editor’
s note Editor’s Note: I
believe the old adage, you don’t know where you are until you look back at where you have been, holds true at so many levels. While much has happened with change in the economy, and the political landscape seems full of uncertainty, I decided to take time to look back at where we had been as the
industry’s trade magazine and what type of change we have experienced over the years relative to industry and economic flux.
I was amazed at what I found.
This last year we have been talking about things such as product turns, attracting the “newbie” and how to keep ahead of the competition. Everyone seems to have their opinion about what these topics mean and how to attract or combat each one. The funny thing is these are the exact topics that we as an industry have been covering and jawing about since 2005. As I perused through the Scrapbook Premier and Scrapbook Business archives, I found that the number one topic was about better communication and cooperation between vendor and retailer.
Sure the dynamics have changed, but the same issues are being discussed today and we are still looking for answers like it is the first time we have heard about it. Not surprising, there are far fewer vendors and retailers in the scrapbook space than 2005, and the amount of new product has been limited relative to as recent as late 2008. What is more noticeable is the amount of digital and electronic tools than ever before. This change is certainly spawned by the infrastructure of technology to support the ideas that we had all along. We simply didn’t have the hard drive space or speed and the mega bites to make all this possible before.
So, since my managing editor has only given me one page to wrap up my thoughts…here it is. As you attend CHA summer in Chicago and decide on what your customer will buy. Be sure you are objective and don’t shop purely on what suits your personality alone or subjective thought. Both vendors and retailers alike; take your business’ off auto pilot and lets get passionate again about what got us started in the first place. Streamline your existing products, sell off the distressed merchandise and broaden your horizons into the digital and “cross-over” lines that will attract a much broader audience. Give consumers a reason to shop with you as they are more scrupulous about where and how much time and money they are going to spend. With retails sales down 1.2 % last month, it is time to pull up your sleeves and shout from the rooftops… and did I mention advertise?
Kevin Nelson, Editor in Chief
8 scrapbook business
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