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MARKETING NEWS Quad’s Tempt named Featured Exhibitor at upcoming Shopper Marketing Expo .................................. 1 Catalogs remain key tool for online merchants ....................................................................................... 2 Direct Mail success tips from USPS .......................................................................................................... 4 Outlook for ad spend positive for rest of 2012 ........................................................................................ 5 Brand Watch: Target’s multichannel mobile approach ........................................................................... 6

PUBLISHING NEWS Librarians and publishers still have problems with e-books .................................................................... 7 New study reveals powerful link between magazines and social............................................................ 9 Meredith to increase rate base of EatingWell magazine to 750,000 .................................................... 10

POSTAL NEWS Opt-out tool launched for USPS simplified direct mail service .............................................................. 11 US regulators back USPS plan to cut rural post office hours ................................................................. 13

RETAIL NEWS Apple: Most valuable company of all time ............................................................................................ 14 Kraft to sell majority stake in natural-food brand to Brynwood Partners ............................................. 14 Net income up 23% in second quarter at Chico's .................................................................................. 15 Unilever completes sale of North America frozen meals business ....................................................... 15 Walmart fires holiday 2012 opening salvo ............................................................................................ 16

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 Quad’s Tempt Named Featured Exhibitor at Upcoming Shopper Marketing Expo

Press Release , Printing Impressions . 8/20/2012

Tempt In-Store Productions, a Quad/Graphics company, has been named a Featured Exhibitor for this fall’s Shopper Marketing Expo. The distinction is reserved for only 25 of the more than 150 companies exhibiting at the Chicago trade show slated to run Oct. 16-18. The honor signifies that Tempt’s exhibit and offering is a “must see” for attendees looking for the newest game-changing products and services.

August 27th, 2012

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“This Featured Exhibitor honor confirms that Quad/Graphics and Tempt are leading the in-store path-to-purchase revolution,” said Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics chairman, president and CEO. “By bringing signage to life, we enable retailers to interact with shoppers and offer a much more engaging, informative and purchase-activating experience.”

Tempt will be using the event to debut Quad/Graphics’ Actable interactive signage. Actable interactive signage—featuring image recognition, augmented reality, near field communication (NFC) or traditional QR codes—creates an exciting and engaging multichannel experience in-store for any customer with an app-enabled smartphone. Applications can include product demonstrations, reviews, how-to videos, and in-store coupons and discount offers.

Actable interactive signage provides a lower-cost, multichannel in-store experience alternative to more expensive electronic kiosks and flat screen displays. Mike Draver, president of Tempt, says the potential applications of Actable in-store signage are unlimited.

“Marketers and retailers are eager to take advantage of the mobile channel because the growth potential is explosive and creative ideas seemingly endless in how and where the technology can be applied in-store. We believe Actable interactive signage will transform the way retailers approach the in-store multichannel experience,” Draver asserts.

About Tempt

Tempt In-Store Productions provides in-store marketing materials and programs for many of the nation’s leading retailers and brand marketers. Tempt offers extensive production expertise and resources to develop attention-getting, sales-driving shopper marketing programs in conjunction with other Quad/Graphics solutions.

About Quad/Graphics

Quad/Graphics (NYSE: QUAD) is a global provider of print and related multichannel solutions for consumer magazines, special interest publications, catalogs, retail inserts/circulars, direct mail, books, directories, and commercial and specialty products, including in-store signage. Headquartered in Sussex, Wis. (just west of Milwaukee), the company has approximately 22,000 full-time equivalent employees working from more than 50 print-production facilities as well as other support locations throughout North America, Latin America and Europe.

Catalogs Remain Key Tool for Online Merchants

Staff Writer , Print In The Mix . 8/23/2012

According to Multichannel Marketing Magazine's 2012 -13 Outlook Survey: Catalogs, online merchants continue to embrace catalogs as part of their effort to effectively market and increase sales. Key findings:

The top marketing channels of online merchants, retailers, manufacturers, and publishers surveyed for 2012-13:

• 85.5% of companies are using ecommerce websites,

• 76.5% say social media,

• Nearly 60% of all respondents are using catalogs (B2B – 57.6%, B2C – 61.3%). Last year, 65.4% of respondents reported using catalogs.

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When respondents were asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, the motivations for using a catalog, other than to sell products, branding was the most popular tactic.

Catalogs remain the top prospecting tool of merchants:

• 71.7% of all respondents plan to use catalogs for prospecting,

• 66.7% will use Facebook,

• 65.8% will use email,

• 54.2% will use print advertising,

• 41.7% will use Pay Per Click (PPC) ads.

Besides Facebook, 42.5% of those surveyed use Twitter, 30.8% use Google+ and 25% use Pinterest.

When respondents were asked, “What print formats, other than catalogs, have you used to cut costs in the past 12 months?,” 44% of retailers said they had decided to use postcards, 39.7% used fliers, 38.8% used direct mail, 27.6% used solo mailers, and 19.8% said they won’t use an alternative print method in 2012.

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When asked, “ Do you plan to create a customized catalog for specific customer segments within the next 12 months?,” 52.3% of B2B and 46.9% of B2C merchants responded in the affirmative.

The survey also determined that 30% of B2C catalogers and 14% of B2B merchants are using variable data printing (VDP) to customize catalogs -- and more than 22% are actively considering variable printing.

Methodology: An online survey was fielded by Multichannel Merchant beginning on April 19, 2012. Subsequent mailings were sent to Multichannel Merchant’s subscriber list, as well as to those of sister publications Chief Marketer and DIRECT. Emails were also sent to members of Multichannel Merchant’s two LinkedIn groups (Multichannel Merchant and O+F Operations & Fulfillment). A link to the survey was also tweeted via Multichannel Merchant group and individual accounts. As an incentive to participate, survey respondents were offered the chance to win a $200 gift card. When the survey closed on May 21, there were 952 respondents. Of those, 654 (69%) indicated that their company was an online merchant, retailer, manufacturer, publisher/media or a wholesale distributor. Those active respondents form the basis of the survey results.

Source: Multichannel Merchant, Multichannel Marketing Magazine's 2012 -13 Outlook Survey: Catalogs, accessed August 23, 2012.

Direct Mail Success Tips From USPS

Press Release , Whattheythink.com . 8/22/2012

Direct mail spending rose to $21 billion in 2011. Up 2.9 percent from 2010, according to the Magna Advertising Group, direct mail is one of the largest advertising channels for U.S. businesses.

“Direct mail creates a one-on-one connection that’s hard for other media channels to match,” says Tom Foti, manager, Direct Mail and Periodicals. “The average household receives only two pieces of direct mail a day compared with 157 emails. It lets you incorporate coupons, reply cards, mobile barcodes — such as QR codes — URLs and other response mechanisms. Direct mail is a workhorse for generating leads, traffic and sales.”

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Direct mail is a powerful part of an integrated marketing campaign. By using it, businesses can target advertising dollars on those most likely to respond. By choosing what to measure — from offers to creative elements — businesses can reach almost anyone and then use the data to improve effectiveness. “Tell customers the complete story; mail is not limited to a 30-second sound bite,” added Foti.

Virtually everyone has a mailing address, and direct mail allows businesses to tailor each mail piece with highly personalized messaging, offers and graphics — enabled by today’s technologies. Tap into countless creative formats, touching every sense through product samples or QR codes. Begin to learn more about your customers with surveys or reply cards. And as a highly trackable medium, mail lets you monitor impact and return on investment.

Foti shares simple tips for guaranteed direct mail success:

1. Feature an offer prominently on the front of your mailpiece to boost readership and response. Choose the format, list and offer for highest ROI, rather than the lowest cost. And then track responses to measure the effectiveness of the mail piece.

2. Include mobile barcodes — such as QR codes — certificates and product visuals to engage the recipient. Use your mail piece to ask your customers what they want or need but be careful to avoid overwhelming the reader with too much copy or graphics.

3. Think of direct mail as an ongoing customer relationship management tool that picks up where other media leave off. Be sure to understand that customers will feel mislead and will likely ignore your messages in the future, if you mark the piece “urgent” when it’s not. And even if someone can afford your product, they still might not want it.

4. Use mail to achieve your business goals such as acquisition, relationship building and stakeholder communications. Find out how well your other media are doing by mailing a short survey. All while saving time and money by keeping your mailing list up-to-date and eliminating bad addresses before each campaign.

5. Lastly — don’t forget to consider using Every Door Direct Mail, a direct mail service that allows you to reach every address in a neighborhood without the need for names or addresses.

Outlook for Ad Spend Positive for Rest of 2012

Staff Writer , Print In The Mix . 8/22/2012

The outlook for advertising spending is positive for the remainder of 2012, thanks to political advertising along with media buyers spreading their buys to available venues, according to a new STRATA Survey.

STRATA, a provider of media buying and selling software, conducted the survey of over 100 media buying agencies across the country. The survey found that more than half (52%) of agencies polled saw their business increase in the second quarter of 2012 compared to a year ago. The majority (94%) of agencies expect business conditions to improve or stay the same in the second half of 2012, with about 40% projecting growth.

The STRATA Survey also found that contrary to the somber U.S. economic outlook, only 6.6% of agencies polled forecast a decrease in future growth in the second half of 2012. That is the lowest negative sentiment on record since STRATA began its survey in 2008, suggesting that the economy may improve at a faster rate than most economists think.

While political advertising is creating more demand and pushing up ad costs, 42% of non-political advertisers surveyed said they will be competing for ad space during the campaign season, and another 40% are using

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alternative mediums to avoid the political ad costs. 86% of political advertisers anticipate increased or steady ad spending this year compared to 2010.

Consistent with expectations during a political campaign season, TV is still the most used medium for advertising with 43% of ad agencies customers focused on Spot TV. 44% said they use more than three mediums for campaign advertising.

Brand Watch: Target’s multichannel mobile approach

Rimma Kats , Mobile Marketer . 8/20/2012

Not many marketers have a solid mobile strategy and retail giant Target is among the select few that truly understands that taking a multichannel approach is critical in driving engagement and sales.

Over the past few years, Target has been ramping up its mobile efforts. The retailer has incorporated SMS, mobile advertising, mobile applications, a mobile site and QR codes into its efforts.

Leading the way

Target is a great example of a company that just gets mobile.

Simply using one medium to drive user engagement is no longer enough.

Marketers need to take a multichannel approach to not only reach as many consumers as possible, but to stay ahead of the game.

Last year, Target delved into mobile advertising to promote its fresh food offerings.

Since then, the company has continually turned to mobile advertising to promote new products, as well as its weekly ads and mobile applications.

Mobile advertising is an effective channel as it helps marketers reach consumers.

Additionally, the company has used QR codes in its campaigns to provide customers with a more interactive experience.

Target has embedded the mobile bar codes in advertisements within national publications.

QR codes are a great way to add a interactive touch to a static campaign.

By incorporating mobile bar codes within its advertisements, Target is bringing its rather simply initiative to life.

Continued success

In addition to QR codes and mobile advertising, Target has also made a big impact in the mobile applications space.

Earlier this year, the retailer teamed up with shopkick to bring its location-based rewards application to stores nationwide and let consumers earn points for shopping.

The initiative is a great way to drive consumers to the retailer’s in-store locations.

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Target has also made its app a core focus of its back-to-school campaign.

The company is encouraging consumers to use its mobile app to find helpful resources, promotions and design inspirations.

By doing so, Target is educating consumers to shop for products via their mobile device.

Gone are the days where consumers do a majority of their shopping on desktops.

Nowadays, it is all about mobile.

Multichannel approach

Target is also a big believer in SMS.

The company has used the medium and continues to use it for ongoing promotions.

SMS is arguably the best channel that marketers can use to reach a wide array of consumers.

By sending out timely SMS messages to its opted in consumers, Target is able to continue its dialogue with customers on a deeper level.

PUBLISHING NEWS Librarians and publishers still have problems with e-books

Staff Writer , Book Business . 8/24/2012

The e-book may be the future but it is not yet working, according to librarians and scholarly publishers speaking to the annual meeting of the Special Libraries Association in Chicago in late July.

‘Where are we? In the Wild West,’ Rebecca Vargha of the University of North Carolina’s Library told the meeting during her discussion about ‘e-books: promises and realities’. She noted: ‘I don’t think there is an optimal model yet. Students and instructors are dissatisfied with the content and the interface of e-books.’

Her librarian’s perspective was, interestingly, echoed by a representative of a scholarly publishing house. Krista Coulson, digital publishing manager for the University of Chicago Press, said that the diversity of models is causing confusion. She pointed out that e-books account for about 10 per cent of the Press’s revenues – meaning that 90 per cent of revenues are not from e-books – and that it is impossible to predict the sales of e-books and their use in libraries. In this context, she said, it is difficult to get the design department to set time aside for e-book work.

Rebecca Vargha cited the example of students wanting to use textbooks at unsocial hours. It is in the nature of the way that students work that, if they have an assignment to hand in on Monday morning, many will be up all Sunday night consulting texts and finishing off their work. But if the text is an e-book held on a publisher’s server that is routinely taken down for maintenance on Sunday nights, the students will fail their course-work assignments.

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Equally, ‘pricing of e-books is not attractive.’ Because there is no second-hand market for e-books, she pointed out, students who have to re-sit a course can find themselves having to ‘buy’ the same book at full price a second time. For those studying mathematics and sciences, she added, format is a big issue. Tables and equations are seldom correctly formatted and crucial elements are often missing.

One honourable exception to the drawbacks of e-books, according to Rebecca Vargha, is the publisher Morgan and Claypool. ‘I like their product, from a customer-service point of view. Our faculty are using Morgan and Claypool material in teaching – and there are no digital rights management issues.’ Otherwise, she said, ‘it is tough to get multiple-user licences. There needs to be a change in the business model.’

Krista Coulson seemed to share the view that there are problems both with the rights and formats of e-books. One specialism of the University of Chicago Press is publishing translations of French and German books into English. But they cannot currently create editions where the original text and its translations appear on facing pages. E-books are ‘too linear’, she said. The Press has also found French and German publishers reluctant to grant e-book rights to the Press. ‘Rights are the hardest aspect of e-books,’ she said.

Another market that should be suitable for publication in e-book format is art books, she believes, because e-books would eliminate the need for high-quality and therefore expensive colour printing. However, this area has not developed yet because it is very difficult to obtain the rights to reproduce works of art in e-book format.

In addition to issues surrounding the grant of rights to e-books, a further problem, she felt, is the lack of collective standards. She explained that, even when it has the digital rights, the University of Chicago Press cannot create e-books without building its own bespoke platform and this is an expensive undertaking for a relatively small publishing house – especially given that e-books account for only 10 per cent of revenue. It is also risky, given that, in her opinion, EPUB 3 still does not work properly. ‘When the standards do emerge we will have to go back and reformat everything – and that has not been budgeted for,’ she said. The entire issue of managing an e-book over the course of its lifetime is not something that anyone has fully addressed, she warned. ‘It is a very confusing time.’

In 2010, the University of North Carolina conducted a survey of its students’ attitudes to e-books and found that while the students liked e-books in principle, they hated them in practice. Leslie Reynolds from the Texas A&M University Library told the meeting that - unsurprisingly perhaps - e-books have not formed a large segment of the library’s acquisitions so far. As recently as 2010 they comprised less than one per cent of acquisitions. In April 2012, the library started a new pilot e-book acquisition project which moved from being a ‘librarian-mediated’ to a ‘customer-initiated’ purchasing scheme. As soon as requests for a specific book hit a certain threshold, the library automatically purchases it. So far, 74 volumes had been acquired in this way, with the users unaware that they are, in effect, making a request to purchase.

She cautioned that there was a price threshold – anything costing less than $150 is automatically purchased whereas, if the price exceeded that level, the librarian would discuss the need for it with customers. Often, she said, it is discovered that the library already holds the volume, which suggests that the library’s own discovery tools need improvement. The switch to a customer-initiated purchasing policy means that ‘if there is a hot topic, the librarian is going to know about it’ as user behaviour is being monitored.

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New Study Reveals Powerful Link Between Magazines and Social

Staff Writer , MPA . 8/23/2012

A benchmark study conducted by GfK MRI, for MPA, the association of magazine media, concludes that social media enhances consumption of and engagement with magazine content, it was announced today by Chris Kevorkian, MPA’s Chief Marketing and Digital Officer. This new study, called "Magazine Media Readers Are Social," was designed to explore the relationship with social media platforms and magazine media readers 18 to 34 years of age: The Millennials.

“The results of MPA’s new study clearly demonstrate that social media enriches the magazine reading experience, and that magazine media readers – on all platforms – are creating communities around and engaging with the magazines and editors they know and love,” said Mr. Kevorkian.

The majority of respondents follow a magazine, showing that the reader relationship with magazine brands translates across all social platforms – online, tablet and smartphone. The study reveals that 56% of magazine readers using Twitter follow a magazine brand on Twitter and jumps to 69% among self-proclaimed "avid magazine readers."

Highlights from the research findings include:

Magazine readers (18-34) are highly connected social media users.

- More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) believe that technology has improved the experience of accessing various media

- Half consider themselves to be “media multitaskers.”

- An overwhelming majority use Facebook (91%), followed by YouTube (61%) and Twitter (40%). One in five Twitter users manage multiple Twitter accounts.

- The majority (80%) own a personal mobile device.

Avid magazine readers index higher than total respondents in all social attitudes and activities. They are major users of social media and enjoy connecting directly with magazines and editors via outlets networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

- Nearly 40% or respondents have self-identified as “avid magazine readers."

* 95% read printed titles.

* 43% read digital editions.

-Avid readers on Facebook:

*More than half (63%) of avid magazine readers have visited a magazine’s Facebook page.

* About the same number (62%) of avid readers using Facebook have posted magazine articles to Facebook, while more than a third have uploaded content to a magazine’s Facebook page.

* More than half (55%) of magazine readers using Facebook subscribe to a magazine editor or columnist on Facebook.

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-Avid readers on Twitter:

* 69% of avid readers using Twitter follow a magazine brand on Twitter.

* Two-thirds have re-tweeted articles from a magazine’s feed.

* More than half (56%) have re-tweeted a magazine editor’s tweet.

-Avid readers on Pinterest:

* 65% of avid magazine readers using Pinterest follow a magazine on Pinterest or have re-pinned content from a magazine.

* Sharing magazine content is important to young digital readers.

* Four in 10 (42%) of total respondents and 57% of avid readers chat with friends on Facebook while reading a magazine and share what they’re reading.

* The importance of being able to share digital magazine content with friends is highest among avid magazine readers (54%). Men greatly outnumber women in this interest in sharing digital magazine content.

Methodology: GfK MRI, an independent research firm, was commissioned by MPA to conduct a study among adults 18-34 who read magazines and use social media. Respondents were recruited to an online survey via an email invitation sent to members, aged 18-34, of the Survey Sampling International (SSI) panel. The study was fielded from April 11-16, 2012. A total of 1,019 respondents completed the survey.

Meredith to Increase Rate Base of EATINGWELL Magazine to 750,000

Press Release , MPA . 8/20/2012

Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP), the leading media and marketing company serving American women, announced today that it will increase the rate base for EatingWell magazine to 750,000 from 600,000, effective with the July/August 2013 issue. The bump represents a 115 percent increase in EatingWell magazine’s circulation since Meredith acquired the EatingWell brand in June 2011.

In addition to strong subscription growth, EatingWell’s newsstand sales surged 45 percent in the first half of 2012, according to ABC’s Fas Fax, further contributing to the magazine’s overall circulation growth.

“Our momentum reflects EatingWell’s strong and growing connection to the consumer,” says Tony Catalano, Publisher, EatingWell. “Healthy eating is top of mind for Americans, and we’re pleased to see them turning to the pages of EatingWell for trusted and engaging content.”

In addition to its flagship bimonthly magazine, EatingWell is a diversified brand produced over multiple formats, including a robust website (www.eatingwell.com), content and brand licensing, custom publishing, as well as consumer cookbooks and health books. The brand is a leading source of science-based nutrition advice, delicious, easy and healthy recipes, and useful shopping information.

EatingWell.com has also witnessed notable growth, with monthly unique visitors soaring to 3.6 million in June 2012, representing an 85 percent traffic increase since Meredith acquired the brand.

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About Meredith Corporation

Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) is the leading media and marketing company serving American women. Meredith features multiple well-known national brands – including Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, Allrecipes.com, Ladies' Home Journal, Fitness, More, American Baby, EveryDay with Rachael Ray, EatingWell and FamilyFun – along with local television brands in fast-growing markets. Meredith is the industry leader in creating content in key consumer interest areas such as home, family, health and wellness and self-development. Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including print, television, online, mobile, tablets, and video – to give consumers content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

Additionally, Meredith uses its many assets to create powerful custom marketing solutions for many of the nation's top brands and companies. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing has significantly added to its capabilities in recent years through the acquisition of cutting-edge companies in digital, mobile, social, healthcare, database, experiential and international marketing.

A hallmark of Meredith's business model and financial profile is its ability to consistently generate substantial free cash flow by leveraging the strength of its multi-platform portfolio. Meredith is committed to increasing Total Shareholder Return through dividend payments, share repurchases and strategic business investments. Meredith has paid a dividend for 65 straight years and increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years. On October 25, 2011, Meredith announced a 50 percent increase in its annual dividend to $1.53 per share.

POSTAL NEWS

Opt-out tool launched for USPS simplified direct mail service Staff Writer , Post & Parcel . 8/20/2012

USPS has been trialling EDDM since last year, and in July filed with regulators to make the programme a permanent service.

It already has 32,000 businesses registered to use it to send flyers, coupons and other promotional material to local customers through the mail, without needing to provide lists of individual names and addresses.

And, the Postal Service aims to considerably expand the service across the country to help boost revenues and counter the financial impact of declining transactional mail volumes.

Yesterday the Direct Marketing Association launched a new suppression tool as part of its existing DMAchoice.org service, to allow the EDDM service to take account of consumers opting out of receiving direct marketing through their mailbox.

Senny Boone, the DMA senior vice president of corporate and social responsibility, said: “The expanded EDDM opt-ot service bolsters DMAchoice by adding a new component for local printers and marketers who want to do the right thing, and honour consumer choice to opt out of EDDM.

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“This tool is good for business, helps consumers with their mail choices, and builds consumer confidence in the mail.”

Boone told Post&Parcel that consumers who are already signed up to its DMAchoice.org opt-out facility, and have chosen to opt out of the “other” category of mail, which includes unaddressed mail, will already be included on the list of opt-outs for EDDM.

Other consumers can opt out through the DMAchoice.org website.

The DMA said that in the EDDM service, commercial mailers provide “facing sheets” detailing instructions for letter carriers and a barcode for processing their mailings. The new suppression tool adds the addresses of individuals opting out of the service to those facing sheets, so carriers can exclude them from the delivery.

“Inexpensive and very effective”

US Postal Service figures from last week show that the Every Door Direct Mail service brought in nearly 141m pieces of mail in the three months up to the end of June 2012, with the average business mailing amounting to just over 2,000 pieces.

The service aims to provide small businesses in the US with everything they need to put together a local mailing campaign, without having to have specialised marketing expertise.

EDDM is currently based on a 14.7 cent per piece saturation mail rate, but when it becomes permanent USPS is aiming to increase the retail price to 16c per piece.

As well as allowing customers to use a simple online system to select which delivery routes are required, the EDDM platform also puts customers in touch with local printing and marketing partners to produce the mail pieces.

The requirement for mailers is that they provide enough mail pieces to reach every single door on their chosen delivery routes.

The DMA says the service is an “inexpensive and very effective way” for small businesses to advertise their products and services.

The Association noted that USPS did include a process within the service allowing businesses to exclude mail items from certain mailboxes, but said consumers have not been told how to opt out of the service, and there has been no central repository for consumer opt outs until now. USPS has in the past advised that consumers wanting to opt out of the service should contact the individual businesses sending them promotional mail to be taken off their lists.

The DMA said it is now working with USPS, local printers and marketers to encourage use of its new consumer EDDM opt-out system.

“If an individual has chosen to opt out of additional promotional mail, that choice should be honored by the mailer,” explained Boone. “The mailer can then focus their efforts and resources on those who have not opted out.”

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US regulators back USPS plan to cut rural post office hours Staff Writer , Post & Parcel . 8/24/2012

However, the Commission’s Chairman, Ruth Goldway, expressed concerns that in cutting post office hours to as little as two hours per day, the Postal Service could find it difficult to find qualified staff willing to work such short hours.

The Postal Regulatory Commission has been reviewing the USPS plans to save around half a billion dollars a year from the operation of its retail network since May 2012.

The so-called “POStPlan” will see operating hours for postal counters curtailed at more than 13,000 rural post offices, with post offices finding their working day cut from eight hours to six, four or two hours of operation each day.

Operating hours in about 73 post offices will have their hours extended.

The Commission issued its Advisory Opinion today commending the Postal Service “for maintaining its current retail presence, especially in remote areas”.

The regulator said evidence gathered in its review had assured it that post offices will provide the same services as they do today, access to PO boxes will remain unchanged, and that post offices in the most remote locations will remain open at least six hours per work day.

The Advisory Opinion said post offices will not generally be closed unless a community expresses a preference for such action, predicting that “a few” post offices will close as a result of POStPlan.

The review from the Commission recommended that USPS not make any cuts in post office hours until post offices have been modified to allow continuation of current levels of access for PO boxes.

It also made certain recommendations on communicating post office changes and the decision-making process.

Concerns

Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway said in a personal opinion statement backing the overall Commission findings that USPS had developed a plan that “accommodates many of the concerns” put forward by previous regulatory reviews of post office network changes.

However, she said she had several remaining concerns about POStPlan, including the analysis used to determine which post offices should become Part Time Post Offices (PTPO).

Goldway also expressed concerns about how communities are informed about the possibility of replacing a post office with a Village Post Office – partner-run postal outlets located in local retail facilities. She said there were “troubling” discrepancies in USPS literature about VPOs, and insisted that communities are fully informed that choosing a VPO instead of a post office would mean a more limited range of services being provided.

The Commission Chairman’s other concerns included the ability of USPS to find staff to run post offices for less than eight hours each day.

“There is a sizable risk that the Postal Service will encounter difficulties recruiting qualified employees for these positions in many communities,” she said.

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USPS originally reviewed 17,700 of its 32,000 post offices to find under-performing post offices where working hours could be curtailed.

From 2014, the Postal Service plans to review its retail network each year to check its post offices are classified to the right levels, and could make changes to their operating hours.

RETAIL NEWS

Apple: Most valuable company of all time Staff Writer , Chain Store Age . 8/22/2012

Apple Inc. became the most valuable public company of all time on Monday, after its market value climbed beyond $620 billion to surpass a milestone set by Microsoft Corp. more than 10 years ago, Reuters reported.

Apple shares reached a high of $664.74 on Monday morning, giving them a total value of $623.14 billion. This broke past the record of $620.58 billion set by Microsoft back in 1999, according to the report.

Kraft to sell majority stake in natural-food brand to Brynwood Partners

Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 8/24/2012

Confectionary, food and beverage conglomerate Kraft Foods is selling part of its natural-food products line, Back to Nature, to private-equity firm Brynwood Partners.

While Kraft has sold two other brands to Brynwood, it’s keeping a minority stake — reported to be between a quarter and a half, according to Dow Jones— in the Back to Nature line, which currently includes crackers, cookies, granola and trail mixes that contain less-processed ingredients.

Brynwood Partners focuses on acquiring smaller, overlooked brands from large corporations, and has acquired three dozen from various corporate sellers, including two other brands from Kraft. Though the financial terms of the Back to Nature deal were not disclosed, Brynwood Partners typically acquires brands for less than $125 million.

Kraft will have board representation in the joint venture held between the two companies, but Brynwood will manage everyday affairs.

"Back to Nature does not have the kind of scale for us that will get it the resources that could get it the growth that it should," Kraft spokesman Michael Mitchell said.

Brynwood senior managing partner Henk Hartong III plans to bring more new products and more focused marketing to Back to Nature, seeing potential for expansion into salty snacks and frozen foods.

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Back to Nature’s sales are between $50 million and $75 million a year, but its sales of cookies, crackers and trail mix have seen a 20% annual boost over the past three years, Mitchell said.

Once Kraft spins off its North American grocery business, Kraft Foods Group, on Oct. 1, its Back to Nature stake will become part of Kraft’s global snacks company Mondelez International. Kraft Foods Group will also be selling the Back to Nature macaroni and cheese product under a licensing deal.

Net Income Up 23% in Second Quarter at Chico's

Jim Tierney , Multichannel Merchant . 8/24/2012

Women's apparel merchant Chico's FAS enjoyed its second quarter as its net income soared 23%, to $53.4 million.

For Chico's, its net income for the second quarter ended July 28, 2012 was $10 million more than the same period last year.

Net sales rose 16.4%, to $641.7 million, up from $551.4 million. Same-store sales increased 5.6%.

For the 26 weeks ended July 28, 2012, Chico's reported net income of $107.0 million, reflecting an increase of 20% compared to net income of $89.3 million in the same period last year.

Company officials forecast net sales for fiscal 2012 to be between $2.55 billion and $2.6 billion.

Abe Garver, principal at Focus Investment Banking, said "double-digit revenue growth for the fifth quarter in a row impressed me.

Unilever completes sale of North America frozen meals business

Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 8/22/2012

Unilever has completed the sale of its North America frozen meals business, conducted under the Bertolli and P.F. Chang’s brand names, to ConAgra Foods Inc., for total cash consideration of $267 million, subject to adjustment.

Under the terms of the transaction, Unilever licensed the Bertolli brand name to ConAgra Foods for use in the frozen meals business and transferred its existing license with P.F. Chang’s for use of the P.F. Chang’s Home Menu brand name. Unilever will retain the Bertolli trademark and continue manufacturing Bertolli pasta sauce at its Owensboro, Ky., facility.

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Walmart fires holiday 2012 opening salvo

Mike Troy , Retailing Today . 8/20/2012

Walmart will offer its holiday layaway 30 days earlier this year and extend the program to more product categories, the company announced Monday.

"Last year, millions of Americans relied on layaway at Walmart to provide a great Christmas for their families. Because of their feedback, we're offering the service again this year and making it better than ever," said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Walmart U.S. The company said it is working with major brands to make high-demand holiday products available in Walmart stores when layaway kicks-off of September 16. The program starts two days earlier for online shoppers who like their local store on Facebook.

This year’s start date is a month earlier than last year when Walmart first restored the program after a several year hiatus.

In addition to the early start, another key change involves an expanded list of merchandise categories. Walmart has added small appliances and select sporting goods such as basketball goals, trampolines and large exercise equipment to electronics, toys and jewelry as categories eligible for layaway.

Another change involves an increase in the fee to open a layaway account to $15 from $5 last year, but shoppers receive a refund of the $15 fee in the form of a Walmart gift card after they complete their final payment. Otherwise, the $15 fee is forfeited as was the case with last year’s $5 feel. Other terms of the program are comparable to last year such as down payment of $10 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater.