"Happiness is mostly a byproduct of doing what makes us feel fulfilled."

-- Benjamin Spock

by Jami Petersen

As they say, hind sight is 20/20. Wouldn't it be amazing to have the knowledge we now have about the industry in order to have made the best business decisions say ten years ago? Obviously we can't turn back time but we can learn from the past and go forward the SMART way. Read more about starting over again in Dennis' article.

Have a fun and safe holiday season!

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Tragic Magic

Tragic Magic

The next Scrapbooking mystery takes readers back to New Orleans, where there are spookies, foodies—and crafty killers. Carmela, owner of Memory Mine scrapbook shop, and her best friend have a big project converting an old mansion into an unforgettable haunted house. But when Carmela’s client turns up dead, she finds herself in some deep gumbo again. Discover more Tragic Magic including recipes and scrapbooking tips.

Click here to learn more about this scrapbooking mystery...

Sakura

Stock up on proven sellers from Sakura of America.

Consumers want products of consistent quality and value, so be sure to have Sakura's Pigma Micron, Quickie Glue, and Gelly Roll Stardust pens in stock! Create additional impulse sales with low profile displays and cup displays including:

Micron 05 Low Profile Display
Gelly Roll Stardust Clear Cup Display
Quickie Glue Cup Display

Contact your local wholesaler for details, or visit www.sakuraofamerica.com for more information.

Press Releases

News you can use about the latest media coverage of hot trends, noteworthy events and dynamic industry leaders. Learn more about the current headlines in arts and crafts by clicking on the title of each article segment.
 

Epson Offers Free Printing App for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch Users. Epson America Inc. announced its free, easy-to-use iPrint photo printing app for iPhone and iPod touch is now available on the App Store. The app lets users print wirelessly on Epson network capable printers. The Epson iPrint App is a great enhancement for printing any photo from an iPhone or iPod touch. The Epson iPrint App is available for free from the App Store.

Do-it-yourself holiday gifts cost less, mean more. "If ever there has been a year to give a homemade holiday gift, this is it. The economy's in the dumps and budgets are tight. Gift-givers have to be more creative than ever if they want to delight their friends and family with something unusual. Meanwhile, business is booming in the world of homemade crafts. Not only has scrapbooking launched an industry of its own, but the notion of do-it-yourself has produced thousands of new products, services, classes, and ideas that now jostle for space on the Web and in stores."

My Elegant Things announces the release of a scrapbooking embellishments line amidst the recessionary times. Scrapbook supplies have never been selling stronger online. This company will do its part to supply the new trend with a full supply of inventory to fuel their creative natures. The introduction of metal embellishments will take this craft to the next level.

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L™

SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ offers you a new opportunity to gain more sales!

They now have launched an online store powered by Shopatron! This move also bolsters the commitment SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ has to their fulfillment partners by driving sales through independent retail stores. The addition of in-store pickup available for brick-and-mortar stores will create ancillary sales of complementary products when customers arrive to pick up their orders.

Sign up for FREE today!!  

by Dennis A. Conforto, A-Z Media Group, Inc.

Have you ever wished you could start all over again? I know I have!

I compared my personal views of the scrapbooking industry 10 years ago when I first was exposed to the industry to my views today. As I have received more information, my views have become more refined.

Hind sight is really the ability to see the past more objectively. We can look back in time and see shifts in trends, demographics, product mix, technology and the ups and downs of the economy. Like in a popular song of my youth one thing can be said, “The times, they are a changing!”

If I was a retailer and could start again here are three things I would do. First, I would have known up front just how much cash I needed to invest in this retail business to have a long-term sustainable, promotable business. Notice I didn’t say how much credit or how much in loans but how much cash I needed.

I believe the amount of cash needed on hand would be equal to the first 18 months of sales. Meaning if I had a business that was doing $500,000 per year I would want to have $750,000 in cash on hand. I know that sounds like a lot of cash to invest in this type of business, but if I were going to open, say, a Subway franchise, I would spend more, have less inventory, less square footage, and less product selection.

With that kind of ratio of cash to projected revenues, I could have invested into an AAA retail space instead of a Class B or C retail space. I would have invested in better signage, display units, and a highly trained staff. And of course I would have spent at least 5% of sales revenues on advertising. Perhaps in the first year I may have re-invested as much as 15% of my revenue to make consumers aware of the scrapbooking solutions I offered. I would also have conserved enough cash to upgrade and re-invent my store on a seven-year cycle to keep up with industry trends and entice newbies.

Second, I would keep my focus on bringing in newbies as I created systems between my manufacturing and distribution partners. I would partner with up to sixty companies. Like Wal-Mart, I would have assigned manufacturers square footage within my store and partner with them to make the area reach $250 in sales per square foot. Every space would count for me and for the manufacturer as we would work together to replace their dead products with new ones in their space. I would have established a volume rebate program with them so that I would not be tempted to duplicate the look and feel of products with a competing manufacturer. This measure would firm relationships with each manufacturer, as well as the added bonus of having many unique spaces in my store. I would have worked out a co-op program based on my performance and asked for ideas for retail ads to promote products.

Third, I would have cooperated with fellow retailers in my regional and local market area to insure we worked together to grow the scrapbooking category. Cooperating to increase awareness of a new community is something we all must do.

In short, having the right amount to invest, creating powerful partnerships with vendors to grow their business profitably within my business, and cooperating with fellow retailers to increase awareness are three things I would have done if I could start all over again as a retailer who wanted to make a 10% pre-tax profit off my business.

If I were to start a manufacturing business, I would make the same suggestions I outlined for retailers. First, I would have insured that I had enough of my own cash to grow and sustain the company. Second, I would have focused on new consumers visiting stores that carried my products as much as I focused on introducing new products.

Partnerships with my retail channel of distribution would be designed to protect the look and feel of my brand within each store that carried my products. I would have required square footage within the store that was enough to brand my products properly, while tracking my total retail space.

With that kind of relationship in place, manufacturers would become experts on more than just selling more products to retailers. Therefore, I would have been more consumer-focused and discover which local retail ads were selling my products. And I would have worked with other manufacturers on a series of industry standard best practices to insure the success of the industry locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. And that is what SMART business is all about.

The Memory Tradeshow

The Memory Tradeshow is the premiere market for scrapbooking and related products, family history and digital imaging.

It is the most important gathering of this industry regionally, and it’s attracting executives from all sectors: manufacturers, retailers, distributors, suppliers, sales reps, designers and press. The show’s goal is to provide the highest ROI show within the industry with a greater focus on the business of the memory industry, education and best business practices.

Learn more and save >>

Sandylion announces that Bruce MacDougall has joined the company as President and CEO.

Bruce has a strong background within the global consumer packaged goods industry, where he has held leadership positions in several well-known branded companies including Coleman Outdoor (Wichita, Kansas), Sunbeam Canada, Coleman Europe, Middle-East, Africa (Lyon, France), and most recently as President/CEO of Elmer’s Products Inc. (Columbus, Ohio).

"We are very pleased to have such an experienced executive leading our Companies going forward and, on behalf of the board of Marnlen Management and the Waldman family, we look forward to working with Bruce to build for the future."