ITEX
Corporation Acquires Certain Assets Of Cleveland-Based ATX
ITEX
Corporation (OTCBB:ITEX) has entered into an agreement to acquire
certain assets of 26 year industry leader, ATX of Cleveland, Ohio.
The all cash transaction will close Friday, February 1, with the 400
member client list and assets transferred to the ITEX office in
Solon...20 miles from Cleveland.
ATX was founded
in 1982 by Tom McDowell, who is also the founder, three term
President and the Executive Director of the National Association of
Trade Exchanges (NATE). This acquisition establishes ITEX as the
dominate trading community in the Cleveland area market, with more
than 700 local members, able to trade with 24,000 other ITEX
business members throughout the United States and Canada.
�This
transaction hits the sweet spot for us, as there is minimal
integration and overhead to deal with,� said ITEX Chairman and CEO
Steven White. �With this acquisition, we will add one local customer
service representative to our existing staff of three, to manage the
increased member base. Being able to operate a local exchange of
this size without adding additional overhead will be immediately
accretive to revenue and cash flow.�
Tom McDowell,
President of ATX (The Barter Company) explained, �Selling something
you�ve built for 26 years is never easy. However, knowing Steve and
the kind of person he is, the way he takes care of his people and
his customers, has really helped to make this decision easier for
me.
�I really got
to know Steve about ten years ago when he was president of NATE;
today the barter industry is better and stronger because of him. I
know that my clients, who have taken care of me for the last 26
years, will be well taken care of by Steve and his staff.�
Terms of the
transaction:
�
All cash, payable in
full on February 1, 2008. Financial details not disclosed.
�
Accounts receivable.
�
ITEX will utilize
existing cash to fund the purchase.
The acquired assets include the following:
�
400+ member accounts.
�
Contracts between ATX,
The Barter Company, and specified clients including the client
relationships.
�
Historical
transactional data and associated accounts.
�
The
www.atx-barter.com web site.
For more
information go to
www.itex.com.
The First TV Network Created For Multicast
Broadcast
veteran, Victor Ives, loves seeing those notices almost every TV
station is running that explain how the government-mandated move in
2009 from analogue to digital will change the face of television.
Why? Because it makes it a lot easier to explain the need for his
new Multicast Classic Movie Television Network.
�Now in our
second year, we were the very first television network set up
primarily to provide programming to the new class of �multicast�
stations being created by the FCC mandated migration of all TV
stations from analog to digital,� he explains. �Up until now, people
were incredulous that the government was, in effect, going to
increase the number of TV stations by 400 to 500 percent!�
In addition to
blanket satellite coverage of Canada, the USA and Mexico, the White
Springs channel is now seen 24/7 in twenty Asian nations including
China, Hong Kong and the Philippines. �In Asia there are millions of
people who can pick up our programming from space,� Ives disclosed.
�Technically, these receivers are illegal in China, but they�re so
prevalent that government officials go out of their way for photo
opportunities with the personalities on channels seen there.�
White Springs
TV, which is owned by a group of Portland investors, provides
programming, via satellite, to individual viewers who own small
dishes and KU Band digital receivers as well as to television
stations and cable systems. White Springs TV is operated by White
Springs Media, a privately held company.
The streaming
is catching on where it might be least expected. The network got an
e-mail from a doctor in Iran asking for more American cowboy movies.
�That would have pleased my former mentor and employer, Gene Autry,
the movie cowboy,� said Ives.
A big break
recently occurred for the fledging network when Comcast Cable NW
started airing some of their made-for-television movies and scored
impressive ratings. The 1974 comedy, �Thursday's Game� with Bob
Newhart and Gene Wilder, beat 17 other channels including A&E,
Bravo, and FOX News; tying USA�s �Law & Order� and MTV.
Ives says that
was the turning point. It gave WSTV credibility and placed them on
the radar of prospective affiliates and media partners. �Absent
that successful stint on Comcast, we wouldn�t have an affiliate in
Los Angeles or so much interest across America and beyond,� Ives
admitted.
ITEX Moves To Expand Franchise
Network, Membership Base
ITEX Corporation (OTCBB:ITEX) has announced the
retainer of two top Chicago marketing firms � The Goodness Company
and Sigale Public Relations � to provide professional assistance to
its franchisees in the rapidly expanding Chicago region by promoting
member registrations.
The Goodness Company will begin by creating
instrumental PR tools such as a Tool Kit and Press Kit. It will also
direct a monthly franchisee conference call, in addition to
developing tips on how to help franchisees secure optimal publicity
for their businesses.
Sigale Public Relations will focus its efforts
on attracting new franchisees throughout the United States, adding
to the existing 95 ITEX locations, and helping 24,000 local
businesses.
�Retaining the professional services of two top
Chicago Marketing firms, Sigale Public Relations and The Goodness
Company provides a tremendous boost to our franchisees to assist
them in gaining a higher level of press coverage in order to build
more local awareness and future business relationships. We look
forward to opportunities to gain exposure and explain why our
trading community provides added value for small businesses,� said
ITEX Chairman/CEO Steven White.
�Both Chicago marketing firms are accepting
ITEX dollars for the term of their engagement. And each understands
the benefits of attracting a new customer in ITEX, thus
participating in the camaraderie of a small business trading
community and utilizing the ITEX dollars earned for a large variety
of goods and services from savvy entrepreneurs like themselves.�
Consumers Prefer Inserts Over TV For Product Info
In its latest
Consumer Focus study Vertis Communications, a Baltimore-based
company, found that people are less reliant upon television to spur
their purchasing decisions and instead are looking toward
(newspaper) inserts�as well as online promotions�to help make up
their minds.
According to
the most recent survey of 3,000 American adults�the company�s 10th
annual�only 22% listed television as the main influence in making
their purchasing decisions, down from 30% in 1998. Conversely, those
who cited inserts rose a similar amount, from 19% ten years ago to
27% now.
Not
surprisingly, the Internet is also growing as a decision driver. Ten
years ago, Vertis didn�t even ask about it in a consumer�s
decision-making process. And when Vertis first posed the medium
eight years ago, only 11% cited the Internet as a decision driver.
This year, 26% said it was a key driver, as the convenience and ease
with which people can get information means it will only continue to
grow.
The increased
availability of information has also led to a more informed consumer
when it comes to making purchases. According to the survey, only 17%
of adults said they entered a store without having conducted prior
research last year, compared to 31% in 2004 (when the question was
first asked). Approximately 57% of consumers said they used
advertising inserts as a research tool, 50% cited the Internet and
38% used catalogs, according to the survey.
Over the 10
years of the Consumer Focus survey, Vertis has also tracked certain
consumer behaviors. For instance, young adults are participating
less in team sports than they were 10 years ago. They�re also
choosing to stay in, rather than go out. According to the survey,
only 3% of young adults said they were more likely to go out to a
movie than stay in. In 1998, 13% said they were likely to go to a
movie.
The survey also
noted that single women are becoming a more influential category
versus 10 years ago. In 1998, only 69% of women between 18 and 24
were involved in home electronics purchases. By 2008, that number
has grown to 91%, in part driven by the prevalence of personal
electronics such as cell phones and computers.
Over the past
10 years, the number of women 25-34 who were single or living with a
significant other (as opposed to being married, divorced or widowed)
increased 8% to 38%, according to the survey. And they are more
educated: the percentage of women who had an undergraduate or
graduate degree increased, from 28% to 41%, over those 10 years.
Consumers are
much more socially aware than they were 10 years ago, and are making
decisions based on that awareness. Nowadays, people are much more
environmentally focused or concerned about social fairness.
Consumers are
also more open to change, whether it�s in the form of political
action or personal preference, he says. Right now is the perfect
time for new things, whether it�s new products or new leadership.
We�re also seeing a younger attitude in the country, so we�re
talking about adopting messaging that�s fresh and innovative and
captures a new attitude.
Corporate Barter Company ICON International, Great Employer
ICON
International, a specialty finance company engaged in corporate
barter, was selected as one of the top �25 Best places to work� in
Connecticut for 2008.
The complete
list and specific rankings will be unveiled at a special awards
ceremony on March 25, and will be published in the March 31 issue of
the Hartford Business Journal.
�This is a
significant accomplishment; one that we have strived to attain,�
says Richard Upton, senior vice president of Human Resources at ICON
International. �We have a cohesive organization of talented and
dynamic people. Together we have achieved a positive work
environment that not only focuses on profitability but employee
satisfaction.�
The firm
competed against many other companies statewide for the position.
The �Best Companies to Work For� in Connecticut are selected based
on a stringent employee survey process conducted by a third party.
ICON scored
high marks in all categories: (1) organization as a whole, (2)
individual employee opinion, and (3) team infrastructure. Employees
expressed their gratification with the company�s strong leadership,
compensation and benefits, support for work-life balance,
communication practices, corporate citizenship, and additional
perks.
A subsidiary of
Omnicom Group, ICON is a strategic holding company that manages a
portfolio of global market leaders. Omnicom�s companies operate in
the disciplines of advertising, marketing services, specialty
communications, interactive/digital media, and media buying
services.
For more
information call (203) 328-2300, e-mail
info@icon-intl.com, or see
www.icon-intl.com.
Hotel
General Managers
Work With Audio/Visual
Vendor On Barter
Collect cash, as usual, from the guest accounts staying at
your facility that require the use of professional AV
services. And rather than shouldering your ongoing employee
costs, or your current vendor�s cash agreement for AV
services, here�s a much better alternative:
Work with a proven national vendor (a sterling 25-year track
record) who will provide all of the AV services for your
hotel on a 100% TRADE BASIS! (Payment to be in the form of
trade dollars.)
Your hotel�s annual AV billings must be a minimum of
$200,000, and this offer is available only in the
continental United States.
For a confidential introduction contact Bob Meyer via
e-mail:
bmeyer@barternews.com.
Attention Trade Exchange Owners:
If your member hotel(s) have a minimum of 10,000 sq. feet of
meeting space and annual billings of at least $200,000 for
AV services this is a great opportunity to earn substantial
cash service fees on the hundreds of thousands of trade
dollars your hotel member will be paying the vendor. Contact
Bob Meyer at the above e-mail. |
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The Growth and Use of Secondary Capital (New Money) Creates
Unprecedented Wealth In Today�s New Age Of Possibility
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www.barternews.com/secondary_capital.htm.
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