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MARKETING NEWS Direct Mail the top channel for some of America's best known companies ........................................... 1 Defining mobile opportunities and strategies ......................................................................................... 2 Innovative technologies earn 2012 InterTech™ Award ........................................................................... 4 Is the floor beneath your feet real? ......................................................................................................... 6 Print statements and bills still favored by many U.S. consumers ............................................................ 7

PUBLISHING NEWS The 2012 City and Regional Magazine Survey ......................................................................................... 8 Condé Cast Traveler’s September issue up 37 ......................................................................................... 8 Details of mammoth Olympic print project revealed .............................................................................. 9 The Sun in UK newspaper first with augmented reality poster ............................................................. 11

POSTAL NEWS UPS speeds up package scanning with finger imagers .......................................................................... 10 USPS should stick to postal products, says Congressional advisory ...................................................... 11

RETAIL NEWS Department store players largely strong in July .................................................................................... 13 Walmart, Target to see bulk of BTS shoppers ....................................................................................... 14 JCP flashes some Apple magic ............................................................................................................... 14 Consumer confidence unexpectedly rises in July .................................................................................. 15

ECONOMIC UPDATE

GDP: 2nd quarter 2012: 1.5 percent

Unemployment Rate: the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 8.3 percent.

Consumer Confidence: which had declined in June, improved slightly in July. The Index now stands at

65.9, up from 62.7 in June.

MARKETING NEWS Direct Mail the Top Channel for Some of America's Best Known Companies Staff Writer , Print In The Mix . 7/31/2012

Findings from a recent client survey performed by SourceLink, a top 5 largest CRM/Direct Marketing Agency and top 3 GPO Supplier, revealed direct mail to be a top marketing priority for 2012.

August 6th, 2012

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The findings of SourceLink's latest Client Marketing and Transactional Document Survey are based on completed surveys from over 30% of SourceLink's client base. The firm’s client list includes Disneyland, Bank of America, BMW, Lowe’s, Nestle, the U.S. Social Security Administration, Time Warner Cable, and more.

Key client objectives for 2012 were customer retention, ranked number one in the survey, followed closely by customer acquisition and customer profitability. Nearly nine of 10 respondents declared direct marketing as the medium best equipped for reaching their marketing objectives.

Key findings include:

• Direct mail ranked number one (88%) planned marketing channels for 2012, followed by web/micro-site, email, and social media. Two-thirds (64%) of respondents use social media as part of their marketing plan.

• Recognizing the role of modeling and analytics in accomplishing marketing objectives, over 60% of respondents assert that they currently leverage customer intelligence or are interested in doing so in 2012.

• Recognizing the imperative of multichannel efforts, over 69% of respondents conduct multichannel marketing and over 56% of those consider it an integral part of their marketing strategy. However, only 34% are seeing the results they had hoped for, highlighting the need for a centralized, database approach to optimize multichannel communications.

• Over 45% of respondents have considered integrating marketing with transactional customer documents, and over 40% use color personalization in marketing communications or transactional documents.

• In tandem with the focus on direct marketing, 80% of all survey participants cited business intelligence/data driven marketing and campaign performance/marketing metrics as "Most Important," "Very Important" or "Important" for 2012.

Source: Printing Impressions, SourceLink Client Survey Finds Direct Mail Is Still the Top Marketing Channel, March 22, 2012 and SourceLink, SourceLink’s Multichannel Survey Shows 64% of Respondents use Social Media as Part of Their Marketing Strategy, March 22, 2012.

Defining Mobile Opportunities and Strategies John Parsons , Folio . 7/31/2012

Mobile publishing is the disruptive channel du jour, for which many publishers are anxiously seeking a viable strategy. What was a relatively marginal niche for magazines—content feeds on smartphones—became a broad phenomenon with the advent of tablets in 2010. Delivering rich magazine content to portable devices is the latest opportunity—or threat, depending on who’s talking.

False Starts

One thing we are learning, reluctantly, is that digital facsimiles of printed pages are not the ideal medium for mobile publishing, even though they are easy to produce for the desktop—and even practical where print distribution is difficult. Page dimensions dictated by printing realities are less than ideal for even the larger tablets, and certainly for smartphones. Presentations that work exceptionally well in print—like two-page spreads—do not translate well to a different medium.

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Print-centric page design also does not automatically lend itself to the rich media potential of mobile publishing. There are times when a vertical page can be a good starting point, with video thumbnails embedded like still images in a text layout. However, many publishers are discovering that an entirely new publication, with less text and an initial horizontal view—like a video screen—is a better approach.

Even text is increasingly breaking out of its print-based layout and appearing in separate e-reader windows. To cope with the increasing number of screen sizes and user preferences for their mobile experience, publishers are discovering the need to keep their print and mobile presences “federated”—alike in brand, but distinct in content delivery style.

Engagement, Engagement, Engagement

Declan Moore, president of publishing media at National Geographic, is enthusiastic about the opportunities that mobile affords publishers. “Mobile gives us a huge brand identity boost, combined with the unique capabilities of the devices themselves,” he says. “With the addition of new media, mobile publishing allows us to tell our story in a way that was just not possible with print alone.”

Behavior patterns and preferences of subscribers to a particular brand are quite often the guide to a sound mobile strategy. Moore pointed out that The Economist, who’s readers’ travel time is often their most available free time, has focused a large part of their mobile strategy on digital audio versions of the magazine’s articles. Consumer brands, driven by their readers’ attachment to multiple mobile devices, often strive to make content available anywhere—to be started on one device, and continued on another, notes Moore.

Two very different Condé Nast publications have come to similar conclusions regarding audience engagement and mobile. Jason Wagenheim, publisher of Teen Vogue, and Pamela McCarthy, deputy editor of The New Yorker, both emphasize that their brands’ mobile strategy stems in large part from what McCarthy describes as the need “to be everywhere the reader wants to find us.”

The New Yorker has been an early adopter of mobile channels, from Kindle and Nook editions in 2009 to various tablet offerings from 2010 on, and an upcoming smartphone version, with a particular emphasis on reading articles on any or all devices and media. Teen Vogue’s “brand everywhere” approach has focused—understandably—on smartphones and social networks, supporting their constituents’ lifestyle and shopping habits. Their new Teen Vogue Insider app is a case in point, facilitating greater interaction with editorial and advertising content, with easier paths to online and brick-and-mortar purchasing.

Counting the Cost

Publishers are finding that time and labor costs are often underestimated, not only in initial development but also in ongoing production of each mobile product. “Unless you want to duplicate your production department, you can’t develop two new editions for two different devices at once,” says McCarthy. “For each new platform, we carefully estimate how many extra hours will be needed, whether that time is available from existing staff, and how much of that time will have to come from a new person.”

The New Yorker has come to rely on the standard “toolbox” of its digital publishing environment—in this case, Adobe DPS—to provide a consistent approach to rich media such as infographics and image galleries, optimizing them as much as possible for multiple platforms and devices. McCarthy emphasizes that while a production cost “rule of thumb” is unlikely, a publication’s project-by-project experience typically leads to workflow efficiencies that make multi-platform publishing manageable on an ongoing basis.

When it comes to multi-channel publishing infrastructure, Moore points out the need for a more mature “middleware” technology, particularly in the area of content management [For more on this, see “The New CMS

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Mandate: Managing Multi-Channel Content” starting on page 44.] “With so many platforms, devices, and media capabilities, the need for a common repository of a publication’s intellectual property—including rights—will be the key to greater efficiency in reaching a mobile audience,” he says.

Is It Worth the Trouble?

Editors and publishers seem to agree on the value of the mobile experience. “Compared with the Web, the tablet is a ‘digital oasis’ for users,” McCarthy says. “It’s a beautiful, quiet experience, with fewer distractions and demands. It’s a digital luxury that people haven’t been able to find on the Web. They tend to stop and stay longer, reading more, going deeper into a story with extras like primary-source documents and infographics.”

The “oasis” effect may benefit advertisers as well. An engaging, distraction-free experience may induce an increase in shopping—perhaps at brick-and-mortar locations, but more likely on the mobile devices themselves.

“Mobile publishing is helping turn around the overall economics of the publishing business,” says Moore. “It is checking the long-term erosion of the paid content aspect of our business, and is beginning to grow it.”

Innovative Technologies Earn 2012 InterTech™ Award Press Release , Printing Industries of America . 8/2/2012

Printing Industries of America has released more information about the twelve technologies recently selected to receive a 2012 InterTech™ Technology Award.

The independent panel of judges deliberated over many technology nominations ranging from digital presses and related enhancements to a variety of mobile and Web-based software. Great strides in technology were demonstrated in color measurement and control, layout and finishing, security and low migration inks, inkjet and label presses, printable coatings, pressroom analytics, management information systems, and product content management and publishing.

Technologies were selected from those nominated for a variety of reasons, but the judges felt they all met the award criteria of being truly innovative and expected them to have a major impact on the graphic communications industry. What follows is a description of the technology and its significance to the field.

The 2012 InterTech™ Technology Award recipients are:

(Listed alphabetically by company, with the technology named first)

Kodak NexPress Red Fluorescing Solution

Eastman Kodak Company

The Kodak NexPress Red Fluorescing Solution lets printers easily add security to printed documents, direct mail, and packaging. The virtually invisible dry ink fluoresces red when illuminated with ultraviolet light. The judges singled out the technology for its simple and low-cost approach to adding counterfeit protection.

Enterworks® Enable

Enterworks, Inc.

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Enterworks Enable allows a company to manage complex product information, associated images, and other marketing assets. The Web-based software then automates the delivery of this selling content through print and e-commerce channels. One judge commented: “This is robust enterprise-level product information management software that is extremely configurable.”

i-cut Suite

Esko

i-cut Suite is a collection of workflow software for users of large-format digital printers. It gives companies the essential tools to maintain efficiency and productivity. “This is complete workflow designed specifically for large format at a reasonable price,” noted a judge.

Fujifilm J Press 720

FUJIFILM North America Corporation

The J Press 720 is the world’s first half-size sheetfed inkjet press. It produces accurate and consistent color work with virtually no makeready waste. The judges singled out the J Press for its pioneering role in what is expected to be a major pressroom shift to inkjet.

Prinect Performance Benchmarking

Heidelberg USA

Prinect Performance Benchmarking is a subscription-based application that lets companies compare the performance of their Speedmaster presses and operators with other printers. Said one InterTech judge: “No one else offers this … it is worth its weight in gold for the printer that takes true advantage of benchmarking.”

Keen MIS and Web-to-Print

Keen Systems, Inc.

Keen MIS and Web-to-Print software is a cloud-based platform that allows companies to pick a subscription plan and begin creating storefronts in minutes. The judges praised the cloud-based and SaaS approach, the additional functionality from plug-ins, and the easy-to-use interface.

Color Control and Web Inspection System with AccuCam

QuadTech, Inc.

The QuadTech system uses a spectral sensor to examine the entire printed image, without the need for control bars. It monitors color and adjusts inking while detecting a variety of print issues, including switched plates. The judges hailed its unique ability to spot scumming and automatically adjust water.

SunPak LMQ

Sun Chemical

SunPak LMQ (Low Migration Quality) technology minimizes the risk of contamination to food and other products from chemical migration. “Inks, coatings, and fountain solution leeching into products can be disastrous for

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packaging converters and brand owners,” commented one judge. “Sun’s innovative LMQ system and products will help protect companies worldwide.”

iTechnique

Technique Business Systems Ltd.

iTechniqueis a management information system running on iPhone and iPad as a native App, allowing users access to sales and production data wherever they are. “Being able to provide a complete MIS application via mobile delivery is a significant innovation, the synchronization to use it off-line being a key feature,” stated a judge.

Avatrex Transportable Imaging

Utopia Digital Technologies

Avatrex Transportable Imaging is a thin multi-layer coating on a removable carrier that can be digitally printed and transferred to practically any surface. The material has built in adhesive and image protection properties. The judges were wowed by the technology’s versatility and image quality.

Xeikon X-800 VariLane

Xeikon

Xeikon’s VariLane technology is a software add-on to its X-800 Digital Front End. It allows printers to combine labels of different SKUs and sizes on the same digital print run. The judges recognized the advantages for printers when they can dynamically impose labels in the digital front end.

i1Pro 2

X-Rite, Incorporated

The i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer introduces a new level of color accuracy, an expanded set of features, and supports the latest measurement standards. When using this instrument, the ability to measure and then manage optically brightened papers was particularly impressive to the judges.

The InterTech star, a symbol of technological innovation and excellence, will be presented before an audience of industry leaders during the 2012 Premier Print Awards Gala featuring the InterTech™ Technology Awards and web2awards, October 7, in Chicago, Illinois.

A technology review booklet showcasing all of the entries will be produced and distributed this fall at Graph Expo 2012 and with the September issue of Printing Industries of America—The Magazine; the booklet will also be available at www.printing.org/InterTech.

Is the floor beneath your feet real?

Bill Siwicki , Internet Retailer . 8/1/2012

Visualizing how home décor options such as paint, art and flooring will look in a room can be difficult. This is why Lumber Liquidators has created The Visualizer, a new feature in its Floor Finder mobile commerce app for the

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iPhone and iPad. It’s a tool that one-ups what can be accomplished in a store by letting customers see how flooring will look in any room in their homes.

The app, developed by Aurnhammer LLC, employs augmented reality technology. Augmented reality makes use of a smartphone’s camera. A customer snaps a picture of a room and the app segments out the floor area and lays on top of that area flooring selected by the customer from the multichannel retailer’s inventory of 340 flooring varieties.

“Now customers can see how a floor will look in their home before laying a single board,” says Tom Sullivan, founder of Lumber Liquidators. “Now, in addition to the free samples and expert advice homeowners can get at a Lumber Liquidators store, they have a new app to help them pick the perfect floor. And just like our advice, it doesn’t cost a dime.”

Shoppers also can use a built-in QR code scanner to scan the two-dimensional bar codes found on products in stores. The scan leads shoppers to more product information and mobile-only deals. In addition, the app features a calculator to help customers determine the amount of flooring needed for an upcoming project.

The new version of the Floor Finder app also includes Facebook integration and push notifications.

Lumber Liquidators, No. 182 in the Internet Retailer Mobile Commerce Top 300, operates more than 275 retail locations in North America.

Print Statements and Bills Still Favored by Many U.S. Consumers Staff Writer , Print In The Mix . 8/1/2012

A survey of more than 5,000 US households found that 71% of consumers open print financial statements and bills mailed to them, and 65% said they actually preferred to get a print copy of their bill or statement.

The 2011 survey, conducted by Phoenix Marketing International, also found a portion shows no inclination to change-- approximately 25% of households don't do electronic payments of any kind.

PMI President LeonMajors is quoted as saying that massive identify theft is slowing consumer interest in shifting exclusively to online bill paying. "The more security breaches there are the more people prefer paper," he said. "Currently 37% of all respondents said mail was still their primary method of paying bills and that's 38 million households who prefer mail to pay bills." For customers aged 50 and up, the percentage is higher, Majors added.

There was also some good news for the check printing industry: Despite predictions that checks will soon become completely obsolete, Americans still wrote 25 billion checks in the prior year.

Source: Target Marketing, Why Are U.S. Marketers Sleeping on Transpromo?, January 6, 2012.

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PUBLISHING NEWS The 2012 City and Regional Magazine Survey Bill Mickey , Folio . 8/3/2012

While consumer magazines across the industry wrestle with their mobile and digital strategies, the city and regional sector continues to focus on its print-centric strategies, largely maintaining modest digital operations. And once again, Folio:’s 2012 City and Regional Magazine Survey proves that out.

Concurrently, and maybe even because of that focus on print, the market has been quiet over the last year with very few acquisitions. One notable deal included the purchase of Louisiana Cookin’ by Hoffman Media in April, which publishes Cooking with Paula Deen and Southern Lady.

This deal alone, mostly because of the plans executive vice president and chief operating officer Eric Hoffman has for the title, is an important reminder of the power regional magazines have beyond their city borders. Immediate plans included a dramatic newsstand boost to 75,000 copies, ten times its current volume. Additionally, Hoffman wants to take the title national, a strategy that titles like Garden & Gun have found success with. “The category is defensible, the magazine has a fairly flat competitive set and it fits our skill set well. We have a strong foothold in southern food and cooking and while it seems like a regional play we can position it as a national authority on Louisiana cooking and culture,” Eric Hoffman said at the time of the deal.

Condé Nast Traveler's September Issue Up 37% Press Release , MPA . 8/2/2012

Condé Nast Traveler’s September issue is up 37% from last year, totaling 119.3 pages, Vice President and Publisher Carolyn Kremins announced today. This will be the magazine’s largest September issue since 2008. Digital revenue is up for 400% for the same time period. New advertisers for 2012 include: Abu Dhabi Tourism,Adobe Systems, Mercedes-Benz, Pebble Beach Co, and Shanghai Tourism, to name a few. “The success of this issue reinforces our leadership within the travel and advertising community,” Ms. Kremins said. “Marketers and consumers want to be associated with a brand that is true to its mandate, Truth in Travel, while also acknowledging the magazine and its digital propertiesproduce the highest caliber product in the market.” In celebration of Condé NastTraveler 25th anniversary, the brand will showcase a special editorial package, The World on Sale. This once in a lifetime opportunity will allow readers to purchase the world’s most magnificent trips at unprecedented discounts. The World on Sale features over 30 one-of-a-kind itineraries valuing close to $3 million in savings. The itineraries were put together by the best-connected destination specialists and feature invaluable and unique special access experiences. Condé Nast Traveler will not make a profit from thesale of these trips. The World On Sale program will have two Presenting Partners: Chase Sapphire and United Airlines.

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The trips will be available on a special microsite: Condenasttraveler.com/worldonsale, beginning on August 13th, to subscribers of the magazine and Chase Sapphire card holders, and then open to the public on the national newsstand date of August 21st.

Details of mammoth Olympic print project revealed Darryl Danielli , PrintWeek . 8/1/2012

The project was produced by Haymarket on behalf of London 2012 organiser LOCOG. It encompasses 4,230pp of content and will include the 27 daily programmes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Acorn Web Offset, Polestar, Stephens & George and Wyndeham were all heavily involved in the project, which also included the official programmes for both the Olympics and Paralympics, the Olympics preview magazine, the official guide to Team GB, the opening ceremony programme, the official guide to the London 2012 Festival and individual programmes for sailing, football, and Team GB football.

Paper was supplied by Antalis McNaughton and all pre-media was handled in-house by Haymarket Pre-press.

Haymarket’s head of production Gary Charlton praised all of Haymarket Media’s production partners for their "Herculean" efforts in terms of quality and service.

"Their commitment to produce the best quality we can for this prestigious event has been outstanding. This has been a long-term project and I am delighted that we have been able to work with Haymarket’s long-term print suppliers," he said.

"I have been particularly impressed with all the suppliers working together to go the extra mile to make this project the best it can possibly be. I believe we have showcased the best of the British print industry.

During the course of the games Haymarket will produce 59 publications on behalf of LOCOG, and as precursor to the Games Haymarket Network also produced programmes for 12 test events as well as the London Prepares series of magazines.

Cormac Bourne, Haymarket Network’s Olympic project director, said the programmes would combine well with the apps that help spectators to get to the games.

He said: "The power of print shines through when you’re actually at the event.

"It gives people their souvenir and their 'I was there' proof."

Haymarket also produced a number of cross-media projects in support of the Olympics, including a live Tumblr blog to reveal behind the scenes details of the Opening Ceremony as it happened.

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The Sun in UK newspaper first with augmented reality poster Pamela Mardle , PrintWeek . 7/30/2012

Icons representing the various events and locations of London 2012 frame an aerial view of the Olympic Village. When viewers capture the A3 image on their smartphone or augmented reality-enabled tablet, a live picture appears on the screen with a helicopter acting as a mouse to view each icon.

iPhone owners can use The Sun’s app to translate the image, but other technologies can access the motion picture through the Aurasma Lite app.

Users can follow through each icon to be taken to The Sun’s website, which will provide daily updates on the Olympics depending on which icon the viewer selects.

The poster was developed in association with augmented reality app developers Fuerte International and printed at Newsprinter's Broxbourne site.

The Sun digital editor Derek Brown described the creation of the poster as a "long and painful process", which began in January and reached completion last month.

He said: "The Sun is very interested in enhancing its newspaper with digital content and this development brings the website and newspaper together nicely."

Brown confirmed that the newspaper would carry on developing similar digital supplements due to the success of the current poster. The Sun is working on integrating Aurasma Lite into its own app for Android and tablets, but the iPhone is currently the only platform supported by The Sun’s app.

Brown added: "For an event like the Olympics in our home country, we needed to develop something as incredible as this."

The Sun editor Dominic Mohan said: "On the momentous day that the London 2012 Games officially open I am thrilled that we have won gold by being the first to have an augmented reality poster."

POSTAL NEWS

UPS speeds up package scanning with finger imagers

Staff Writer , Post & Parcel . 8/2/2012

The device – made by Motorola Solutions – takes the form of a ring imager worn on a finger, which staff use to scan packages. The ring feeds scan information to a terminal worn on the employee’s wrist or hip.

UPS said the RS507 Bluetooth ring imager was a “major advance” that would allow staff to scan packages more quickly than the current point-and-shoot scanning technology.

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The world’s largest package delivery company receives 32.1m tracking requests from its customers via its ups.com website every day, and the scanning of items by its staff is crucial to maintaining this visibility.

Deploying the new technology from last year, UPS now has 28,000 ring imager systems in operation within 480 facilities.

The company said today it expects the deployment to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2013, with more than 38,000 ring imagers to be used at 1,383 facilities.

The new equipment transfers tracking information from the finger-mounted scanners to a worker’s terminal via Bluetooth wireless technology, with the data then sent to UPS global data centers via facility Wi-Fi networks.

The scanning systems capture tracking and destination information from both traditional one-dimensional barcode information and more state-of-the-art two-dimensional barcodes.

As well as feeding back shipment status to customers, the scans ensure packages go to the right place and are loaded correctly to avoid service disruptions.

Juan Perez, the UPS vice president of information services, said UPS was always looking for new ways to improve delivery reliability and provide accurate information to customers.

“Effectively deploying mobile and pervasive computer technologies like this allows us to achieve those goals, with higher performance, and a more rugged, longer-lastering piece of hardware,” he said.

Girish Rishi, the corporate vice president and general manager of mobile computing at Motorola Solutions, said: “The RS507 Bluetooth ring imager, in combination with our robust wireless network and wearable mobile computer, increases scanning efficiency and streamlines the barcode reading process, ultimately improving worker output and cost efficiencies.”

USPS should stick to postal products, says Congressional advisory

Staff Writer , Post & Parcel . 7/31/2012

That’s the view of a new Congressional advisory from the right-wing Washington-based think tank the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation (IRET), published yesterday.

The report came just two weeks after another white paper from the USPS Office of the Inspector General that once again stressed that providing more products and services not directly related to the delivery of letters, documents or parcels would help Postal Service revenues and the community at large.

The IRET studied non-postal products at foreign posts and found some potential for generating revenue, although it suggested the posts were making “below-average” profits and displacing private sector businesses from markets.

But in particular, report author and senior economist Michael Schuyler said the “long history” of abandoned non-postal commercial ventures meant USPS would not achieve success if Congress repealed its 2006 ban on USPS providing non-postal products and services.

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“USPS’s record of failure largely explains why its nonpostal presence is so small today,” said Schuyler in the IRET report. “USPS’s past disappointments… helped persuade Congress to include language in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 banning USPS from introducing new nonpostal commercial products.”

USPS did provide non-postal products like photocopying and prepaid phone cards before it received its ban from Congress six years ago.

However, with the collapse of USPS revenues since the 2006 postal law, Congress is now looking again at whether it should be allowed to offer new products and services not directly related to the delivery of letters, printed matter or packages.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said in its 16 July report that offering non-postal products and services would increase the value of Post Office retail facilities and address community needs.

It would also increase revenue and enhance the Postal Service brand, said the OIG.

Product suggestions

In the past, the OIG has recommended various non-postal products for the USPS to try, including use of its facilities to help expand broadband coverage in the US, the offering of payment services for the underserved – such as through prepaid credit cards – and the expansion of government and e-government services.

The OIG said surveying 90 US postmasters saw them suggesting new services including faxing and photocopying services, notary services, more government services, passport services, greeting cards and Internet or wireless provision.

While USPS has suggested in the past that its foot traffic in post offices is too low to profitably offer non-postal products and services like banking and insurance at its retail locations. Foot traffic in US post offices fell 13% between 2010 and 2011 as popularity of the USPS website increased.

OIG said offering things like government services and payment services could increase foot traffic, but that USPS would have to determine how much foot traffic would be needed for a non-postal product to be successful.

In its advisory note, the IRET said USPS should stick to value-added postal products if it wants to improve its finances.

“Because they directly tap into the Service’s expertise and infrastructure, they are more likely than nonpostal products to help the Service and mail users without burdening taxpayers and the general economy,” it said, suggesting as an example that Congress allow USPS to deliver alcoholic beverages.

However, the IRET did suggest one nonpostal area where USPS could “usefully” increase its involvement was in providing more government service access, although it insisted on a rule requiring full compensation for running such services, to protect mail users from higher postal rates.

Lessons from foreign posts

The OIG has also studied foreign posts and non-postal products and services offered by posts in other countries. Its research of posts including Swiss Post, Poste Italiane, Japan Post, Royal Mail and SingPost has suggested product lines ranging from financial services and insurance to online shopping, phone services and storage services.

The OIG did note, however, that many of these products and services within foreign posts took time to produce results.

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The IRET cited an Accenture study showing that for 25 top foreign postal services, diversified products (including package services) accounted for as much as 63% of revenue in 2008, up from 49% in 2003.

But the IRET claimed that foreign posts “often extract large sums from postal ratepayers and the government… to cover start-up costs”, suggesting a move by USPS to offer non-postal products would see postal rates in the US increase.

The IRET also suggested that non-postal products and services made below-average profits at foreign posts, and also displaced private sector businesses from such markets.

Congress

In the plethora of legislative proposals that have emerged and died in Congress since USPS asked Congress to change the law so it could offer non-postal products and services, suggestions for such offerings have included public Internet services, notary services, advertising on USPS properties, financial services and facility leasing and warehousing.

The 21st Century Postal Service Act, which was passed by the US Senate back in April, proposed setting up a commission to decide on ways to raise revenue.

Since April, however, the much-needed postal reform legislation has met an immovable barrier in the form of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has not moved forward with its version of a postal bill since it was passed out of committee nine months ago.

US lawmakers are currently distracted by the upcoming Presidential elections, which has seen the postal bill slipping off the debate schedule in the House this month.

RETAIL NEWS

Department store players largely strong in July Katherine Field Boccaccio , Retailing Today . 8/3/2012

Helped by hot weather and clearance sales, many retailers reported solid results in July, a month that can be a tepid lead-up to the back-to-school shopping season.

Some of the strongest showings in the month were in the department store category, as those reporting all showed July gains.

Macy’s led the pack with a 4.1% same-store sales rise. Total sales increased 5.1% to $1.7 billion over the four-week period.

“Despite some challenges from a sluggish macroeconomic environment and a temporary disruption of sales from the remodeling project at our Herald Square flagship store in New York City, the spring season met our expectations,” said Macy’s president and CEO Terry Lundgren.

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Kohl’s reported a lesser 1.7% gain, and total sales rose 3.4%. “We are pleased with the improvement in July’s comparable store sales,” said Kevin Mansell, president and CEO.

Other department store July results include:

• Nordstrom same-store sales edged up 0.9%;

• Saks increased 3.5%;

• Bon-Ton Stores rose a slight 0.1%;

• Stage Stores gained 5.3%, beating the 2.2% rise expected by Wall Street.

Walmart, Target to see bulk of BTS shoppers Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 7/30/2012

Walmart and Target should see an influx of parents in the coming months, as both retailers topped the list of where consumers plan to do most of their back-to-school shopping this year, according to The NPD Group.

NPD asked the the open-end question: “Where do you plan to do most of the back to school shopping for your child(ren)?" Out of 1,760 mentions of retailers where parents plan to do back to school shopping on behalf of their kids, Walmart secured 36% of them, followed by Target at 20%.

After Target, there was a significant drop-off, with Kohl's and JCPenney each garnering 4% of mentions, followed by Staples at 3%, Dollar Stores (consisting of Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Dollar Stores and Family Dollar) at 3% and Kmart, Old Navy, "The Mall" and wherever there is a sale at 2%.

According to NPD, it is interesting to note that 2% of respondents mentioned that they were planning on shopping “Wherever there is a sale,” which indicates a willingness on the part of shoppers to wait and hunt for promotions on school supplies. This is a response that has not shown up in previous iterations of this survey question.

JCP flashes some Apple magic Mike Troy , Retailing Today . 7/31/2012

JCPenney is not dead yet. New shops and free haircuts may help.

Retail pundits eager to write JCPenney’s obituary may want to wait until after the back-to-school season as the struggling retailer revealed several intriguing merchandising moves reminiscent of the tactics CEO Ron Johnson employed during his tenure running Apple stores. And in an unconventional buzz-building, traffic generating move the company said it would offer free haircuts to kids at its salons throughout August.

The most notable of the changes involved the remodeling of the men’s department at 700 stores to create the first installment of a brand shop concept that is at the core of Johnson’s strategy to transform JCPenney. The new brand shop will redefine the way customers find the ultimate pair of jeans and features the largest assortment of Levi’s denim the retailer has ever offered. The product lineup will feature 11 fits and 88 washes with most priced at

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roughly $40. To allow customers to access an even broader assortment, each Denim Bar will be equipped with iPads.

And in a nod to Apple, the Levi shop will include a Denim Bar staffed by fit experts to help customers find the perfect pair of jeans. The concept is similar to the Genius Bar in Apple stores where devotees of Apple products can receive help and training from experts. Denim Bar employees also will be able to process transactions from mobile devices as is the case in Apple stores.

“The Levi’s brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool,” said Liz Sweney, JCPenney’s chief merchandising officer. “We kept this spirit in mind when we envisioned a new way to shop for Levi’s jeanswear inside JCPenney. Now, customers can pull up a stool at one of our Levi’s Denim Bars and work with a specialist to choose from a curated selection of Levi’s jeans that best expresses their personal style.”

In addition to the Levis shop, the company unveiled shops featuring house brand The Original Arizona Jean Co. and a new exclusive brand called i jeans by Buffalo. The Arizona brand has been around for decades and serves as a value oriented brand while i jeans by Buffalo is a premium offering said to bring the latest European trends into a comprehensive collection of sportswear, outerwear, accessories and denim that features quality fabrics and trims, exceptional fits and design details.

The introduction of the new shops could be just what JCPenney needs to restore sales growth following an abysmal first quarter that saw same store sales declined nearly 19%. Expectations are low second quarter results due out Aug. 10 will be much better. The sales impact of the new shops concepts won’t be evident until the third quarter and by that time the company also plans to unveil three new women shops. Next up in September are shops from Liz Claiborne, IZOD and an all new private brand called “jcp” focused on high quality fashion basics.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly rises in July Marianne Wilson , Retailing Today . 8/2/2012

Consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in July as Americans were more optimistic about the short-term outlook than they were about their current conditions, according to a report released Tuesday by The Conference Group, private research group. The report showed that while consumers are feeling better about the economy, they remain wary about the labor markets.

The group’s index of consumer attitudes increased to 65.9 from an upwardly revised 62.7 in June, topping economists' expectations for a decline to 61.5. June was originally reported as 62.0.

Despite the increased confidence about short-term business and employment prospects, consumers have grown more pessimistic about their earnings, Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.

“Given the current economic environment -- in particular the weak labor market - consumer confidence is not likely to gain any significant momentum in the coming months,” Franco stated.

The expectations index improved to 79.1 from 73.4, while the present situation index edged down to 46.2 from 46.6.

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Consumers were slightly less positive about current labor-market conditions. The board's survey showed 7.8% of respondents think jobs now are “plentiful,” down from 8.3% thinking that in June. Another 40.8% think jobs are "hard to get,” down only a bit from 41.2% last month.

Consumers are about split in their attitudes about future income. Only 14.2% expect their incomes to rise in the next six months, down from 15.3% in June. Another 14.8% expect their earnings to fall, down from 15.1% saying that in June.

The view in six months from now was more optimistic, with 17.6% expecting to see more jobs, up from 14.8% in June.