In a posting entitled “Retailers Brace For Dreary Back-To-School Season“, Marketing Daily website reports a new survey conducted by America’s Research Group and UBS Global Equity Research reports that 34.4% of parents are planning to spend less this year. And the reasons are hardly surprising: 41.8% of those planning to spend less say it’s because they have less money, 40.5% say it’s due to higher debt, and 8.2% say because they’re worried about job loss. The survey predicts a depressing sales drop compared to last year of between 8.5% and 12%. Presumably, 65.6% of parents plan on spending the same amount or more. To read the entire posting visit Marketing Daily
John S. Barry, the man who was largely responsible for turning WD-40 into a product that at least one survey says is present in 80% of American homes, died earlier in July in San Diego. He was 84. The company’s Web site contains an official list of 2,000-plus uses for the product “from gum, sticker and crayon removal, to cleaning grease and corrosion protection,” many of which were discovered by consumers. And an FAQ section addresses such myths and legends as “WD-40 cures arthritis,” which it says appears in tabloid headlines regularly. “No way,” it dutifully reports. But, inexplicably, there’s no mention of Barry.
Rachel Gray reports that the NAMTA Foundation received $2300 from a NAMTA Survey Incentive. The recent Art Materials survey conducted by NAMTA will be released soon and promises to provide valuable information to the NAMTA members, but it has helped the art community by giving the NAMTA Foundation a $2300 donation. For each of the 700 completed surveys submitted online by manufacturers, retailers and consumers, a $3 donation was made to the NAMTA Foundation.
Congratulations to Susan & Larry Millstead of Arizona Art who have just successfully moved their flagship Phoenix store to 4025 North 16th Street.
Creative Leisure News reports that Becky Jones, VP/General Merchandise Manager – Crafts, for Jo-Ann, is leaving the end of the month for a position at Hibbett’s, a sporting goods chain. She has also resigned from the Craft & Hobby Association’s Board of Directors. We have always enjoyed working with Becky, and her departure is a great loss for our industry.
John Saltsman has left Sam Flax in Atlanta to pursue new opportunities. Taking his place as general manager will be 3rd generation Flax, Lionel Flax, an experienced 3rd generation descendant of the founders.
Kids Gone Wild at Flax Kidsfest!– Hundreds of kids and their parents descended upon Flax Art & Design in San Francisco this past Saturday, July 25th, for their annual Kidsfest event. 14 different activity tables were set up throughout the store with different arts & crafts activities such as designer pet rocks with Sakura, Flipbooks with General Pencil, cardmaking, “stained glass” window making, sidewalk drawing with Crayola sidewalk chalk, and ATC cards with STABILO and Strathmore. The event is a HUGE hit for Flax, not only generating sales for the store, but also scoring big on the customer PR radar! Store manager Ron Ansley and his staff certainly did a wonderful job pulling it off, making a lot of kids and their parents happy in the process.
Check out pictures from the event here! ArtFest Photo Gallery
Long time Elmer’s veteran Mike Mankowsky reports that he plans to take a somewhat early retirement, effective September 4th of this year. In a personal note, Mike told us that “I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to spend over 32 years in such a rewarding industry and with such an exceptional company as Hunt/Elmer’s. I send my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the wonderful customers, colleagues, and industry friends that I have had the privilege to know and to work with. There are plans for me to stay connected to Elmer’s in an advisory role, working trade shows, special projects, etc., so hopefully I will see many of you at upcoming events. I can be reached at mikem847@aol.com or 847-778-8597.” Taking over Mike’s sales responsibilities is Alan Braun, an experienced Regional Business Manager. We hope to see a great deal of Mike in the future.
Henry Meininger reports that he will be opening a new store location in Boulder, CO in the storefront operated for years under the name Art Hardware. Working at warp speed, he hopes to be ready for student business and a soft opening by the beginning of the fall semester in late August. Henry’s son, Judd will be the store’s manager. Go 5th generation Meiningers!
Wet Paint, St Paul, MN reports that there is a great article on Beth Bergman’s 25th anniversary of owning th store in the current ART MATERIALS RETAILER magazine. The online version can be found at the attached link! Wet Paint
Redbook magazine is running a piece that features Montana Gold spray paint for home décor application in its August Issue that hit the stands last week. The total circulation of Redbook is 2 million copies each month to today’s young, married woman(average age: 44). Congratulations to Pat Jennings of Central Art Supply Company in St. Petersburg, FL for making this market expanding connection.
On the lighter side, here is our very own cartoonist Lance Blayney’s take on Spring in Elgin, IL
