Date: September 17, 2007
Vol. XI, No. 18

Printer Version

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMMENTARY: WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER 

Many retailers specializing in scrapbooking, yarn, crafts, painting, or whatever, do not realize how much they have in common, and can learn from, storeowners in other categories. Consider:

1. A member of the board of the Society of Decorative Painters said, "We need new life, new ideas, and new and younger members." CLN hears the same comment from people in virtually every product category.

2. Kate's Collage has an article about a vendor complaining about narrow-minded people in the needlework industry. (It was reprinted from a guest column on the Getcrafty.com site.) It was originally sent to CLN by a scrapbook subscriber who said, "This is EXACTLY what's happening in scrapbooking."

3. The idea of a passport tour of Maryland scrapbook stores (see article, below) is very similar to an annual promotion by a group of quilt shops in the Kansas City area. Other scrapbook stores have similar tours.

4. Recently CLN reported that retailer Michael Dolan of Scrapbook 911 in San Antonio, realizing his crop room was empty on Wednesday nights, called Weight Watchers and offered the room. Now he has about 65 women coming to his store on Wednesday nights. This idea could be used by any retailer who has a sometimes-empty classroom. Michael has also seen a huge jump in sales, thanks to billboard advertising.

5. CLN once suggested scrapbook retailers work with the maternity wards of their local hospitals, many of whom give a "goody bag" to mothers when they leave the hospital with their new baby. Since many women start scrapbooking after giving birth, offer a store coupon in the goody bag. Well, why couldn't a yarn shop do the same – a coupon and instructions to knit or crochet a baby blanket or baby booties?

Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender will be conducting a number of business seminars at this week's Memorytrends show. Obviously the seminars will be geared to scrapbook stores, but I bet any craft, needlework, or paint retailer would find plenty of good ideas. For Rich and Georganne's thoughts on the subject, and to see their Memorytrends schedule, click on "Benny Da Buyer."

Business-Wise. CLN's series on the biggest industry influences of the past decade continues with ... Imports. What's happened, and what's the future.

Category Reports. If you haven't read it, a plea to retailers to widen their horizons.

"Benny Da Buyer". Kizer and Bender tell retailers to "take the blinders off."

"Vinny Da Vendor". How Duncan Ent. contributes to charity, employee morale, and the environment.

Memory, Paper & Stamps. Scrapbook retailer Sharon Cooke explains why digital scrapbooking isn't the major threat; instead, the problem is getting consumers to print their photos rather than leaving them in their computers or online.

Note: To read the columns, click on the titles in the left-hand column. If it appears to be an "old" column, click on the "Refresh" or "Reload" button on your browser.

TAKE THE CLN POLL: TRADE SHOW PLANS FOR 2008

Time to start thinking about your travel budget for next year. Will you be attending or exhibiting at more or fewer shows, or the same as this year? To vote, click on Industry Polls in the right-hand column or click HERE.

Nothing good, according to a majority, 51.5%, of CLN subscribers in this unscientific poll. They believe a slower economy will mean consumers will have less money for leisure-time activities. But almost a third, 30.3%, think tougher economic times will motivate consumers to save money by making gifts, embellishing wardrobes, and decorating homes with our products. The remaining 18.2% believe the pros and cons will cancel each other.

CLN has learned Chinese manufacturers may begin to ask to be paid in euros rather than dollars. Such a change could have serious consequences for the industry and the U.S. economy, but it's unclear at this point if this is a blip on the radar screen or a portent of the future.

"I spoke with our buyers and our overseas agent regarding this subject," the merchandising vp of a major chain told CLN. "There have been conversations on this front from time to time. However, we are currently not being pushed nor pressured to the euro from any of our suppliers. With the amount of business our agent does with other major U.S. retailers, they would definitely be privy to such trends. Maybe it's affecting smaller vendors/importers and not retailers of significant size?"

Why the possible change? "China is awash in dollars," an importer told CLN. And those dollars continue to decline in value. Some background:

When 15 European countries established the euro, the exchange rate was 80 cents for a dollar, explained Rudy Heukals of RH Int., a company helps U.S. industry firms sell in Europe and European companies sell in the U.S. Last Wednesday, the dollar hit a new low against the euro, $1.3914, Reuters reported. That's a drop of 64.3%.

The new low for the dollar was caused by fears that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates to boost the U.S. economy. That would hurt the dollar because lower rates give investors lower returns on investments "denominated" in the currency.

"The dollar has really gone to hell the last couple of years," added Bill Mangelsen of Sino Harvest Ltd. in Hong Kong, "and it is going down more. I hear from a good source that even Russia wants to be paid for their oil and gas in rubles or euros or yen. Iran wants euros for their oil. The U.S. has so bankrupted itself, even though the U.S. still says the Chinese yuan is undervalued, it's not a yuan problem but a dollar problem." Bill has been living in Hong Kong and sending craft products to the U.S. for 30+ years.

There may be three reasons for Chinese manufacturers to want to be paid in euros, sources tell CLN: 1. They are using the slipping dollar received from customers to pay wages and for raw materials, the costs of which are rising. 2. A stronger euro may encourage more European companies to source product from China. 3.

China may be flexing its economic muscle in reaction to pressure from the U.S. to revalue its currency, the yuan, upward. It has already increased it by 9%, but there are two bills in Congress demanding further increases in the yuan. "If you or I had a million dollars that fell in our lap tomorrow, we would be stupid to keep it in dollars," Bill added. "Better to split it up in euro, pound, yen, Swiss franc, and Chinese yuan; at least you would have a chance of maintaining the purchasing power."

James Foley, the Executive Director of the International Business Center at Bradley University, said, "What will be of great interest is how or at what exchange rate the Chinese use to set their new Euro pricing. To the extent this goes against the importer, it would lead to higher prices – but it could lead to lower prices."

CLN's sources are not optimistic about what this trend may mean for the U.S. consumer and economy. "If an importer has only dollars and has to buy euros at a high rate, it will simply cost the importer more," Bill explained.

This, on top of CLN's report in the 7/16 issue that China halted tax rebates of as high as 17% to its manufacturers of certain products, which caused some factories to raise prices.

"If the U.S. dollar is bullied by these other countries by requesting payment in euros, yuan, or yen," predicts an Australian manufacturer who sells in the U.S., "then the dollar will fall in value even quicker against other currencies. That will significantly increase the price of imports into the U.S., and since there is such a great reliance on imported goods, this pushes up the inflation rate. That generally results in the Reserve bank (which it is called in Australia; it's , the Federal Reserve in the U.S.) pushing up official interest rates."

CLN is surveying industry retailers and importers to gauge the effect these trends will have on the industry, and will report in a future issue. Email your thoughts – on or off the record – to CLN at mike@clnonline.com.

The East Valley Tribune recently published a gloomy picture of the scrapbook business in the Mesa, AZ region: "The scrapbooking industry locally and in the nation has nosedived over the past four years. The phone book is loaded with independently operated scrapbooking stores with disconnected phones like Memory Lane in Mesa and Scrappin’ Sisters in Glendale. Scrapbooking was a $3 billion industry four years ago. Today it’s dropped to about $2 billion, said Karen Crisp, vice president of sales for A-Z Media Group, a company that produces publications and offers guidance to help small businesses. Meanwhile, the number of stores listed in a directory that’s produced by A-Z has fallen from 5,000 to 2,700." (Note: A-Z Media Group was the company that launched The SMART Group. CLN assumes the statistics cited in the article came from the company's new Trend Report, which the company says took three years to compile. The cost is $249. For an order form, visit http://a-z.com/ftp/TRCCAF.pdf.)

However, the Craft & Hobby Assn. reported in its ongoing Attitude & Usage Study that for the 12 months ending 6/30/07, the Scrapbooking/Memory Crafts segment was $2.6 billion, up 9.9%, vs. year-ago.

The CHA Study data is compiled from a geographically representative sample of the U.S. population. A research screener is sent to 50,000 households to identify basic crafting behavior, then an elaborate mail diary questionnaire is sent to 12,000+ crafting households over the next year, proportioned on a monthly basis, with completed responses received from approximately 6,000 crafting households.

The CHA results indicate the overall outlook is good. For the period 4/1/07-3/31/08, 1.9 million households, or 3.1% of crafting households, are projected to start scrapbooking for the first time, based on intended behavior of primary respondents in the survey, when asked to report which new craft types their household intended to try over the next 12 months.

The CHA data also reveals an explanation for the apparent contradiction in the two studies: Chains are gaining market share. The Study indicated that more than half of scrapbook sales were in craft chain stores (31%) and discount stores (20%). In-home parties accounted for 14% of sales, with local craft stores and Internet sales each representing only 8% of sales. To see more of the CHA Study, visit www.craftandhobby.org/research.html.

(Note: This is taken from the Image Permanence Institute's newsletter, The Archival Advisor)

"On February 1, 2008 Sony will be closing its ImageStation website. At that point if you have not removed your files from their system, they will all be deleted. This is an example of the risk imposed when storing your digital image collection exclusively online. Companies are not required to maintain your collections into perpetuity. It's your job to make sure you always have access to your pictures. We recommend you use online services for sharing, printing, and making gifts from your photos, but not for preserving them."

(Note: For more thoughts on digital scrapbooking, click on Memory, Paper & Stamps in the left-hand column to read retailer Sharon Cooke's thought-provoking article.)

Martha Stewart has her work cut out for her, says Linda Fantin, who often reports on scrapbooking for the Salt Lake Tribune. "There's a fine line between timeless and tired," Fantin wrote. "Martha's new craft line leans toward the latter.... Most of what I have seen is ho-hum." Fantin thinks Martha was "unfashionably late arriving at the scrapbook party" and needs to "get past the idea that crafters will buy her stuff just because it has Martha stamped on it."

Fantin says the scrapbook industry already has divas – Lisa Bearnson, Becky Higgins, Shelli Gardner, Cathy Zielske – but they are "innovative designers and ordinary people" to whom scrapbookers can relate; then they became celebrities, not the other way around.

Nevertheless, Fantin thinks Martha will "turn it around," and cited retailer Alisa Mellen of Treasured Memories in West Valley City, UT who ordered the full line in part because it will add a new dimension to her store. "...[Martha's] best products are the ones that bridge the gap between crafting, home decor, and gift-giving," Fantin wrote.

To read the article, visit www.sltrib.com and type in Fantin in the search engine.

For the last four years, seven Maryland independent scrapbook retailers sponsored a "passport tour." A passport is printed with each store's name, hours, and directions, plus a special of some sort (e.g., 20% off cardstock) and sold to customers for $1. Consumers then have the month of July to visit each store and make a purchase of any size, even as small as a 39-cent sticker.

Each receipt is stapled to that store's page in the passport. When consumers are done, they return to the store where they purchased the page and turn in a page of it with identifying info. They are then entered into a drawing each store has – this year the grand prize was a $75 shopping spree. Every year the grand prize is different.

Customers also receive a prize for finishing the tour; this year it was a DVD slide show of The Best of Maryland Scrapbookers with 70+ layouts – at least 10 from each store. It's an idea book on DVD.

"Some years are more successful than others," said Charlotte Roby of Roby's Photo Shop and Scrapbook Store. "It often depends on gas prices. We have learned the hard way to not allow stores who are too far away to participate because that cuts down on those who finish. For instance, the stores on the Eastern Shore get upset with us because we won't let them in, but it is only because customers look at how far they have to drive and decide whether they will participate or not. We have encouraged them to start their own."

CHA's Celebrate the Season publicity campaign included a satellite media tour Sept. 19, a series of live tv interviews with the CHA spokesperson Terri O. These are broadcast from a studio in New York and connect to multiple individual news affiliates and networks via satellite.

Terri will hype the Celebrate promotion which runs Sept. 16-29 to encourage viewers to visit their local craft store.

Terri will appear live on tv shows in Greensboro, NC ; Evansville, IN; Miami, FL; Palm Springs/LA; Eugene, OR; and Minneapolis, MN. Terri will also tape segments, to be aired later, for stations in Atlantic City/Philadelphia, Raleigh, NC; Gainesville, FL; Syracuse, NY; Bowling Green, KY; Memphis, TN; USA Radio National; and Charlottesville, VA.

Terri will promote Halloween/Fall/Christmas as perfect times for crafting and will showcase products from Art Institute Glitter, Chalk Ink Markers & Studio Image, Duncan Ent., Fiskars, FloraCraft, Grafix, Hewlett Packard, Making Memories, Pebeo Paint, Prima Marketing, Terra Bella Finishes, and Traditions Studio.

(Comment: In August CHA sent out a request to members for products for use in Terri's appearances. The next request will probably be for National Craft Month in March. Vendors should respond to the request – it could be a great way to gain some free pr.)

CLN wrote "The next hot trend will come out of nowhere, just like scrapbooking did." I think the next hot trend will come out of a home party business. Most likely it will happen when a successful company tries to squeeze their sales force with restrictive rules. The party sales women, after learning to how to sell, decide the new rules are too much. They find suppliers and strike out on their own. Later they get tired of lugging product to homes (and with a big mailing list) they open stores. Rubber stamps started that way after Stampin-up raised prices. Scrapbooking came next after Creative Memories decided that their "consultants" couldn't sell anything but their products. – Rob Bostick, JudiKins, www.judikins.com.

Regarding the comments from Bill Mangelsen's "who's really at fault?" in CLN: I have had two very bad experiences when trying to import products from China. In both cases, I was given samples that were equal to what I had received from my U.S. supplier and met my requirements. The only reason I went to China was because I could no longer get one of the components from ANY manufacturer in the U.S. But, when the product arrived, it was not from the same Chinese factory that had provided the samples. I was given excuses about why the original factory could not also produce the run, but the bottom line is that the materials and processes used to produce the final products were inferior and, frankly, unacceptable. No recourse – just dump it. Now, that's probably because I'm a small company and don't have people in China working for me to QC at the factory.

My point is, that although Mattel specifies what paints to use, I doubt very seriously they told the Chinese factory to use paint that had lead in it. My very limited experience has proven to be that if the Chinese factory can find a cheaper alternative, they will.

Manufacturing in China in only for the BIG BOYS, and even then, they don't have the control needed to be confident that U.S. safety standards are met. – Name Withheld, a small art materials manufacturer

Regarding the China-toy recall issue, maybe I've been victimized by "spin" for too long, but I see this as an opportunity for the crafts industry, and scrapbooking especially. (See our Maps2Memories blog www.m2mretailers.blogspot.com). I am the mother of four grown children and was lucky enough to raise them in a time of less blatant commercialism (or maybe I just had less $$$!).

Anyway, I taught them all to be "crafty" at a young age – making gifts for family members – scrapbook calendars, cross-stitch samplers, etc. I taught all of my children – not just the girls. Years later, those gifts are still treasured by grandparents and my children remember.

Isn't that what our industry is all about? This is a terrific opportunity to forego the usual "must-have" toy from Mattel and give children something more meaningful. As you point out, our industry has always been excellent at education. So let's start putting together sections in our stores with crafts suitable for children. Give consumers some great alternatives. Mattel who? – Pam Riddell, The Riddell Group and Maps2Memories, www.maps2memories.com

Michaels ran a full-page ad in the current issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine with poem that is a puzzling, to CLN anyway:

"I wish that I could hold you tight, The way you hold my stuff. Your warm embrace feels oh so right, Securing all my fluff.

And when you burn my fingertips, I'll bit my tongue and smile. Because the beauty we create, Will make it all worthwhile."

So, we're telling consumers that craft products are "stuff" and their creations are "fluff"? And then we add that hot glue guns will burn their fingers?

1. Sometimes I think people forget that what a journalist publishes is a function of what he knows, and if they want publicity, they have to tell the media first. A recent example: CLN reported that Interweave's new site, KnittingDaily.com immediately put projects for knitting toys online after all of the toy recalls. Then Interweave told the press. The McClatchy-Tribune News Service wrote a story that was carried by newspapers from Myrtle Beach to Anchorage. Recently I wrote about Plaid, 3L, and now Duncan raising money for charity. How did I know that? They told me. If your business is doing something new or interesting, or your sales indicate a new trend is on the rise and/or something else is waning, don't assume we in the press are mind readers.

2. Thank you, Luciano Pavarotti . The angels are now hearing songs that tell them, "Yes, this must be heaven."

ACQUISITION. Spinrite Income Fund, a major producer of craft yarn, was acquired by Spinrite Acquisition Corp., a company indirectly controlled by Sentinel Capital Partners, a New York private equity firm. The price was $2.25/unit, the Canadian equivalent of a share, plus assumption of Spinrite's debt. Established in 1952, Spinrite employs approximately 470 people and is headquartered in Listowel, Ontario. Key Brand names include Bernat, Lily, and Patons.

TAXES. Congress held hearings on raising taxes on private equity funds such as Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group, new owners of Michaels. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the increase will hurt economic growth; the more taxes these firms pay, the less they'll have to invest to grow companies, the Associated Press reported. But in a letter to Congress, 300+ unions and nonprofit public interest groups said it's merely closing a tax loophole that allows investment managers to pay less than middle-income earners. The letter asked, "Should wealthy fund managers pay a lower tax rate on income they receive for their work than the people who clean their offices and answer their phones?"

AUGUST SALES. Later-than-usual back-to-school sales boosted same-store sales results for numerous retailers. Wal-Mart U.S. stores sales rose 2.8%, better than analysts' expectations, helped by later school-start dates in Florida and Texas. A sampling of others: Saks, +18% ... Duckwall-ALCO, +7.7% Nordstrom, +6.6% ... Target, +6.1% ... Macy's, +2.4% ... Family Dollar, +1.0% ... J.C. Penney, -4.0%. (Note: Michaels, A.C. Moore, and Jo-Ann's do not release monthly sales figures.)

LOOKING TO SELL. A European scrapbook/photo album company which exports to 80 countries is looking for an investor. The 120-year-old company has an excellent reputation and could be the vehicle through which a vendor could expand overseas. For more info, contact Mike Hartnett in complete confidence. Email mike@clnonline.com or call 309-925-5593.

LOOKING TO HIRE. Major Midwest manufacturer is looking for an experienced Marketing Manager who can relocate to Michigan. For more, email Mike Hartnett at mike@clnonline.com. Home dec and art/craft company with operations in the U.S. and China seeks: 1) home dec sales manager with experience selling to major retail chains; 2) part-time product designer for arts/crafts with experience in kids crafts, baking crafts, and scrapbooking/memory; and 3) packaging designer (consultant) for art/craft. Candidates not required to relocate. For info on all these positions, email clnpost@attglobal.net.

SHOWS. Current confirmed exhibitors for the 2008 CHA Winter Show are tracking 5% ahead of this time last year, so now is a good time to reserve space. Email Nadine Schwartz at nschwartz@craftandhobby.org or call 201-794-1133, ext 220. ... The 23rd annual iHobby Expo™ is sold out of planned booth space with 285 exhibitors, including 90+ new exhibitors, in 66,000+ sq. ft. The event runs Oct. 18-19 for trade and Oct. 20-21 for trade/consumers. A waiting list is being compiled. Indy Pro Series racer Sean Guthrie will appear Oct. 19-21 and his Indy race Car will be on display The buyer pre-registration deadline is Sept. 20. Visit www.ihobbyexpo.com.

YARN. A new company, Knitting Out Loud, an audio-book company publishing recordings of knitting literature, has given exclusive distribution rights to Interweave Press for the craft trade, including yarn shops, mail-order catalogs, and direct to consumer through the Interweave online store. The first titles will be available next month, including Stitch ‘n Bitch by Debbie Stoller and read by the author; America Knits, Melanie Falick’s interviews with pioneering knitting designers, weavers, spinners, and sheep farmers; and Knitting Memories, essays by knitters including Clara Parkes, Teva Durham, and Lily Chin. In January the company will publish A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt; Anne L. Macdonald’s No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting; and Ann Feitelson’s The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. For more, visit www.knittingoutloud.com or call 877-567-3950. To preview the audio books, visit www.interweave.com/books.

NAMTA. The National Art Materials Trade Assn. show is May 1-3 in Reno. Call 704-892-6244, email info@namta.org, or visit www.namta.org for info. The NAMTA Foundation, NAMTA's charitable foundation, is sponsoring a "Ride to Reno" fund raiser. Groups will ride their motorcycles to Reno. Groups will leave from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas and attendees in the Northeast and Southeast are encouraged to form their own groups. Macpherson's and Artograph are corporate sponsors.Visit www.namtafoundation.org or email membership@namta.org for info.

STATISTICS. Michaels dropped from 522 to 541 in the Fortune 500 listing of the U.S.'s largest corporations. Jo-Ann's fell from 839 to 904.

LEGAL. Think there are a lot of design ripoffs in our industry? Clothing design copying has become so rampant in the U.S. that the Council of Fashion Designers of America is asking Congress to include apparel under copyright protection, the New York Times reported.

FIRE. Last week a fire that slightly damaged a Hobby Lobby in Dodge City, KS was ruled arson. The store remained open and police said they had identified "persons of interest."

M&A. The tightening of the credit markets has slowed the pace of mergers & acquisitions, according to the Wall Street Journal. Deal volume in August fell by more than half from the previous month.

WAL-Mart. Is dropping its tagline "Always Low Prices" and its smiley face in favor of "Save Money. Live Better." It's the first change in 19 years, Ad Age reported. The goal is to appeal to both upscale and price-conscious shoppers.

A.C. MOORE. Plans to open 18 stores in 2008. "Lots of change, new direction (from where Jack Parker had taken it) but in the end, sounds really exciting to me," one vendor told CLN after returning from the recent vendor meeting.

CLOSING. Ann Krier has shut down her CrafterStudio.com. "While the project has been very interesting," Ann said, "I am afraid that the crafting public wishes to receive projects and images "free of charge" and not as pay-per-project content."

COLOR. According to a recent poll of the readers of Gifts & Decorative Accessories, the hottest colors are brown/chocolate (32%), metallics like copper (29%), turquoise/blue (11%), and silver/platinum (10%).

PEOPLE. Shelia Sommers has been promoted to Editor for Dynamic Resource Group’s Creative Girls Club and Creative Woman Kit-of-the-Month Club programs ... Synta Inc hired Dat Vu, formerly of Plaid, as Technical Director. Synta's lines include Anita’s Acrylics and Color Traditions and recently announced a joint venture partnership with Delta Creative to be the exclusive manufacturer for the Delta Ceramcoat paint brand ... Richard Glomb, Lucidiom's VP of Business Development, was elected Chair of the Digital Imaging Division of the Consumer Electronics Assn. ... DRG, named Amy Gibson Payne as an account manager for the advertising sales department and Angie Wheeler as Human Resources Manager. ... Interweave Press named Stephen Koenig Book Publisher and VP of Marketing and Sales. He had worked for F+W Publications. ... Rick Crofton, formerly of McGill, is Midwest Regional Manager for Uchida of America.

CLN STOCK INDEX: A.C. Moore: $17.53, down $1.16 ... Jo-Ann's: $19.30, down $3.20 ... Wal-Mart: 43.32, down $0.31 ... CLN Index: down 5.4% ... Dow Jones: 13,442.52, up 0.6%. (Note: All changes in price are since 8/31 and are exclusive of dividends.)

PRICES. Prices of Chinese-made toys are expected to rise at least 10% after Christmas, the Associated Press reported, because of the cost of increased inspections and screening.

MATTEL. Had its third major recall of Chinese-made toys because of lead paint. This time it's approximately 800,000 toys, including 650,000 Barbie doll accessories, the Associated Press reported. ... The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating Mattel's timeliness in its disclosures. ... Recalls of Chinese goods by U.S. companies almost tripled in the past three months, Bloomberg news reported.

AGREEMENTS. China agreed it would take immediate steps to stop using lead paint in toys and help the CPSC trace bad products back to their source, Forbes reported.

CONGRESS. Is considering legislation to increase the CPSC's budget from $62 million to $100 million, reduce the time it has to notify vendors of recalls from 30 days to 10, and increase the maximum fines it can impose from $1.2 million to $20 million. Another bill would require vendors to submit products to independent labs such as Underwriters Laboratories.

CLOSING. China has shut 2,000 unlicensed factories and revoked the licenses of 1,202 drug and medical instrument companies in the 19 days since it began a campaign against unsafe food and products, The (London) Economic Times reported.

TESTING. One. That's the number of employees at the Consumer Product Safety Commission responsible for testing all toys in the U.S, reported the New York Times. ... To protect its brand, Disney will begin to inspect toys based on characters that it licenses to large companies like Mattel, also in the New York Times..

INTERNATIONAL. The Consumers' Assn. of Canada called for stiffer penalties against manufacturers and importers who fail to guarantee product safety, CBC News reported. ... The Jerusalem Post reported officials in Israel's Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry said the lead levels that prompted recalls of Chinese-made toys in other countries met the ministry's standards. ... The European Commissioner for Consumer Protection said the European Union will ban imports of certain Chinese goods unless Beijing responds to concerns about health and safety standards, reported RTE, the Irish News Agency.

OPINION. To read a thoughtful article about who is truly responsible for the recalls of Chinese-made products, visit www.lewrockwell.com/perry/perry35.html.

VOLUME. The monthly Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight forecasts October will set a record high at 1.54 million TEU (20' Equivalent Units), up 2% from last year. "Despite the increase in volume, ports are operating without congestion, there are no problems with port trucking, and rail performance is acceptable,"Global Insight Economist Paul Bingham said.

HISTORY. National Public Radio aired a fascinating interview with business historian Stephen Mihm, a professor at the U. of Georgia. Mihm said that 150 years ago, the U.S. had a very poor reputation for shoddy or unsafe products and intellectual piracy.

To see the latest listings from the only personnel recruitment firm specializing in our industry, click on Jobs in the left-hand column or click HERE.

Emailed from a subscriber:

1. You will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

2. The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

3. Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

4. When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

5. You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

6. I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

7. One thing no one tells you about aging is that it's such a nice change from being young.

8. One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

9. Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

10. Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf.

And finally ~ If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

REMINDERS

1. If you want a hard-copy of this issue, click on "Printer Friendly version."

2. If your company is a paid subscriber, everyone in the main office is welcome to register, free. Just click on "Work for a paid subscriber? Click Here to register" (center column, near the top).

3. If you ever have trouble with your password, click on "Trouble with your password" in the right-hand column of the main page. The computer will then email the correct information to you.

4. Creative Leisure News is published the first and third Mondays of each month.  Your next issue will be Monday, October 1.

xxx

[ Home ] [ Business-Wise ] [ Kate's Collage ] [ "Vinny Da Vendor" ] [ "Benny Da Buyer" ] [ Newsbriefs ] [ Memory, Paper & Stamps ] [ Category Reports ] [ Designing Perspectives ] [ Subscribe to CLN ] [ Legal Q & A ] [ Scene & Heard ] [ Jobs ] [ Tech Topics ] [ Industry Research ] [ Store Layout/Design Tips ]

©Copyright 2008 by Creative Leisure Communications
(Reproduction or re-transmission without permission is prohibited.)