retail news in context, analysis with attitude

Published on: December 24, 2008

Our hiatus continues...

But we'll be back on Monday, January 5, with all new stories, commentary and plenty of attitude.

Enjoy your holiday. Be safe.

Slainte!

Published on: December 24, 2008

The year 2008 was, to say the least, memorable. We started the year with industry concerns about the soon-to-retire Baby Boom generation, and how that knowledge and experience base would be replaced. And we end the year with a recession, and headlines that trumpet cost cutting, layoffs and increased unemployment.

But through it all, two things have remained constant:

1. There are some wonderfully innovative, talented and experienced people on the market.
2. Companies are hiring – because they know that the quality of leadership within their organizations is the greatest differential advantage they can have.


At Samuel J. Associates, we’ve been privileged to help both retailers and manufacturers identify and hire the right people, who will provide them with experience and thought leadership into 2009 and beyond. We thank you for giving us these opportunities…and we look forward to working with you in what we believe will be an exciting, prosperous – and yes, memorable - New Year.

Samuel J. Associates.

http://www.samueljassociates.com

Published on: December 24, 2008

YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE THIS WORK. BUT YOU DON'T.

TRUST US.

It is a simple proposition.

Personalized communications with your shoppers is good for your business. It drives traffic, generates sales and builds loyalty.

It often is assumed that creating a personalized, customized communications program that connects you to your shopper in an effective and profitable way has to be a labor-intensive effort better left to times of less stress and lower levels of economic pressure.

But…Circular-Logic has developed an individualized communications program that is guaranteed to increase shopper traffic and generate greater sales and profits…and has removed all the obstacles that can make such an effort cumbersome and difficult.

THAT’S RIGHT. GUARANTEED.

We can show you how we’ve done it in the past. We can show you how we’ll do it for you in the future. And, for qualifying retailers, we’ll even commit to implement our system at no charge, for a limited time.

THAT’S RIGHT. FREE.

Want to know more?

Go to http://www.circ-logic.com/mnb .

Published on: December 24, 2008

If you are looking for a coffee – either branded or private label – that can drive sales and differentiate your stores in this all-important category, you need to check out White Cloud Coffee.


A note from “The Content Guy”…

It isn’t just any coffee that could get named as the “Official Coffee of MorningNewsBeat.” Then again, White Cloud Coffee isn’t just any coffee.

Not that long ago, the folks at White Cloud sent me a new blend they’d created, looking for an opinion from someone who drinks an awful lot of coffee each week. My reaction was simple and immediate: “Yikes!” “Wow!” “Zowie!”

This blend wasn’t just some sort of accident. It was the result of craftsmanship and artisanship on the part of the folks at White Cloud Coffee. This isn’t coffee made by some faceless, industrialized behemoth; rather it is a smooth and rich beverage with attitude and great taste, coffee that makes the morning a better place to be.

Which is why I am thrilled that they’ve christened it the “Attitude Blend,” and we’ve named it the “Official Coffee of MorningNewsBeat.” And I am happy to welcome White Cloud Coffee to MNB as our newest sponsor.

I repeat: If you are looking for a coffee – either branded or private label – that can drive sales and differentiate your stores in this all-important category, you need to check out White Cloud Coffee.

For more information, go to:

http://www.whitecloudcoffee.com/mnb/

White Cloud Coffee - The Official Coffee of MorningNewsBeat

Published on: December 24, 2008

Is your company coping efficiently and effectively with the stunning economic changes that have taken place in the marketplace in the past few months?

Michael Sansolo and Kevin Coupe can help.

Are you turning challenges into opportunities, and providing your organizations with the tools to help people become thought leaders rather than lemmings?

Michael Sansolo and Kevin Coupe can help.

Are you waiting for the world to get back to normal, rather than seeing today’s world as the constantly changing new normal, and redefining your business to embrace new opportunities?

If so, you could be making one of the biggest mistakes of your career.

Michael Sansolo and Kevin Coupe can help.

We’re not talking platitudes and pontification. We’re talking about hard-edged, straight-to-the-point thinking that puts your customers and business opportunities into the context of daily events and the ever-evolving big picture.

Kevin Coupe and Michael Sansolo tackle this task every day on MorningNewsBeat.com, and they’ve done it for years in presentations for groups ranging from 25 to 2500.

And they can do it now, for your company or organization.

Before it is too late.

Want more information?

Just contact Michael Sansolo at 202-258-4365, or email Kevin Coupe at: kc@morningnewsbeat.com .

Now.

Published on: December 24, 2008

MorningNewsBeat. For almost seven years, MNB has been providing its readers news in context, analysis with attitude, experience, perspective, and irreverence for sacred cows…all of which separate it from every other business communications vehicle.

What defines MNB?

• An expanding range of voices (75-100 new subscribers, including top ranking industry leaders, sign up every week)

• Unparalleled engagement (hundreds of emails exchanged weekly on a variety of topics…and more than 10,000 emails since MNB was launched)• Intellectual and emotional intimacy that reflects & creates compelling content.

Who reads MorningNewsBeat?

• Executives from virtually every major retailer and manufacturer in the world, from CEOs to senior marketing and merchandising leaders, to store and department managers – all of whom matter most to your business, and who turn to MorningNewsBeat for the edge that can make the difference in their businesses.

Who writes MorningNewsBeat?

• “Content Guy” Kevin Coupe brings two decades of experience and passion to MorningNewsBeat. Even after more than 20 years of writing about the food business, Kevin likes nothing better than getting on a plane or behind the wheel of his convertible and traveling to someplace he hasn’t been before, where he can eat the local food, taste the local beer or wine, and find out what makes the local retailers tick. He’s reported from 45 of the United States and from some two dozen different countries around the globe.

• Michael Sansolo, the long time senior vice president of the Food Marketing Institute and past editor-in-chief of Progressive Grocer, who each week offers a diverse and unique view of the changing nature of today’s shoppers and their impact on the food retail industry. Through countless studies and work with some of the world’s most innovative retailers and manufacturers, Sansolo has an excellent perspective on the changing nature of shopping, cooking, eating and competition.

“I am a regular reader and really like the short, to the point summary of industry news. I always get a "kick" out of your comments, as they are not filtered and a little on the edge. Not always flattering, as we have taken our fair share of criticism, but candid and full of common sense. You tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. Keep up the good work, we like our dose with our morning Java!”
-Eric Claus, President and CEO, The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company

WANT TO LEARN HOW TO REACH THE MOST IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN RETAILING?

Contact us now!

Call Michael Sansolo at 202-258-4365, or email Kevin Coupe at: kc@morningnewsbeat.com .