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March
12, 2002
Paul
St. Martin's Passing Leaves Legacy Of Goodwill
One
of the commercial barter industry's real do-er's, Paul St. Martin was
President of the Allan R. Hackel Organization, Past-President of IRTA's
Corporate Barter Council, and served multiple terms on IRTA's Board
of Directors as treasurer.
On Wednesday, March
6, Paul had finished his morning run and at 7:30 a.m. he collapsed and
died. He was 46 years old and leaves behind his wife of 23 years, Cathy,
and three children.
Paul St. Martin
was both a gentleman and a delight to be around. He was well-respected
by his peers for his ethics, intellectual acuity, and unusual ability
to sincerely communicate with everyone.
He was a wonderful
ambassador for the commercial barter industry. Honest, hardworking,
and open-minded, his perpetual smile and upbeat "can-do" attitude
will be missed by us all.
Small
Business Taking Greater Role In Marketplace
Our
economy has been shifting to services, which is why the small business
share of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is growing...now 52%
of the economy!
Small businesses
account for 68 percent of services, 65 percent of wholesale and retail,
but just 27 percent of mining and manufacturing. It's now clear that
the health of small business is a driving force in our economy.
ITEX
Continues Restructuring Effort
ITEX
has announced the operating results for its second fiscal quarter ending
January 31, 2002. The company reported a net loss of $155,000 compared
to a net loss of $842,000 for the same period last year.
Earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were $28,000 versus
a loss of $408,000 for same period last year. Wages and salaries decreased
$370,000, or 38%, from first fiscal quarter...a projected annual savings
of $1,400,000.
Net profits were
increased by $283,000 due to the sale of corporate regional offices
to ITEX Independent Brokers; the promissory note to Network Commerce
for the purchase of Ubarter.com Canada was paid off; settlement agreements
were reached in several significant litigation matters; and ten new
ITEX brokers were recruited and trained, bringing the total number of
brokers in the U.S. and Canada to 88.
- What's the
most addictive online destination? According to Nielsen//NetRatings
that distinction goes to finance and investment web sites. Their report
indicates financial web sites outscore every other category in depth
of usage...including the popular search engines, portals, and online
communities.
Patrick Thomas,
senior Internet analyst at NetRatings, says, "we are seeing
the true adoption of the Internet as a resource consumers turn to
in order to move money and monitor their financial holdings."
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The Cato Institute,
a public policy research foundation dedicated to broadening policy
debate, says President Bush's corporate accountability plan is well-intentioned,
but misses the mark.
"Rather
than setting up a new oversight body for the accounting profession,
a better idea would be to eliminate SEC auditing requirements that
suppress innovations in information disclosure and give auditing
firms a captive market."
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Motient Corporation,
owner and operator of the nation's largest wireless data network,
announced that Jennifer Kearney has been named "Top Exhibit
and Event Manager for 2001" by Exhibitor magazine.
Kearney was
recognized for navigating Motient's trade show program through a
reduced budget, eliminated advertising, and a full schedule. She
did so through inventive means, by bartering Motient's products
for banners, logo-emblazoned kiosks, and show directory advertisements
from trade show management. Thus saving the company $300,000 in
trade show fees while successfully promoting its services to exhibitors,
visitors, and show management.
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Bradley Schiller,
professor of economics at American University's School of Public
Affairs says outsourcing and weak labor unions are the reason for
the mild recession we've experienced.
Schiller contends
the decline in unionism, falling from over 20% in 1980 to less than
14% today (in the private sector it's less than 9%), has kept a
lid on wages and reduced structural rigidities in the workplace
that inhibit productivity advance.
With the decline
of unionism, outsourcing has accelerated which allows faster retrenchment
in response to declining sales. Outsourcing also provides a mechanism
for ramping-up production when sales rebound.
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The recession
may turn out to be the mildest in U.S. history, with analysts saying
the recession ended either in January or February. The recent downturn
has been most unusual because consumer spending on big-ticket items
(houses and autos) remained strong. Normally they are hit hard in
a recession.
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NATE (the National
Association of Trade Exchanges) wants to remind the industry of
their upcoming convention slated for May 15 in New Orleans. They
have extended the window of opportunity for obtaining a discount,
through April 15. For more info see their web site at www.nate.org.
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Although blue
chip advertisers are uncomfortable with the current national trend
of "low-rent" advertising, the marketplace is embracing
them...due to the advertising slowdown. As a result we're seeing
ads on national TV for hair clubs, credit-counseling services, teeth
whiteners, and flab-fighting belts!
Most of the
new advertisers are direct-response oriented, working out low prices
on a space-available basis with the TV outlets by suggesting, "the
tape is on the shelf; run it (the ad) anytime you have open slots."
When will a
turnaround in advertising take place? CEO Martin Sorrell of WPP
Group, one of the world's largest ad agencies, says 2002 will be
a difficult year, with any recovery being gradual and toward the
end of the year. He also believes conditions may only be "slightly
better" in 2003.
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Now, more than
ever, promoting barter will pay off. Trade exchange owners looking
for a proven way to motivate their client base and stimulate
more trading activity can obtain a copy of the 16-year-old, proven,
informational marketing tool: The Competitive Edge newsletter.
The Competitive
Edge is designed to be mailed to clients and prospects because research
among the exchange owners shows that only a third of their members
receive e-mail. Now available in PDF (Acrobat) format.
E-mail
bmeyer@barternews.com for a sample copy and details. (Be sure
to include your complete mailing address and phone number.
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