"Not only strike when the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking."

-- Oliver Cromwell, military leader

by Jami Petersen

Right sizing is about matching the business up to the realities of the marketplace. And what that means for retailers and manufacturers is to pay close attention to the economy and have the flexibility to move with the market. Dennis Conforto explains more in this week's Business SMART article. 

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Wooky Entertainment

Target New Consumers:

Teenagers with the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection. This new line is for teens from 10 years old and older who are interested by scrapbooking. Following the latest trends and fashion, the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection is adapted for teen girls of 2010!

Visit us online: http://pariscreativity.com/
For more information : info@wookyentertainment.com

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.
 

Prismatics is joining the Bazzill Basics Paper Family. Prism secured its place as one of the industry leaders with its Primatics collection. The cardstock is available in varying shades of color so it is easily mixed and matched. Prismatics also had a unique finish. One side has a dimpled texture, while the other side is smooth. Primatics texture will become Bazzill's 13th family.

Ranger is introducing a colorful new collection of Tim Holtz® Distress Inks. The 12 colors were selected to complement our original line of Inks–expanding the Distress palette to an exciting 36 colors.

Sneak Peek Week Continues At Maya Road. If you haven't been to the Company Blog make sure you stop by for more peeks! We are on day 3 today and will wrap up early next week! Leave a comment for a chance at a prize pack.

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.

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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 >>

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

No question about it the economy has thrown every single business owner a giant curve ball. Unemployment is up and spending is down. The bright spots in the economy are too few and far between. Promotions that used to work great don’t seem to have the same punch.

The question is what is the right thing to do? For some the only thing they can do is shut their doors. It’s a sad thing to be sure, but it may be the right choice. question is a hard one, but we have seen thousands of business owners within our industry make that choice.

Right sizing is about matching the business up to the realities of the marketplace. If the market is shrinking it doesn’t necessarily mean that your business needs to shrink. In that case, the only option is to take market share from those you compete with at a rate that is equal to the shrinkage within the market place.

Market places and segments always shrink and expand. Therefore you need a business model that has the ability to always right-size itself within that never ending cycle of market shrinkage and market expansion.

If you are a manufacturer you might want to lease warehouse space rather than own it. Or if you own it, then quickly lease out that which you don’t use. If you are a retailer you might require short term leases on your retail space. Right sizing only works if you react quickly. You must move before market forces force you to make a choice.

To be good at right sizing you need to understand what market condition are going to be like before they occur. The worse thing you can do for your business is to be uninformed about events that will occur. The down turn in the economy and our industry was talked about first in 2005. For the first time the overall scrapbooking industry sales were flat. That was the warning sign that we could no longer do the same thing over and over again, expecting the same results.

In 2006, we saw revenues reduced by about $200 million, the same thing happened in 2007 and 2008. The denial by the industry and business owners lead to doing nothing, instead of recognizing changes that needed to be made to business practices.

The best time to change is before change is required. If sales for the industry went flat in 2005 then the best time for all of us to change would have been in 2004 before change was required. It should be noted that there were a few that saw what was coming and started to change. But most were broad sided with the market events of the last five years. They found it difficult to change. They didn’t have the flexibility they needed to right size their business and paid the price for not having that flexibility.

Flexibility required new technologies, new product categories and new markets. It required that scrapbooking expand beyond its craft-only mentality, to digital or expansion into businesses or into the male gender marketplace. Unfortunately as an industry, we have limited what scrapbooking is or what scrapbooking could be. Scrapbooking is defined primarily a category for crafters. In truth, we are in the memory business which is more than just the one option of craft scrapbooks. The scrapbooking definition can only be changed by the industry. If we want to expand the markets to right size our businesses then we ought to expand the definition of scrapbooking. This might seem like a small point considering what is happening within the industry and economy today.

If you consider what would things be like today had we push the product category definition outward in 2004 we might have a much more positive story going on today. Now the question is what do we do in 2010 for 2015? What should our industry be like in that year? How do we get a bigger youth market? How do we double our industry sales when we already know we can’t simply do the same things over and over again and expect different results!

The fact is change is hard, change can be painful and most people fight change because they feel safe in the known, even when they are failing. Change doesn’t happen within an industry because of one person, it happens as a result of a group of leaders who are ready to change, who are open to new ways of thinking, new ways of doing and new ways of being.

Change begins with you. Maybe you did see what would happen in 2005 and you changed in 2004. Maybe your sales are up, profits are up and you are totally satisfied with your businesses performance. But if you are not, then you might want to consider why change would be a good thing for you.

To right size one’s business is all about the knowledge of what to change, how to change and when to change. Change is a requirement of any business. There is something about our nature that tells us there is always a way to improve, to be better, faster and stronger. None of us started a business to just survive, we started businesses to see it thrive. Change is the catalyst for growth and real profitability for your business and our industry. Knowing that change is not the enemy, is what being business SMART is all about.

If you would like to comment directly to Dennis about this article or have him address a subject matter in future articles feel free to email him directly at dconforto@a-z.com.

International Greetings PLC, one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of gift wrap and stationery listed on the London Stock Exchange announced today a licensing agreement with celebrity cook Paula Deen.

This licensing agreement will involve introducing to the market an extensive collection of paper based products including stationery, recipe cards, organizers, boxes and food containers.

Paula Deen is the quintessential American success story, a best-selling author and a television show host who has carved out one of the most effective and wide ranging entertainment brands that exists today across the USA.

Deen has sold over 8 million books and has a bi-monthly magazine “Cooking with Paula Deen” with a circulation of over 1 million copies. In addition to her program and specials on the Food Network and regular appearances on network television, Deen’s ever growing fan base refer to her for advice on family-friendly style and home-spun comfort.

“I am looking forward to working with International Greetings in designing my signature paper products,” commented Ms. Deen. “I am confident that their reputation for quality and creative goods will result in great products at a good value.”

Utilizing its world leading design capabilities, International Greetings is working with Paula Deen and her team to create exciting designs and products at a value which encompasses the brand and everything it stands for. Product will be available in May 2010 in over 1,000 Michaels stores and discussions are ongoing with other major US retailers.

With its USA headquarters located in Deen’s home town of Savannah, GA, President of International Greetings USA Lawrence Louis said, “We are proud to partner with Paula Deen and her team and look forward to introducing into the marketplace exciting new designs and products under the Paula Deen brand.”