Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
September 6, 2017

MORE STORES OPENING THAN CLOSING

NEW ANALYSIS FROM IHL GROUP

Labor Day is behind us.Retailers are entering the final trimester of the year with back-to-school all but done and their sales floors already featuring Halloween, Thanksgiving and even Christmas merchandise in some cases.But after eight months of news about store closings, the term “retail apocalypse” has been tossed around freely, incorrectly suggesting the days of bricks-and-mortar retailing are over.

A new report from the IHL Group debunks the belief that physical store retailing is fading.The NationalRetail Federation, commenting on that report, says it sees retailing as an industry in transition, but still growing, a “dynamic, fast-paced, highly competitive industry that is going through a period of rapid change” and the NRF predicts “some businesses will struggle but others will adapt and exciting new businesses will spring up to take the place of those that can’t.”

The actual numbers prove the NRF’s point:IHL’s data show a net increase in store openings of more than 4,000 physical stores this year.In fact, for every company that has closed a store, 2.7 companies have opened new stores.In no retail sector—and that includes “the supposedly beleaguered” department store sector—are more companies closing more stores than other companies are opening stores.In total that adds up to 751 brands increasing their store counts this year while 278 are reducing store counts.On a percentage basis, 42 percent of retail brands are opening stores, 43 percent are holding steady and only 15% of store chains are showing a net decrease in store counts.

Restaurants are included in analysis and are a strong part of the net increase, but “core retail segments” still make up a net gain of 1,326 stores during the year.Including restaurants, chains are opening a net of 14,239 stores and closing 10,123 stores.While specialty apparel retailers are seeing the largest number of closings (a net loss of more than 3,000 stores), even in that segment more chains are opening stores than closing stores.The report also notes that just 16 chains account for 48.5% of the total number of stores closing and just five of them (RadioShack, Payless ShoeSource, Rue21, Ascena Retail and Sears Holdings) account for 28.1% of all closings.

“The negative narrative that has been out there about the death of retail is patently false,” Greg Buzek, president of the IHL Group commented.“The so-called ‘retail apocalypse’ makes for a great headline, but it’s simply not true. Over 4000 more stores are opening than closing among big chains, and when smaller retailers are included, the net gain is well over 10,000 new stores.”

ADVERTISER NEWS

Remember those hundreds of thousands of Volkswagens that were bought back from customers after the emissions scandal?They’ve currently being repaired and the company is awaiting approval to re-sell the vehicles.VW is now telling its 652 U.S. dealers they will have “right of first refusal” to buy back the vehicles that had been returned through their dealerships.VW North America boss Hinrich Woebcken said “There is, of course, a community of customers who would like to take a look at these cars, once they fulfill the regulations, and that’s why we are pretty optimistic that we will have a successful remarketing of those cars”……Group 1 reported on the impact of Hurricane Harvey on its Texas operations, which make up a big part of that company’s footprint, with almost 3000 employees in the Houston and Beaumont areas.Stores in both markets reopened late last week, and the company says over 98% of the available inventory of about 15,000 vehicles in the two markets were preserved.Still it warns shareholders third quarter results will be impacted……In a related note, USA Today reports rental car agencies are rushing more vehicles to Houston, even as some of them suffered losses from their own fleets there.Enterprise Holdings, parent of Alamo, Enterprise and National, has sent about 4,000 vehicles there and plans to move in another 17,000 in the next few weeks……We’re entering the enrollment period where there can be a lot of advertising from health-care providers, and this year could be particularly important.The Associated Press reports millions of people who buy individual health insurance policies and do not get help from the Affordable Care Act are now expecting another year of double-digit premium increases.It’s estimated that about 17.6 million people buy individual health insurance policies with half of them getting no subsidies under the law……7-Eleven is starting its first national sports sponsorship, becoming the official convenience store of the Ultimate FightingChampionship.The c-store chain noted it had done some smaller, regional partnerships in the past but nothing on a national scale such as the new agreement……Supermarket News reports those former Marsh stores in the Midwest that had been taken over by Generative Growth LLC will be rebranded as Needler’s Fresh Markets.The banner change, which includes updates to both the interior and exterior of the stores, should be completed by the end of next month, although advertising for the stores is expected to break as early as next week.Generative Growth had bought fifteen Marsh stores for $8 million in June when Marsh filed for Chapter 11 protection.

NETWORK NEWS

Yahoo News and ABC News veteran Brianna Golodryga has joined CBS News as a New York-based correspondent. Golodryga will also serve as a contributor to CNN. Recently, she has appeared on MSNBC’s11th Hour with Brian Williams and has been a contributor to MSNBC’s Morning Joe and the Huffington Post. She started reporting for CBS from Houston, where she is covering the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey……The nominees for the 2017 Country Music AssociationAwards were announced on Monday. Leading the list with five nominations each are KeithUrban and Miranda Lambert. The pair will compete in three categories: music video of the year, single of the year and song of the year. Little Big Town is nominated in four categories. The 51st Annual CMA Awards ceremony will be broadcast from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 8th at 8 PM (ET) on ABC……The rescue dog known as Lucky theTurfMutt, along with the Kris Kiser, the president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, will appear on the Emmy award-winning Lucky Dog television show on CBS. The duo will be on the fourth season of the show, which airs on Saturday mornings as part of the CBS Dream Team, the network’s block of programming produced by Litton Entertainment. The new shows for Lucky Dog will air in 2018……ABC and Marvel Television’s new drama series Inhumans didn’t get off to a good start with the exclusive Imax theatrical run over the Labor Day weekend. The showing in 676 theaters around the globe grossed only $2.6 million. That included only $1.5 million for 393 theaters in the U.S. The theatrical release was a promotional move for the show that will debut on ABC on Friday, September 29th……TVLine.com reports that Broadway star Michael Cerveris, whose TV credits include Fringe and The Good Wife, has been cast as DC Comics bad guy Professor Pyg for season four of Gotham on FOX. Gotham returns September 21, now airing Thursdays at 8 PM (ET), leading into the freshman dramaThe Orville.

COMPETITIVE INFO

The Tronc newspaper chain has achieved a trifecta of the nation’s largest markets, adding the New York Daily News to its current ownership of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. According to the Chicago Tribune, its parent company paid $1 for the New York tabloid, but had to assume considerable operational and pension liabilities. Seller Mort Zuckerman also had to throw in a 49.9% stake in the 25-acres of real estate where the printing plant is located to get Tronc to take the newspaper off his hands.

HARVEY TELETHON SET FOR NEXT TUESDAY

We’ve been hearing how large television companies and individual stations alike have been raising money for relief to the areas hit by Hurricane Harvey. Now the entire industry is coming together for a one-hour nationwide telethon—Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief.The special program will air Tuesday,September 12 on the big four broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC—and on cable on CMT. The telethon will air live on the East Coast at 8PM (ET) and replay at 8PM (PT) for the West Coast. The show will also beavailable internationally vialivestreamon Facebook, YouTube and Twitterduring the live broadcast.

Houston native rapper Bun Bhasteamedup withSB Projects founderScooter Braun toorganize the telethon.Hand in Hand will be based inLos Angeleswith stages inNew York,Nashvilleand a special performance by Country Music icon andTexasnativeGeorge Straitfrom hisSan Antoniobenefit concert.The broadcast will feature appearances, performances, taped tributes and messages from someof the nation's biggest stars includingGeorge Clooney,Jamie Foxx,Karlie Kloss, Beyoncé,Matt Lauer,Rob Lowe,Matthew McConaughey,Norah O'Donnell,Dennis Quaid,Julia Roberts,Kelly Rowland, Adam Sandler,Ryan Seacrest,Michael Strahan,Blake Shelton, Strait, Barbra Streisand,Oprah WinfreyandReese Witherspoonwith more to be announced.

BUSINESS BYTES

It’s not often the CEO of a major corporation freely admits his company has made mistakes—but perhaps it helps if his last name is the same as the company’s name.Reporting on declining sales of key brands such as Folger’s and Crisco, Mark Smucker says his company needs to more quickly overhaul those and other older brands to appeal to consumers who are now looking for products they perceive as more healthy or sustainably produced.The Wall Street Journal reports Smucker also noted “We must focus on larger, more significant platform innovations on some of our key and larger iconic brands.” And while Smucker and other companies are introducing new brands, Smucker said promoting new brands won’t help much if demand for legacy products does not improve.With plenty of other food manufacturers such as Hormel, Mondelez, Conagra, Campbell and others also reporting lethargic results, and retailers pushing for lower and lower prices to stave off online and deep-discount competition, one analyst told the Journal Smucker’s results reinforce “just how hard it is for big food companies to sustain momentum in a hostile retailer and competitive environment.”

While some automakers are rushing into electric vehicles (Volvo, for one has said all new models launched from 2019 on will be fully electric or hybrids), the Chairman of Toyota says there will not be a “rapid shift” to the new technology.Speaking to CNBC, Takeshi Uchiyamada said two or three more “breakthroughs” are needed before cars can be fully-powered by batteries and current batteries take a considerable amount of time to charge.He added “I must say up front we’re not against electric vehicles…but we’re skeptical there would be a rapid shift to pure electric vehicles given questions over user convenience.”

ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING ACCELERATING

While it’s still small—only 1% of consumers use digital exclusively for food shopping according to a recent Field Agent report—there’s little question that online shopping is growing to become a larger factor in the segment.A new report called the Grocery E-commerce Supermarket Scorecard Report says that the average number of online transactions per store for those that offer the option is up almost 20% from last year and total online sales at those stores are growing at more than 25%.The length of time a store has been offering the option appears to be a significant factor:online grocery purchases average 3.4% of total store sales for all supers that offer the service, but for those that have had the option for at least four years, online accounts for 5.2% of total store sales.According to Brick MeetsClick research, the average size of supermarket online transactions is now $148 (up more than 5% in a year), showing that customers are comfortable buying a broad range of products online.

ACCOUNT ACTIONS

TheHershey Companyhas trimmed its U.S. agency roster down to two agencies, including Anomaly and CP+P, both part of MDC Partners. The report by MediaPost says the company confirmed that Havas Group’s Arnold will be leaving the roster at the end of the year……Independent TDA Boulder has been selected as the first-ever AOR for Justin’s, the specialty nut butter and “nut better” snacks maker which was acquired by Hormel Foods last year.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Orders for factory good plunged 3.3% in August—the biggest drop reported by the Commerce Department since August 2014. Most of that was due to a drop in demand for transportation equipment. Absent that, orders for other goods were up 0.5%...... Lego is cutting staff after reporting its first drop in sales in more than a decade. The toymaker is eliminating 1,400 jobs—about 8% of its global workforce……The Conference Board’semployment trends index rose to 134.62 in August from its revised July reading of 133.60. The August figure represents a 5.6% increase from a year ago. That suggests solid job growth in the months ahead.
AVAILS

KELO-TV, the dominant CBS affiliate serving South Dakota, Southwest Minnesota, and Northwest Iowa, seeks a General Sales Manager. The ideal candidate is a strong leader with successful broadcast sales management experience, not just in TV sales, but with digital platforms as well. The GSM will ensure goal achievement through planning, setting systems for success, arranging appropriate training and accountability for team members to generate positive results. Minimum of 5 years’ experience in broadcast television sales management preferred. Qualified applicants can APPLY ONLINE.EOE M/F/D/V ~ Background screen required.

Are you a leader with a hallmark of success in building high performance teams, inspiring and energizing others to perform at their highest level, all while achieving outstanding revenue and ratings development and increased bottom line profitability?Nexstar Broadcasting seeks an experienced General Manager with a long history of success to lead its television and digital operations in Tampa, FL (DMA #11), legacy NBC affiliate, WFLA-TV and a full power MyNet, WTTA-TV as well as one of the highest trafficked sites in Florida WLFA.com. More details HERE.If qualified, send info to: . No calls please. EOE.

CW 18, Hearst Television’s CW affiliate in Orlando, Florida is seeking a Local Account Executive.Orlando is the land of year-round sunshine, beaches, theme parks and no state income tax.If you are ready to Manage and grow an active account list and take your career to the next level while working and living in an incredible environment, then contact me today - Samantha Johnson, Local Sales Manager at r CLICK HERE to apply online.EOE.

WTTG/WDCA in Washington, DC is looking for a highly motivated sales professional to join our team. The AE will work directly with ad agencies and clients to increase station revenue and shares through growing core business; sales of sports and specials, internet and new business development; achieve budgeted goals, maximizing revenue and share performance for the station and create multi-platform packages, group presentations, negotiate and close business. CLICK HERE for info or to apply, reference position Number 7309 and 7314. EOE.

KOIN 6, a Nexstar Media Group Inc. television station in Portland, Oregon, is looking to hire a full time Integrated Digital Specialist (IDS). As a member of the Nexstar digital sales team, the Integrated Digital Specialist (IDS) is responsible for generating and growing digital marketing service revenue for the company. The IDS will be the market’s subject matter expert on digital services and will work, both independently and in conjunction with the Nexstar sales team.Get more details or apply HERE.EOE.

There's a new beer coming out that contains marijuana. Unfortunately, the inventor cannot for the life of him remember how he made it.

--Conan O’Brien

I just invested in an eclipse sunglass company. Does anyone know when the next one is?

--Ellen DeGeneres

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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
September 6, 2017

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