Compiled by John Kelly

Wednesday December 7, 2016

Done Deal — for $1.365 billion

It’s official. Supervalu has finalized the sale of its discount supermarket business, Save-A-Lot, to an affiliate of Onex

Corporation for $1.365 billion in cash.

In connection with the closing of the sale, Supervalu and Save-A-Lot have entered into a five-year professional services

agreement whereby Supervalu will continue providing certain back office services to Save-A-Lot.

Supervalu also confirmed that it has used $750 million of the net proceeds from the sale to prepay that portion of its

outstanding term loan balance. The company intends to use the remaining net sale proceeds to further reduce debt and

improve its capital structure, contribute to its pension plan, as well as to fund corporate and growth initiatives.

“With the successful completion of the Save-A-Lot sale, we are well positioned for the future with a stronger balance sheet,

the opportunity to more strategically invest in our business, and the ability to more keenly focus on our core business as a

leading grocery wholesaler,” said Supervalu president and CEO, Mark Gross. “We also look forward to continuing our

relationship with Save-A-Lot as one of our important professional services customers.”

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/done-deal--1-billion

Why Amazon is Betting Big on Brick and Mortar

Software eats retail.”

So said American entrepreneur, investor and software engineer Marc Andreessen early in 2013 in an interview with startup

news site Pando. Andreessen, the creator of Netscape and a partner in Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen

Horwitz (tagline: “Software is eating the world”), set off a flurry of think pieces when he proclaimed that brick-and-mortar

based retail would die a slow but inevitable and “absolute” death as e-commerce evolved and further dominated.

But despite retail chains like Macy’s, Kohl’s and others collectively shuttering hundreds of stores and at least one prominent

retail analyst forecasting a third of U.S. malls will ultimately close, Andreessen’s remarks seem more off-base than ever

before. That's not just because pure-play e-commerce darlings like Warby Parker and Bonobos continue expanding their

physical footprints, but because none other than Amazon itself — the original Great Disrupter of brick-and-mortar retail —

has big plans to broaden the incursion it began last year with the opening of its first bookstore in its native Seattle and

continued Monday with the unveiling of Amazon Go, a hometown grocery store that eliminates the checkout process

altogether.

Amazon isn’t saying much about its physical retail operations — Retail Dive wasn’t able to get anyone there to expound on

them — but we found plenty of expert observers willing to make a few guesses about its ambitions. They say physical stores

have become a necessary facet of Amazon’s strategy to nurture and grow its Prime ecosystem, a virtual retail cyclone that

includes not just a massive assortment of goods (including a growing number of private-label products in many categories)

and multimedia services, but also an expanding series of devices and technologies designed to make shopping at Amazon

even more friction-free and accessible.

“To be honest, we are all very curious," Andres Mendoza Pena, a partner in global management consulting firm A.T.

Kearney’s retail practice, told Retail Dive. "I would bet they could be leveraging the opportunities to interact directly with

consumers to either feature or improve their offerings or learn about consumers. It’s hard to pinpoint just one objective. Bu t

the more that they are now starting to become a consumer goods company, the more relevant it is to have a direct

relationship and interactions with consumers.”

Why stores make sense

Aside from a pop-up store here and there used to help sell its ill-fated Fire smartphone, Amazon didn’t really mess with

physical retail outlets until the unveiling of its first bookstore late last year. Since then, its physical strategy has accelerated

rapidly: While Amazon has disclosed few concrete details, it's believed that in addition to bookstores in (or planned for) San

Diego, Portland, New York City and Chicago, the company is plotting drive-thru grocery stores (an effort with the internal

codename Project X), a series of convenience stores aimed at its Amazon Fresh grocery customers (a.k.a. Project Como),

an expansion of its college campus outlets and “hundreds” of pop-ups in U.S. shopping malls to showcase its new range of

connected devices, many powered by its Alexa voice-driven virtual assistant technology.

Amazon’s pop-ups are marketing efforts as much as they are retailing initiatives, Mabel McLean, director of Amazon IQ at

business intelligence firm L2, told Retail Dive.

“I think pop-up stores completely make sense for Amazon both to differentiate them from the typical retail stores and as

advertising — there’s no better form of advertising than controlling your own retail environment,” McLean said. “The

bookstores are something in and of themselves. They may be looking at how they can manage these retail formats and

trying to expand their interaction with as many consumers as possible.”

None of the experts who spoke to Retail Dive expressed surprise that Amazon is starting with bookstores, because the e-

commerce giant remains a major bookseller — and because that’s how it started out in the first place.

"Let me tell you something: Independent bookstores [are thriving]," Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York City-based

retail consulting and investment banking firm Davidowitz & Associates, told Retail Dive. "What does that tell you? That

people still appreciate that bookstore feeling. It’s a special thing... Amazon is the king of books. And when you’re the king of

books, you don’t want to leave a stone unturned."

But don't expect Amazon to limit its physical aspirations to books, or even just books and grocery, says McLean. “Given their

very aggressive category extension, I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple years down the line, it’ll be the 'Amazon Fashion

Shop,'" she said. "The bookstore could be a test case for how they balance physical prices with how they price online."

In fact, Amazon has already instituted a new pricing scheme at its physical bookstores, where Prime members now enjoy

lower prices than non-members. While items in the stores don’t carry list prices, price checks are available at kiosks that

reveal discounts ranging from 6% to 40%. Notably, such discounts don't apply to Amazon's own devices. And that's all part

of the plan.

“Everyone was shocked and amazed at Amazon’s [first] bookstore, but the bookstore is a Trojan horse to get devices into

consumers’ hands,” retail futurist Doug Stephens, author of the upcoming book "Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling

in a Post-digital World," told Retail Dive earlier this year. “Everything Amazon does is aimed at that — getting their consumer

into their ecosystem.”

The advantages of brick and mortar

One thing that Andreessen, for all his genius, drastically underrated is the “see, touch and feel” opportunities that physica l

retailers offer to shoppers.

“If you look at the statistics on consumer preferences, consumers actually like going to physical stores. There’s emotion tha t

goes into a purchase, and they want to see an item, feel it, touch it,” Sam Cinquegrani, CEO of digital commerce solutions

firm ObjectWave, told Retail Dive. “If I were a retailer, especially a predominantly online retailer like Amazon, I would be

concerned about that advantage. Given their success, you might think they wouldn’t be. But Amazon has always proven to

be much smarter than everyone else, so it’s not surprising that they’d push into physical retail.”

Indeed, in a survey of more than 2,500 U.S. consumers, A.T. Kearney found that among those who prefer to buy online, fully

two-thirds say they still rely on a physical store either before or after their purchase, Pena says. “That means that when

you’re buying a dress online, it’s likely that you’re going to be looking at that dress — the feeling, the color — and to do that,

you leverage a physical environment prior to the purchase."

Beyond that emotional pull, though, physical stores have also proven to be integral to customer loyalty, returns, fulfillment

and — believe it or not — a driver of online sales. “We found 'If I don’t have a store near my house to make an eventual

return, I don’t make the purchase,'" Pena said. “So let’s agree that a physical store adds value to consumers, even when

they transact online.”

And with retail these days an increasingly omnichannel endeavor, physical retailers are forced to go online just as online

retailers are forced to go physical, Cinquegrani said. But he warned that while Amazon has spent two decades as a pure-

play online retailer — and while its rivals have, in some cases, centuries of retail experience — it isn’t like Amazon to fear

failure.

“Retail is a mix between a digital capability and a physical capability, and, for Amazon, not having a physical ability has

become a liability,” Cinquegrani said. “In terms of Amazon and that channel, I think it’s foolish to think that they can’t pull this

off. They’ve been masters at understanding what the consumer wants and then delivering that.”

Moreover, the truth is Amazon has long enjoyed the advantages of brick and mortar, Pena adds. Only in the past, it was rival

retailers providing those advantages.

“Amazon was able to do well without having their own stores because there were other retailers that were providing them

with a showroom where customers would go, for example, look at a TV, and eventually go to Amazon and make the

transaction there," Pena said. "The value from the physical space was given by another retailer — and Amazon capitalized

on it.”

Is there an Echo in here?

As competitors have fought back via price-matching and efforts to offer merchandise that can’t be found at Amazon,

showrooming has declined, presenting fewer real-world opportunities for Amazon to exploit. But there's an even more

compelling reason for Amazon to open its own doors to consumers: A line of electronics that rivals may be loathe to sell.

Amazon's arsenal of devices includes the Echo (a high-quality tabletop speaker), the Dot (a smaller smart assistant) and the

Tap (a portable Bluetooth speaker). All are powered by Amazon’s Alexa artificial intelligence platform, which allows users to

voice-order from Amazon, receive answers to questions, play music and games, and control smart home devices. The

hands-free Echo device has been available for about two years; more than 1.6 million have been sold to date.

While Amazon's plans for its grocery and convenience stores remain murky, its bookstores present a clearer picture: They

offer consumers access to books but also present opportunities for up-close and personal interactions with the Echo and

other Alexa-enabled units. The same logic applies to Amazon's pop-ups.

"When it comes to electronics, you have to see it — remember how much those Apple stores helped Apple?" Davidowitz

said. "I applaud them. I think it’s exactly the right thing to do, and it will help grow their business."

Whatever Amazon is doing to promote Echo and its cousins, inside and outside of its physical stores and pop-ups, it

appears to be working: Awareness of those devices rose to 69% as of October, up from 20% in March 2015, according to a

report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners released last month.

“There’s a big impetus to get an Echo in the hands of people, considering that, if you look at the Amazon Echo buyer

metrics, we know that the Amazon Echo buyer makes purchases more frequently, and their spend per buyer is twice as

much as the average Amazon buyer once they have one,” Andy Mantis, EVP of NPD Group’s Checkout Tracking, told Retail

Dive.

Furthermore, owners of the Amazon Echo spent around 10% more on Amazon in the six months after they bought the voice-

controlled speaker than before they had it, with purchase frequency also growing 6%, NPD Group's Checkout Tracking

found. In addition, Echo owners conduct about half of their total online spending at Amazon after they buy an Echo.

Amazon's devices also help fuel its storied machine learning, which consumes shopper data and helps provide the

merchandising, search, content and customer service synonymous with its brand. Its physical stores are poised to serve a

similar purpose. Consider how much Amazon stands to learn from the checkout-free Go grocery it's testing in Seattle:

Shoppers scan a QR-code based app upon walking into the store, grab the items they want, and the retailer's Just Walk Out

technology adds them to their virtual cart and charges the final tally to their Amazon account.

All that customer information coming in from Amazon's site, app, devices and now stores will only help the company

continue to disrupt retail — algorithm by algorithm, contraption by contraption, and brick by brick. It makes Andreessen right,

in a sense: Maybe software does "eat retail," but sometimes that meal is served in a physical store.

The question facing Amazon's rivals is how quickly they can meet this ongoing, ever-transforming challenge — or if they can

meet it at all.

“The consistent part with Amazon is they create strategies that do evolve over time,” Mantis said. “Getting into stores for

Amazon can both neutralize others’ advantage and fuel growth outside of physical stores.”

http://www.retaildive.com/news/why-amazon-is-betting-big-on-brick-and-mortar/431499/

Young Companies are Buying Print and It’s Blowing my Mind

I just finished a project with a company that’s so print-loving it blew my mind. I’ll call them Nater’s Skateboards to protect

their confidentiality.

First things first: Nater’s Skateboards is a crazy huge buyer of print.

Here’s why it blows my mind that they love print:

The company is young, less than two years old.

The owner is focused on extreme growth.

The customer demographic is a very specific niche that can be easily reached through digital channels.

Shame on me for assuming a young company would have to be convinced to use print.

So why is all this print flowing?

For one thing, the company is hiring people quickly. During the time I worked on the project, they hired four executive

managers. They added employees due to a merger. They aligned job descriptions across their locations, so everyone got

new job titles.

I know what you’re thinking. Business cards!

Yes, and so much more.

Nater’s Skateboards is finishing their new corporate headquarters, complete with colorful wall graphics, indoor and outdoor

signage, and all the print items that feature their new address.

They just acquired a company and changed its name, which required new branded materials for that location.

They dominate the zip codes where their target customers live by sending regular print-mail campaigns.

They spend, spend, spend to acquire new customers.

Serious skateboarders often buy a board every few months, and they have multiple boards in the rotation. Even casual

skateboarders spend hundreds of dollars on boards, clothing, shoes, special backpacks and supplies.

In the skateboard world, customers are worth a lot of money.

To reach them, Nater’s Skateboards surrounds customers with video, chat, and social media. They use cool printed stuff to

reward fans and build affection.

That’s right. They use print to increase loyalty.

Nater’s Skateboards uses print to woo its customers in unexpected ways:

CLOTHING

Influential customers are given branded clothing and promotional items, sometimes signed by pros.

Apparel designs are changed often to keep young customers buzzing and buying.

PACKAGING

Containers and boxes are highly decorated and very, very well designed.

Partner products, like Vans shoes or GoPro cameras, are packaged creatively and prominently displayed.

EVENTS

At skateboarding events, tables are piled high with posters, t-shirts, hats, phone cases, accessories, and more.

Employees hand out small items such as stickers and postcards.

Signs, banners, and colorful pop up booths are used lavishly.

Print is a major touchpoint.

Customers receive regular contact from Nater’s Skateboards, whether it’s a YouTube shout out, a fan video pushed through

a chat platform, or a full-color print catalog customized by gender and age group.

Never do they take a customer for granted or back off on the print marketing.

Take aways

If you’re not pursuing new companies because you believe that “young people don’t buy print,” you’re missing a gigantic

opportunity. If you can bring fresh ideas, energy and an understanding of their market to a company like Nater’s

Skateboards, you could earn a customer that quite literally needs print continuously! http://www.printmediacentr.com/2016/02/16/young-companies-are-buying-print-and-it-blows-my-

mind/?utm_content=buffer206ad&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Why Retailers are Embracing Rooftop Gardens The food industry as a whole is in the midst of a shift from unhealthy processed foods to organic, local and all natural foods. Buying local is one of the biggest trends, as more consumers want to ensure that the produce they are purchasing and feeding to their families is grown nearby. This consumer behavior has led to an influx of urban greenhouses, rooftop gardens and hydroponic operations. Businesses and retailers are getting the message loud and clear: people prefer to buy foods from their own communities — even if it means spending a little more. Daniel Levine, director of consumer trends consultancy Avant-Guide Institute, noted the trend is so pervasive that edible gardens are sprouting up at baseball fields like AT&T Park in San Francisco. Beehives are also being placed on roofs of hotels and other buildings in cities around the world, and urban rooftop algae farms in Bangkok are experimenting with growing edible items like spirulina seaweed. “The trend for all things ‘hyper local’ is heating up. Consumers perceive that food grown locally is fresher, healthier and better for the environment,” Levine told Food Dive in an email. “People view it as healthier because they can actually see where it was grown. Fresher because, well, it can literally be consumed the day it was picked. And better for the environment because it doesn't require excessive transportation or packaging to get from farm to table.” Store to table? Ken VandeVrede, chief operating officer of Edible Garden, a family of co-op local growers across the United States whose farmers specialize in fresh, hydroponic produce and offer consumers safe, nutrient-rich herbs and leafy greens directly in the supermarket, noted local is getting closer and closer to home. “Edible Garden grows fresh and local produce for supermarkets, and we find that a major component to our success is the fact that our produce is grown just a short distance from the stores that we ship to,” VandeVrede told Food Dive. “Local produce has nothing but benefits for consumers. Produce grown locally guarantees that the product is fresh, it wasn’t grown in a different country, and that it hasn’t been sitting on a truck for a week. Would you rather buy produce shipped in from Mexico, or produce that was grown at or near the location you are buying it?” Some innovative grocery retailers are taking things one step further and are growing produce in their own stores— or in the case of Whole Foods Market and its Gowanus Brooklyn store, growing it on the roof. Designed and operated by Gotham Greens in 2013, the store's rooftop greenhouse features more than 20,000 square feet of space and grows approximately 250,000 pounds of fresh leafy greens, herbs and tomatoes each year. A spokesperson for Gotham Greens said the partnership with Whole Foods Market was a perfect match for the company based on the retailer's unparalleled leadership and commitment to promoting local, healthy and sustainably produced food. Levine said rooftop gardens are shining in their moment in the sun, and that retailers need to be on-trend to attract customers and keep a step ahead of their competition. “Today’s grocers, once again led by Whole Foods, are enthusiastically embracing the hyper-local trend as a point of differentiation,” he said. “At the same time, the best ones are solidifying their position as integral members of their communities by inviting customers to learn about the how’s and why’s of urban farming.” Considering the long journey that most fresh produce has to get to the store and the high level of spoilage, shrinkage and waste in retail produce departments, growing at least some of the food right on the sales floor might be a better option for both the store and its customers. Recently, Target announced it was researching the idea of vertical farming for some of its stores as part of its current food innovation efforts. Business Insider reported that Target hopes to grow plants and vegetables indoors in climatized conditions and sell the food from the in-store gardens to customers as early as next spring. “We need to be able to see more effectively around corners in terms of where is the overall food and agriculture industries going domestically and globally,” Casey Carl, Target’s chief strategy and innovation officer, told Business Insider. What transportation costs? By utilizing this sustainable and environmentally friendly technology, things like transportation, storage and refrigeration are no longer challenges in getting fresh produce quickly to consumers.

Whole Foods was not the first grocery store to experiment with growing produce in-store. Rouses Supermarkets' Thibodaux, LA store began a Roots on the Rooftop program in May 2012. It offered fresh-grown herbs to its customers and foodservice production areas — and also grew profits. Rouses also appears to be the first U.S. grocer to have developed its own aeroponic urban farm on its rooftop. The vertical aeroponic tower garden utilizes water rather than soil, and allows the crops to grow up instead of out. It was developed by a former Disney greenhouse manager, and the same system is used at Disney World, Chicago O’Hare Airport and on the Manhattan rooftop of Bell Book & Candle restaurant. The store originally employed a local agriculture consultant to get everything set up properly. Now the store’s staff — headed up by an experienced horticulture professional and a team of associates — handle the rooftop garden. According to a company spokesperson, the Rouses team plans the farm management process from germination of the upcoming crop, planting, daily monitoring and logging of the crops progress through to the harvest cycle. Rouses currently has alliances with a handful of other nearby hydroponic farmers who grow lettuce and herbs, saving on transportation costs. Earlier this year the Metro Supermarket in Berlin, Germany introduced The Infarm, a miniature greenhouse in its store that grows herbs and greens like wasabi mustard greens and mizuna. A story in Fast Co.Exist reported that the thought behind the idea was to make vertical farming and fresh produce accessible to the public by allowing shoppers to grab vegetables straight from the source. The vegetables live their entire growth cycle within the greenhouse, from seed to harvest It’s expected that the program will expand and can be adjusted at each store to grow a variety of items, including chilis, eggplants and tomatoes. Mary Holmes, who teaches a course called “The Future of Food” at Case Western Reserve University, located in Cleveland, Ohio, said one challenge is that many of the greenhouses and rooftop gardens won’t have enough supply to keep the large grocery stores stocked with food. However, she does feel more retailers will begin offering these products in the years ahead. http://www.retaildive.com/news/why-retailers-are-embracing-rooftop-gardens/431606/

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Discounts -- but Strong Holiday Sales Could Come at Cost Santa Claus is coming to town, and marketers, worried the Grinch might waylay him, are offering deals aplenty to encourage

spending. In the weeks leading up to and including the Black Friday shopping weekend, retailers across the board went

deeper with discounts than last year, a strategy expected to intensify as the season continues.

And this year, the season may also feel a little longer: There are four Saturdays this month before Christmas, giving

marketers another opportunity for sales.

"They know people often wait till the last minute," said Traci Gregorski, senior VP-marketing at Chicago-based Market Track,

a promotion advertising and e-commerce tracking firm. "Last year, they were offering discounts on pretty popular items late

in the season, and I anticipate that being the same this year even more."

The National Retail Federation is predicting holiday sales will increase by 3.6%. That rosy picture was reinforced last week

by positive spending over Black Friday and into Cyber Monday, led by e-commerce sales. Roughly 108.5 million consumers

bought electronically over the Thanksgiving period, about 10 million more than those who shopped in brick-and-mortar

stores, according to the NRF. Cyber Monday hit a record $3.45 billion in sales, a 12.1% rise over last year, technology

company Adobe reported.

But after last year, when a warmer-than-expected winter scourged sales, retailers aren't taking any chances. Chains such as

Target and JC Penney released their holiday circulars weeks ahead of time in an effort to spark excitement.

Black Friday circulars just a couple of years ago were "such tightly guarded secrets until the day before," said Ms. Gregorski,

"This year, we saw Black Friday retailers releasing their circulars themselves in advance." She noted that many brands

announced deals via their mobile apps in order to drive adoption and loyalty.

Most of the holiday ad campaigns thus far have been promotional rather than emotional. A recent commercial from Kohl's,

for example, highlights pricing and products. Target has increased its value messaging during the holidays by 20% over last

year.

Because more shoppers this year are opting to purchase online, and often by mobile, retailers are able to make some

discounting adjustments on the fly. Market Track reported more online price fluctuation over Black Friday weekend, as some

retailers reacted to competitors' prices with their own deeper discounts.

"There has been a shift in the comfort level by the customer with mobile purchasing. Shoppers know the same deals are in

the digital channels, and with dynamic, real-time pricing, pricing changes often occur in digital channels first," said Shelley

Kohan, VP of retail consulting at analytics firm RetailNext. "Shoppers can get some of the better deals just by staying home."

Yet so many deals could damage retailers' bottom line. Ms. Kohan noted that average unit retail figures—net sales, after

markdowns, divided by the number of units sold—have already declined 10% this year as a result of retailers resorting to

heavy discounts.

Electronics sellers like Best Buy are expected to emerge victorious as trendy items such as drones, health-tracking devices

and virtual-reality products continue to hold sway with consumers. Toy retailers are also in for a good year with some must-

have items already selling out. With no new popular apparel trend, however, specialty stores and department stores could

be left out in the cold. http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/beginning-a-lot-discounts/307010/

Who's Shopping in Department Stores Now? It's often easy, and a little too superficial if you ask me, to break down consumers into groups like 18-35 or other large

segments. It's much more interesting to find out what are the behaviors of different groups that cause them to act differently.

The world has spent a lot of time studying demographics and it may be that traditional demographic categories are just too

large to be useful and meaningful in some cases. A recent report by Viant, a subsidiary of Time Inc., breaks down in detail

who precisely is shopping in department stores now. In the Viant report, they define Heavy Spenders as the top 40% of

consumers ranked by amount spent in department stores in the last 90 days.

What do Heavy Department Store Spenders Want?

Gifts. Heavy spenders give gifts very often. They are about 30% more likely to be giving a gift at any time than other

consumers. So retailers with gift services and products that are more suitable for gifting are important for them.

Seamlessness. They have a high priority on being able to buy in one channel and return in another, like buying online and

returning instore or vice versa. No doubt that’s related to their high level of gift giving and the desire to make it easy for their

recipient.

Smartphones Accessibility – Heavy Spenders are far more likely to shop on a smartphone.

Who Are They And What Are Their Habits?

Heavy Spenders are highly likely (about 70% likely, in fact) to own a tv with internet connectivity and watch streaming video.

They are also very likely to own a set-top device like Chrome TV, Roku, Apple TV and other products that facilitate

streaming.

Heavy Spenders fall into three main categories:

Digital Introverts – These people like to shop online and they like shop alone. These consumers value integration of stores

and mobile and they are very likely to do online research before making a purchase. They do not live in urban areas and

they are mostly not married. They are more likely to prefer action/adventure entertainment and less likely to prefer drama.

They have a strong preference for integration between the physical store and the online store. They will spend a lot in a

department store but they don’t feel attached to it. Of Digital Introverts, 6% feel an ‘emotional connection’ with a store,

compared to 20% for all other Heavy Spenders.

Convenience Shoppers – Like the name says, they like things easy and they value their time above everything else. They

want parking to be easy and they want short checkout lines -- isn’t it great that some things never change? They are mostly

women and likely to be married. These people are pressed for time and would happily pay a little more to get some time

back in their lives.

Social parents – Remarkably, most of these are men, about 60%. They don’t want to shop alone, they want to shop with

other people and their concerns in shopping are primarily for other family members. They’re not overly price-sensitive, they

have above-average income and most likely live with their children. They don’t watch a lot of traditional TV and the TV in

their home is above average only in how much children’s programming is watched on it.

If department stores can focus more on these consumers, they will enhance their sales per customer by gaining more

dollars from these high-value customers. And just as important, slicing the data this way allows department stores to deal

with the fact that younger consumers are avoiding department stores by cherry-picking those younger consumers who are

Heavy Spenders. But as I wrote in my previous blogs, the question of whether department stores can survive is still open. http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardkestenbaum/2016/12/06/whos-shopping-in-department-stores-now/#213d8a415aea

CBS: Broadcast TV Looking at Flat Ad Gains for 2017

CBS continues to be more optimistic about broadcast TV ad spending next year -- forecasting flat revenues versus 2016.

Other media estimates have projected single-digit percentage declines.

In announcing estimates at the UBS media conference in New York, David Poltrack, chief research officer of CBS, also

lowered his projection for this year, estimating that broadcast TV ad revenue will rise 8% versus a early 9.5% number.

Poltrack says this is because Olympic TV advertising came from existing TV budgets -- not new TV media spending. Taking

out the Olympics and political TV advertising, he now estimates growth of 4% for 2016 versus an early 5% number.

For 2017, other industry estimates -- including those of major media agencies -- project lower 2% to 3% core advertising

gains for TV when leaving out comparative revenue boosts from political and Olympic spending in 2016.

Last year’s strong scatter advertising market has continued, says Poltrack, into this fourth quarter of this year and for the first

quarter of 2017.

Overall, Poltrack is optimistic because of higher gross domestic product and consumer spending data, as well as higher

employment and rising wages.

Another positive sign, he says, is that the bullish TV ad market is still in its early stages -- that much of 2016 gains came in

the second half of the season, along with high Olympics and political TV spending.

While much has been made of pitting digital media versus traditional media like TV, Poltrack says there should be new

definitions because of increasing overlap of these businesses.

For example, “long-form video” on digital media -- consisting virtually of major TV shows coming from big networks -- has

seen a sharp 54% rise in revenues this year, projected to gain another 40% in 2017. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/290379/cbs-broadcast-tv-looking-at-flat-ad-gains-for-

201.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=98638

Simmons Research Names Steve Dennen VP, Head of Partnerships

Simmons Research, a leading cross-channel consumer analytics company, today announced the addition of Steve Dennen

as Vice President and Head of Partnerships. Reporting to President and Chief Research Officer Pat Pellegrini, Dennen will

help Simmons realize its measurement science vision through vertically focused partnerships and the development of cross-

channel applications, including data activation.

Prior to joining Simmons, Mr. Dennen held senior leadership positions on the product management and business

development teams at comScore. Most recently, Dennen led the development and execution of partnerships that integrated

comScore insights into numerous programmatic and ad tech platforms.

"Steve is a great leader with a strong work ethic and experience that lines up well with Simmons' core business," said Pat

Pellegrini, President and Chief Research Officer. "I am confident that his experience and background in establishing

mutually beneficial partnerships will help Simmons fulfill our promise and add increased value to both existing and new

partners."

With over 20 years of experience, Steve Dennen's expertise covers the digital advertising, analytics, ad tech, research, and

software industries. During his 13 years with comScore, Steve brought to market and managed innovative and market-

leading products, and executed and managed partnerships with many leading companies to advance the capabilities and

sales of comScore services. Steve holds an MBA from The University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, and a BA in

Economics from Harvard University.

"I am thrilled to join Pat and the rest of the Simmons team," said Dennen. "Simmons is a well-regarded brand in the media

and consumer research industry, and their measurement science rigor is unmatched. The last several years in digital

marketing have seen a focus on data scale at the expense of data quality. Building on existing capabilities and through new

product development initiatives and strategic partnerships, Simmons will bridge that gap and bring to market solutions in

which brands can utilize marketing data that is both high quality and large scale."

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/simmons-research-names-steve-dennen-vp-head-of-partnerships-

300373501.html

Why the Ad Industry Job Market is Tougher Than Ever for Senior Employees The advertising industry has a diversity problem. That much is no longer in dispute as a growing number of clients either

suggest or insist that their teams employ more women and people of color.

In recent months, however, some have turned to another, arguably more pervasive form of discrimination: ageism.

"I'm a 45-year-old woman with 20 years agency experience who was laid off from my senior media position," read one

response to a recent Adweek blog post on the topic. "I have been unable to secure even an interview, let alone a job, for

four months." Another reader wrote, "This is one of the few industries where wisdom counts for nothing."

"After the [2008] recession, we lost a lot of people in the 40 to 50 range because those were the big salaries that the

agencies could cut," noted 4A's president and CEO Nancy Hill. "And those jobs are not coming back."

A business that perpetually caters to the young has seen its hiring practices shift accordingly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics

found that "advertising, public relations and related services" employed 192,000 Americans over 45 in 2010, and the

average age of an industry professional was 40.7. Five years later, the 45-plus total had risen by only 6,000 while the

median age dropped to 38.8.

"In many instances, these are people who spent their careers working on traditional packaged goods and financial services

[accounts], and they had not been exposed to digital media," Hill said. "If you're in the middle of downsizing … you're going

to [favor] the most current skill sets."

Yet even digital-only agencies with house Spectacles and craft beer taps sometimes find themselves lacking something only

those with fuller portfolios can provide.

"We wouldn't be where we are without the people who had the right experience at pivotal times," said Adam Katzenback of

Carrot Creative. The Vice-owned agency's president continues, "We weren't set up for success on things like procurement

that often require outside resources, because we just hadn't dealt with them before."

Katzenback, in turn, had no real mentors. "One of my first bosses told me, 'There are no retirement parties in advertising; no

one gets that far,'" he recalled. "That has to change within the industry."

One solution for aging creatives involves moving into client-side gigs from which they might eventually advise up-and-

comers on an unstable job market. Hill also speaks of an executive who got laid off during the recession, then accepted a

much lower-paid digital job. "They ended up hiring him full-time at a regular salary," she said. But he had the financial

stability required to handle the initial cut; most lack that luxury.

Where, then, should agencies invest? "Training, training, training," said Hill. "I can't say that enough." Some turn to industry-

wide organizations like the 4A's. Others, like Dentsu's 360i, work internally; 360i University caters to both senior- and entry-

level employees.

"In any discipline, it's hard for a 50-year-old to find a good job," said Richards Group founder Stan Richards, who entered the

business in 1953. "I would have no problems with hiring a 50-plus copywriter knowing that we can turn him into a person

who is comfortable on the digital side within six to eight months."

Richards focuses on recruiting talent early and instilling loyalty. "We hire roughly 40 kids a year straight out of college, and at

any given moment we have somewhere between 35 and 50 interns," he noted. The shop also requires each new employee

to pick an older adviser. "If we do that the way we're supposed to, we're going to keep people a very long time," he said.

Retention will only become more challenging in the years ahead—which could be welcome news for veterans who can

prove their worth but not for those the business deems inessential.

"The saddest thing is thinking you're not needed anymore," opined Katzenback. "There's going to have to be some serious

societal discussion about the declining value of human labor." http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/why-ad-industry-job-market-tougher-ever-senior-employees-174855

The Village Voice Names Stephen Mooallem Editor in Chief Ahead of a Major Brand Relaunch Including The Introduction of a New Editorial Product The Village Voice announced today that Stephen Mooallem has been hired as editor in chief to navigate the editorial vision

for the legacy brand during its first relaunch in its 60-year history. As part of the relaunch, Mooallem will also drive mission

and vision for a new integrated media product, VOICE, which the company plans to release on digital, print and event

platforms in 2017.

The announcement comes as part of a major initiative at The Village Voice, commissioned by President and CEO Peter

Barbey, intended to leverage the influential role that the iconic media brand has played, both politically and culturally, within

the creative communities of New York City.

The company recently engaged renowned design firm, Pentagram, to assist with both the redesign of the regional weekly

plus the new media brand, VOICE. In addition, The Village Voice has engaged digital firm, Postlight, to begin the build out of

a brand new, state-of-the-art website for both editorial products.

"Stephen has the experience and perspective required to connect with our audience and engage new readers, said Mr.

Barbey. "Stephen will be instrumental in guiding The Village Voice into a new phase. He has the strategic vision that we can

build a brand around."

Mooallem joins The Village Voice from the eminent fashion title, Harper's Bazaar, which was nominated for four National

Magazine Awards during his tenure. As executive editor, Mooallem was in charge of top-editing the magazine, overseeing

staff, and creating revenue-generating extensions focused upon art, home, travel and contemporary fashion. Mooallem, who

starts December 29th, will report to President and CEO Peter Barbey.

Prior to Harper's Bazaar, Mooallem served as editor in chief of Interview, where he led the Andy Warhol-founded culture, art,

and fashion magazine to three National Magazine nominations. Interview reached double-digit year-over-year increases in

ad pages and revenue during Mooallem's tenure as editor in chief. Mooallem began his journalistic career at The Village

Voice where he served as a contributor for the national news desk.

The Village Voice also announced that, effective immediately, publisher Suzan Gursoy will add the title of chief operating

officer to her billing on the company masthead. As publisher and chief operating officer, Gursoy will continue to spearhead

business strategy and operations for the company. Gursoy, former publisher of ADWEEK, joined The Village Voice earlier

this year. She has served in pivotal roles for the launches and relaunches of numerous marquis magazine titles throughout

her career. She was also chief executive officer of her own marketing company for over ten years and recently served as

chief strategy officer at the creative agency, Watson & Company.

Over recent months, The Village Voice has surged ahead with editorial improvements in advance of its relaunch next year.

In addition to printing on a new elevated paper stock, the company recently produced its first dedicated Fashion Issue in 60

years plus an inaugural Film Issue tied to a new partnership forged with the New York Film Festival. Most recently, The

Village Voice released an expanded "Best Of NYC®" issue—a staple of New York lifestyle culture—to feature more

categories than ever. Circulation of the iconic weekly has doubled over the past year. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-village-voice-names-stephen-mooallem-editor-in-chief-ahead-of-a-major-

brand-relaunch-including-the-introduction-of-a-new-editorial-product-300373738.html

Poynter's New Class of National Advisory Board Members Includes Prominent National Broadcaster, Pulitzer Winner, News Executives and Academic Thought Leaders The Poynter Institute, the global leader in journalism, announced today the addition of six members to serve on its National

Advisory Board (NAB). The new board members bring a breadth of expertise as media executives, broadcasting leaders,

digital experts and award-winning journalists.

"Each of our new board members brings unique insight and knowledge to the Institute," said Poynter President Tim Franklin.

"They will be invaluable partners for Poynter as we work to elevate journalism and the people it serves."

"These additions to our National Advisory Board enhance Poynter's mission to advance journalism in an age of profound

change," Franklin said. "Poynter will benefit greatly from having their voices and experience on the advisory board."

The newly-named board members, whose terms begin in January 2017, are:

Audrey Cooper, Editor in Chief, San Francisco Chronicle

Audrey Cooper is the editor in chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, the first woman to fill the role in the company's 151-year

history. She is also the youngest woman ever named as the top editor of a major U.S newspaper-based company. Under

her leadership, the Chronicle has emerged as one of the country's most innovative newspaper-based media outlets. Among

other things, she started an in-house incubator project to transform the newsroom into a digitally focused operation that has

successfully forged new storytelling techniques. She has also prioritized investigative journalism. Her newsroom exposed

the numerous safety failures that lead to the 2011 San Bruno gas explosion and continues to uncover new details about the

mismanaged reconstruction of the Bay Bridge. The Chronicle also has been a rare critical voice in exploring the benefits and

costs of the region's most recent tech boom. A native of the Kansas City area, Audrey graduated magna cum laude from

Boston University with separate degrees in journalism and political science.

John Dickerson, Host, Face the Nation, Political Director, CBS News

John Dickerson is the anchor of CBS News' "Face The Nation," the No. 1 Sunday morning public affairs program. He also

serves as political director for CBS News and is a contributor to Slate magazine and its podcast "The Political Gabfest."

Dickerson joined CBS News in April 2009 as an analyst and contributor, providing on-air political analysis and contributing to

CBS News broadcasts across the network. He was named political director in November 2011. He is the author of two long-

form series for Slate. The most recent is on presidential attributes, which won the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished

Reporting on the Presidency. Previously, he wrote an in-depth series of articles about risk in which he profiled musicians,

rock climbers, a Silicon Valley start-up and Commander of United States Central Command James Mattis. Dickerson has

been a reporter in Washington for almost 20 years, covering the White House, Congress and economics. Before joining

Slate in 2005, Dickerson covered politics for 12 years for Time magazine. He has covered presidential campaigns since

1996 and hosts a twice-monthly podcast, "Whistlestop," which chronicles great moments in presidential campaign history. A

native Washingtonian, he graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in English and a

specialty in American Studies. His mother, Nancy Dickerson, was CBS News' first female correspondent. Dickerson is the

author of "On Her Trail," a book about his mother.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/poynters-class-national-advisory-board-members-includes-prominent-150000907.html

Edward Woods Named Vice President of Sales for Digital First Media’s Connecticut Cluster A veteran executive of Digital First Media in New England has been named vice president of sales for the media chain’s

Connecticut cluster of publications.

Edward L. Woods started in his new role Dec. 1. Before taking his new position, Woods was president and publisher of

DFM’s New England newspaper division.

He has held three other executive-level positions for the Denver-based national newspaper chain between 2002 and 2014.

He also worked as advertising director for Gannett’s USA Today Network.

“As an industry, we’ve seen a very rough past few years,” Woods said. “We think this company is a good size now with a

mix of people who are experienced media veterans and a nice influx of young people,”

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Kevin Corrado, president and publisher of the New Haven Register, said Woods “is an energetic and experienced

multimedia sales leader who will be very engaged in helping businesses succeed.”

“He has a tactical and down-in-the-trenches level of sales leadership while also being able to set a higher-level, big-picture

vision and direction of the sales team,” Corrado said.

Woods said the audience of DFM’s Connecticut properties has grown over the last five years.

“The challenge for us has changed over the years and with it, we have needed to change our skills set to stay at the top of

our game,” he said.

DFM’s Connecticut cluster includes the New Haven Register, the Middletown Press and the Torrington Register-Citizen, as

well as Connecticut Magazine, Connecticut Bride and eight weekly newspapers.

DFM, which is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, has more than 800 multi-platform products which include web, mobile,

tablet and print. http://www.nhregister.com/business/20161205/edward-woods-named-vice-president-of-sales-for-digital-first-medias-

connecticut-cluster

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