
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ASI
Launches ASI Canada; Watch The Video
ASI announced today that it has acquired TEAM Task Force, an ad specialty member
organization based in Toronto, Canada. Effective immediately, the organization,
which has nearly 400 members, will be known as ASI Canada. TEAM Task Force founders
Fred and Leslie Oesen will continue to work for the organization from their Toronto
office.
“I’m very excited to announce
the launch of ASI Canada,” said
Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief
executive officer for ASI. “Distributors,
suppliers and decorators in Canada
have been asking me for more
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ways
to connect and do more business,
and I look forward to working
closely with Fred and Leslie
to provide more opportunities
for our members in the United
States and Canada to grow sales
and increase profits.”
Click
here to watch
an exclusive video interview
with Tim Andrews regarding
ASI's expansion to Canada.
Fred
Oesen said he is looking forward
to becoming a part of ASI. “ASI
is synonymous with innovation
and successful growth of our
industry,” he said. “This
alliance affords Leslie and I
the opportunity to offer Canadian
advertising specialty companies
with additional valuable products
and services to take their business
to the next level.”
For
more information on ASI Canada,
go to www.asicentral.ca.
Also, Tim Andrews will be hosting
an industry conference call tomorrow,
Wednesday September 5, at 2:00
pm Eastern time to discuss this
announcement. To register for
the call go to: https://www.attevent.com/rsvpreg.asp?PPass=805845.
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Calibre
Purchases AC International
Calibre International LLC (asi/43442) has purchased the assets of AC
International (asi/30111), also known as American Quality Products,
out of foreclosure in an all-cash deal. Further terms of the deal were not revealed.
AC International had been experiencing financial difficulties that prevented
it from updating its manufacturing equipment and diversifying its product line,
which includes a line of water bottles under the California Springs name.
AC
International got its start producing
the Mr. Tuffy tire liner for retail
over 17 years ago, but becoming a vendor
for Wal-Mart proved to be its undoing. “Like
a lot of companies that go
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big
time with Wal-Mart, they almost went
out of business trying to keep up,” says
Daniel Oas, CEO of Calibre. “They
just could never get their heads
above water. They really needed to
come up with a diversified line.”
AC
International will remain a separate
company and introduce a number of
new products that will focus on the
outdoor lifestyle market. A new expanded
catalog will be released later this
month, followed by an extended product
offering and catalog in January.
The company will keep a portion of
its workforce and current location,
but retain its ASI number and name
only temporarily until it can establish
a new moniker next year.
Cal
Springs posted sales of $4.8 million
last year. Calibre is on track to
do $25 million this year.
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American Apparel
Reports Second Quarter
Earnings
Counselor Top 40 supplier
American Apparel recently
reported that it attained
second-quarter revenues
of $95.6 million, up
35% over the same period
in 2006. The company
also said that sales
during the first six
months of 2007 were
$130.4 million, up
30% from last year.
American Apparel, which
operates 157 retail
stores in 11 countries
and also sells its
products through wholesale
channels like the ad
specialty market, reported
that its pro-forma
adjusted EBITDA equaled
$18 million in the
second quarter of 2007,
an increase of 70%
over the $10.6 million
achieved last year.
“After reviewing
the financial results
for the first
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half
of 2007, I am very
excited about the growth
that the company has
experienced so far
this year,” said
Dov Charney, CEO of
American Apparel. “Despite
a challenging retail
environment, the second
quarter was the most
successful period in
American Apparel’s
history. In the months
ahead, we look forward
to building upon the
strong financial performance
of the first half of
2007.
American
Apparel announced late
last year that it was
being acquired by Endeavor
Acquisition Corp.,
a publicly traded specialized
purpose acquisition
corporation. When the
deal was first announced,
the companies both
said they expected
to close the acquisition
by the summer of 2007.
In its latest filing,
Endeavor now says it
expects the deal to
officially close “in
the second half of
2007.”
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Distributor Debuts
New Blog
New York-based distributor
ePromos (asi/188515) has
launched its latest online
venture: The Promo Know-How
Zone, a blog that highlights
end-users’ success
stories. The blog, which
went live August 29, features
more than 100 case studies.
For instance, the Web site, http://ideas.epromos.com,
organizes results according
to industry (automotive,
real estate, medical, etc.);
product type (including
desktop items and corporate
gifts); and uses (recruiting,
safety awareness and fundraising,
to name a few).
Mark Yokoyama, the company’s
director of marketing and
merchandising, said the
idea for the online project
stemmed from ePromos’ commitment
to helping its customers
achieve |
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results. “We’re
the promo know-how people
and we take that pretty
seriously,” Yokoyama
said, citing the company’s
tagline. “Our ideal
customer isn’t
someone who just wants
pens and pencils, but
one who has experienced
the power of having a
successful promotion
by getting results from
it.”
Yokoyama
said the company chose
blogging because the
medium allows for “fresh
content all the time.” The
blog collects a majority
of its case studies
from ePromos reps and
the clients they work
with on promotional
campaigns, and the
site’s target
audience is end-users. “The
more educated the consumer
is,” he says, “the
more likely they’ll
be successful with
their promotions and
come back to us."
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Survey:
Higher Costs,
Stagnant Prices
A new survey
from SurePayroll
shows that business
owners report
rising costs
but not necessarily
rising prices
on their own
goods for their
customers. Of
the businesses
surveyed online,
92% reported
an increase in
the cost of doing
business, but
70% said that
they are resisting
raising prices.
It’s a
trend that will
certainly put
dents into many
companies’ bottom
lines. “Everyone
is holding the
line on prices
out of fear that
they’ll
get undercut
and lose the
business,” says
Michael Alter,
president of
the online payroll
service based
in Glenview,
IL. “It
is better to
have the business
at 27% gross
margin than not
at all.”
The biggest factor
affecting business
costs is |
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employee
salaries, according
to 38% of the
respondents.
Employee benefits
ranked second,
followed by
raw materials,
taxes and service
fees. “Salaries
are going up
and continue
to go up,"
says Alter. “The
average paycheck
going up is
one of the
biggest costs
in people’s
businesses.”
The nature of the promotional products business makes it more likely that distributors
will hold off raising prices for their customers, says Alter. “In today’s
world, it’s so easy to evaluate the competition especially with a commodity
item like pens,” he says. “I know if I’m looking for a pen
with a red handle, I can not only price it with two guys, but I can see 17 more
online plus calculate the shipping. It’s scary for these business owners
to raise prices because of what happens.”
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In The
News
American Solutions
for Business
(asi/120075)
held its national
sales conference
in Brainerd,
MN. Approximately
300 sales associates
attended the
conference with
62 joining the
Million Dollar
Club, 14 reaching
Two Million Dollar
Club, nine earning
$3 million and
two earning $4
million.
Brother
International
Corp’s
Industrial Products
Division announced
the launch of
a new e-commerce
website for its
PAS store.
Caden Concepts
LLC (asi/155443)
was named one
of the 100 largest
women-owned businesses
by the Los
Angeles Business
Journal for
the second year
in a row.
Chocolate Chocolate
(asi/44897)
awarded a three-night
trip to Northwest
Washington to
Pat Knoll of
Brown & Bigelow
(asi/148500)
and her husband.
The trip included
a tour of Chocolate
Chocolate’s
new 60,000 square-foot
manufacturing
plant and a custom-made
chocolate bar
of Knoll’s
design.
Maple Ridge
Farms (asi/68680)
broke ground
on a new 85,000
square-foot facility
in Mosinee, WI,
next to its current
location. The
two facilities
will operate
together for
a total operating
space of 110,000
square feet.
Par One Inc.
(asi/75912)
was named the
exclusive distributor
for The Dipper
compact golf
ball retriever
by T R Miller
Inc.
Pencoa/The Supermatic
Line (asi/77040) has
announced the
winners of it
s Customer Loyalty
Program for the
month of July: first
prize ($250 award),
Progressive Printing & Advertising (asi/300234);
second prize
($150), A. Roxana
Advertising (asi/100058);
and third prize
($50), Desert
Graphics Inc. (asi/179477).
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People
On The Move
Dorcy Special
Markets Division
(asi/50677)
has announced
several changes
in its sales
reps. Dan Moses
Associates will
service New England,
Northeast and
North Atlantic
territories,
specifically
Mary Sargent
in ME, MA, NH,
RI and VT; Dan
Moses in CT,
Central and Northern
NJ and NY; and
Peter Rosica
in Southern NJ,
DE and PA. Carroll
Marketing Associates,
dba CMA Promo
Ideas, will cover
IL, IN, MI and
OH, while DMH
Marketing will
cover IA, MN,
NE, ND, SD and
WI.
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| PRODUCT
OF THE WEEK |
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Exclusively
from
Royal
- ASI/83770
#807- Insurance
Card Holder |
Many
states
require
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keep your
insurance
cards in
your vehicle
at all
times.
Insurance
card /
registration
cards can
be kept
protected
in your
glove compartment
with these
holders.
Your name
will be
handy and
accessible
when needed.
| Quantity |
250 |
500 |
1000 |
2500 |
5000 |
| Price |
.42 |
.37 |
.34 |
.33 |
.32 |
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For
other new and creative products,
visit the Product Central section
on ASICentral.com. |
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| EmailExpress SUPPLIER
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Does
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The following
are upcoming dates and locations
for The ASI Advantages
Road Show:
September
17 – September
21: Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Northern New Jersey,
Long Island
(NY), and New York City
September 24 – September
28: Cleveland, Columbus (OH),
Detroit,
Chicago, and Milwaukee
October 2 – October
5: Phoenix, San Diego,
Orange
County (CA),
and El Segundo
(CA)
Please
visit www.asishow.com for
more information. |
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Sponsored
By
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Counselor® PromoGram® message
is a trademark of ASI. You were sent this
newsletter as a benefit of your ASI membership.
Copyright 2007, ASI. All Rights Reserved.
Interested
in advertising on Counselor PromoGram? Send
an email to ddienna@asicentral.com
If
you'd like us to send Counselor PromoGram FREE
to anyone else at your company (or to your
off-site sales reps), go to www.asicentral.com/newsletters and
complete the online form. |
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| Advertising
Specialty Institute®,
4800 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053 |
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