The news of a well-known supplier with a long history closing their doors stunned the industry recently. This isn’t the first of such casualties and it certainly won’t be the last. There also will be losses of distributors and more consolidation. Strong suppliers will buy smaller suppliers and strong distributors will absorb smaller distributors. Some companies will just close their doors.
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Many of you may know that my faith and values are important to me. Reluctantly, I must share that I’ve done something I normally don’t do. I lied.
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I recently returned from a few days at Disneyland. My wife and I agreed to be chaperones for Grad Nite. On Grad Nite, Disneyland is open until 2 a.m. with just high school graduates and their chaperones. (It sounded like a good idea at the time.) I’m sure this goes on at locations all around the country, but being from Southern California, Disneyland is the place to be.
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My family celebrated a milestone occasion when my son graduated from high school. I am sure many of you can relate to these significant education accomplishments, either as a proud parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle.
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The discussion on how businesses operate continues online in various forums. I believe these types of conversations should be handled carefully.
There clearly are companies who operate in ways that are contrary to the traditional supplier/distributor model we are comfortable with. However, some companies are being judged by what people perceive is really happening, without an understanding of what is actually happening.
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Responding to a need in our industry, a group of savvy distributors and suppliers have come together to create a badly needed resource. Their mission is to bring truth and justice to our industry.
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When the discussion turns to delivering safe and compliant promotional products, and specifically how difficult it is to do, I usually go with this response: “You can either run toward the problem, or you can run away from it.”
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Some topics never really go away. Like “the wave” in a stadium, an issue comes around… there is a lot of standing up, screaming, arm waving, then it passes by just as quickly as it came. The topic making the rounds is the current challenge to the longstanding supplier-distributor relationship model our industry is accustomed to.
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We’re getting into the 2014 winter trade show season and anyone reading this has varying experiences with past shows. You’ve either participated in several and know exactly what you want to accomplish—or you have attended few (or none) and may have levels of excitement or anxiety.
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