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This isn’t the fi rst editor’s letter I wrote for this
issue. I’d originally penned and proofread a missive
ws
decrying the government’s failure to interfere in the
Communication Workers Union’s strikes against
Royal Mail. But my timing was off; I’d input the
copy just a few hours before the union agreed, on
5th November, to call off any additional strikes for
V
ie
at least the rest of the year. That’s great news for
our sector, of course, but I must admit that when I
heard about the agreement, I did think, “Dang, now
I’ve got to rewrite my editorial.”
Shopping-comparison site Kelkoo.com estimated
that the October strikes cost each UK retail
business an average of £840 a week. Given
that the UK has an estimated 319,000 retail
businesses, that’s a lot of money that
won’t be fi nding its way into the
government’s tax coffers.
And will direct marketers that switched their
parcel and catalogue deliveries from Royal Mail
to other carriers during the strikes return to Royal
Mail? For one thing, just because the
union says it won’t strike for the rest
of the year doesn’t mean it won’t
page 26
walk out come 1st January. For another,
Catalogue Exchange update
Royal Mail still has a huge backlog of undelivered
Get savvy about savvy shoppers
post to catch up on: 35 million pieces as of late
October. Several of the cataloguers we interviewed
pages 28-29
for this month’s cover story said they’ve lost faith
Website review
in Royal Mail and are considering switching to other
Jigsaw24.com is missing a few
providers for the long term.
key pieces
Like direct sellers, magazine publishers have
been hurt by the strikes. That’s why we decided not
pages 30-32
to print and post a paper version of the November/
Software review
December issue of Catalogue e-business (the issue
Ernie Schell looks at the direct
you’re reading right now). We produced this digital
commerce suite from Junction
version instead, to ensure that you received the
Solutions
content while it was still timely.
Don’t worry: We’re not jettisoning the print
page 33
medium altogether. We’ll produce and mail paper
Q&A with...
editions of future issues (the Communication
Nick Gibbens of Wickedelic
Workers Union and Royal Mail willing, of course),
Lingerie
though in 2010 we will be making digital versions
of each issue available as well. Seeing as we
page 34
cover the multichannel-commerce industry, it
Ecommerce
only makes sense for us to deliver
One expert’s pick of emerging
information via multiple channels.
online trends
Sherry Chiger
page 35
editorial director
Copywriting
sherry@catalog-biz.com
Herschell Gordon Lewis on why
“free” isn’t always easy
pages 42-43
Final thoughts
The latest fi ndings from our inbox,
S Cuttlebutt, and more
ceb175.indd 27 7/11/09 13:10:19
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