Annual COPA Golf Tournament - The Social Event of the Season

Well another June and another just completed Canadian Office Product Association (COPA) Golf tournament. 156 Golfers, representing approximately 50 companies participated at the prestigious Lion Head Golf and Country Club in Brampton, Ontario.

This is always a fun day. A chance to renew long-standing friendships and introduce yourself to new colleagues. I always look forward to this day. While I am not much of a Golfer and play infrequently - this, in my opinion, is the best day of the year for our industry.

My 4-some consisted of Dave MacMillan of Genuine Supply Source, Dan Cookney of Guild Stationers and Kirk Austen of Frid & Russell (L to R). While we were far behind the winning 4-some, Kirk did manage to win the "closest to the pin" competition with a beauty shot that landed about a foot from the hole at #15 on the Masters course.

 

 

My highlight? Well this looks better than the result.........another one for the squirrels.

I have always thought that COPA should consider holding similar tournaments in other parts of Canada -  perhaps Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax would be good choices?

If you missed the tourney - you really should consider joining this event for next year. Get in touch with COPA and ask them how you can participate?

Speaking of COPA - is your firm a member? COPA diligently serves our industry with a number of excellent programs that can help save your company money while providing you with valuable industry data and networking opportunities. Here are just a few of the services that they provide:

• COPA Monthly White Papers: Business Reports on the state of the industry
• COPA Product Guide: Sourcing Information for dealers and vendors
• Exclusive Corporate Savings
• Courier programs
• Group Health and Dental plans
• Cell Phone plans
• LTL Freight programs
• POS Solutions
• Human Resource solutions
• Fleet & Gas cards
• Conference & Webinar services
• EDI solutions
• Health & Safety programs
• Employee Savings programs
• Esso Gas card
• CAA Discounts
• Hotel and Travel Accommodation programs
• COPA Awards program - recognizing OP industry leaders
• COPA Scholarship program - providing industry bursaries for tomorrow's leaders
• Networking Program
• COPA Breakfast Speaker program
• Total Office Trade show
• Annual Stars Gala & Silent Auction
• Annual Golf Tournament

Myself? I have always taken advantage of the COPA networking opportunities. They have been a great venue for me to expand my industry knowledge and contact base. I have never left an event without a new idea or a new contact. If you don't participate in these events, you really are letting opportunities pass you by.

For more info on COPA - contact Sam Moncada at smoncada@copa.ca

Summer Trends in the Arts & Craft Industry

Want to know what's hot and what's not? Go to this link provided by the Craft & Hobby Association to learn the latest trends.

http://www.slideshare.net/whimseybox/diy-craft-trend-report-summer-2014-whimseybox-inc

Designs:
 Fruits = Hot
 Rhinestones & Glitter = Not

Colour:
 Pastels = Hot
 Neons = Not

Techniques:
 Weaving = Hot
 Letterpress = Not

Project Types:
 Pennants & Banners = Hot
 String Art = Not

Supply Trends for the Dealer:
Fast paced consumers want products for projects that they can complete in under an hour.

The perfect product for the consumer who wants to produce a quick and beautiful Art project are the Tombow Dual-Brush markers. Water based, double ended, blendable markers that are available in 96 colours. One end is a brush stroke, the other is a fine tip. Beautiful, vivid art projects by the brush of a pen. Available in open stock or 7 ten-pack family sets.

Here is a quick demo on Tombow Dual Brush Markers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33U0YUSBLxs

To watch a consumer review on the Tombow markers, check out this video from a Curry's (a large Ontario based Fine Art chain) consumer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW_AHVJYiGk

SP Richards ABC Show in Nashville, Tennessee

Just got back from the SP Richards, Advantage Business Conference (ABC) in Nashville, Tennessee. I was there representing Tombow Canada and I am pleased to report that a good number of Canadians were at the show and visited Tombow's booth. I met with dealers from every region of the country. SP reports to me that they had over 40 Canadian attendees at this show.

This was the first time I have ever attended this show and it was a real eye-opener for me. SP does a first class job - with great events, informative speakers and an incredible setting. The Opryland hotel was a marvel to behold and features the worlds largest atrium in one of America's largest hotels. The show portion was packed with dealers from across North America and all the main vendors - and some exhibitors that are unfamiliar in our market. If you are looking for information on what is going on in our industry - this was the place to be. If you haven't been in the past, I suggest you go in the future. I am looking forward to next year's show.

 

 

Time to talk Ink and Toner

Ink and Toner is a business that I have been involved in for over 25 years. There is lots of available information and misinformation regarding this topic. Has been for years - so what do you need to know to run an effective Ink and Toner program?

#1 priority is knowing what your customer needs. Your customer needs a cartridge and they need it now (or probably yesterday). Priority for every dealer is to have a trained staff that can easily figure out what cartridge their customer needs, quickly and efficiently. For a great, easy to use, cross reference resource - go to the Genuine Supply Source webstore and apply today for an access account. GSS will give you login credentials and a password to their user-friendly cartridge search engine:

http://store.genuinesupply.ca/landing.asp?autopage=/Default.asp

The default for most dealers is the OEM - or original equipment cartridge. What could be simpler than just getting the exact same cartridge for the printer that the user is using? Hassle free with a good probability that it will work and that you won't have any problems. Most sales people don't like problems - so they steer their customers in this direction.
Just one problem - are you making any money with this solution? Most dealers are in the business of turning a profit - not just shipping boxes. Have you checked your average GP on your sale of OEM cartridges? What does that look like?

What would your bottom line look like if you could guide your customer in another direction? Say a compatible or remanufactured solution, such as Fuzion brand cartridges from Genuine Supply Source? A product where the price difference is as much as 40% less in price - allowing you to save your customer $$$ but earn you more profits. Dollars to Donuts - I think your bottom line would look a whole lot better is my guess.

 What types of cartridges are available for your customer:

So why don't more dealers go in this direction? Fear and lack of knowledge!

Fear - that somehow they will lose customers if they sell their customer a product that does not work or breaks the customers equipment. Truth is that the success rate on alternative cartridges is very high and the chances of a cartridge damaging a printer is very slim. In my 25 years in the cartridge business, and after tens of millions of dollars in sales - I can count on one hand the number of complaints that I had regarding a cartridge damaging a printer. In most cases, if there is a problem, just replace the cartridge. As for Fuzion cartridges - GSS has a 100% guaranteed customer satisfaction for every cartridge.

Lack of knowledge - many sales people and customer service staff are not properly trained in the cartridge business and thus fall back on the "default" OEM every time. After 25 years, I have a number of strategies that can help you overcome these barriers to increased, profitable cartridge sales.

So what does the market for cartridges look like and who are the major players:

 Worldwide, the imaging supply market is worth $8 billion dollars with the alternative market making up 23% of those sales. What % of your sales are divided between OEM and Alternative brands?

If you are not getting market share on both the OEM and the Alternative cartridge market - then you are leaving $$$ on the table. And after all, we are all in business to turn a profit.

For more information on Genuine Supply Source, Fuzion cartridges and the Ink & Toner market, feel free to contact John Fullerton Sales - I am happy to assist you in implementing an Ink & Toner program that will help you make money - not just ship boxes.

LED Lighting - the Facts

Power consumption does not equal more Light.

LED is the most efficient lighting source now available to consumers. A brand new LED desk light can be powered by as little as 3 watts of power and give you a warm, bright light for your office surface. However, when choosing an LED light, do not use wattage as your barometer for making your choice. You might think that the higher the wattage means the greater the light. That might be true for traditional "incandescent bulbs" but for LED lighting it is not the case. We all know the difference between a 60W, a 100W and a 200W incandescent bulb. LED lights are powered by chips and use so little wattage that to measure by this traditional method is irrelevant.

With LED lighting - the key measure for evaluating brightness is LUMENS, not wattage. The higher the Lumen number, the brighter the light. LED lighting is powered by "chips" and the quality of the chips being used will have direct effect on the Lumen output. The lenses used on top of the LED chips also play a big part in the light output. Therefore, more Watts does not mean more Light for LED.

So when you are looking into Lighting solutions for your office or desk - get the Lumen number, it's the 21st century method for evaluating light. The higher the number, the brighter the light.

The Future is LED:

• Emerging as mainstream option for Office lighting
• Lighting levels are now to the point where they are as bright as traditional methods of lighting
• Costs for LED are declining, meaning it is becoming more economical for consumers to make the switch
• The use of overall energy to power an LED light can be as much 90% less than traditional sources - meaning a lower cost on the monthly energy bills
• LED lights produce no Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, so therefore a healthier environment for all

Has your dealership looked into opportunities for growth in the Lighting field? Energy costs and employee health are big issues for your customers. What are you doing to help and educate your customers in these areas? LED lighting is a growing category and an opportunity for smart dealers and sales people.

For more information on LED Lighting, contact Vision Global Media.

 

• The Triton, 8 Watts of Power but 380 Lumens of Light, plus 2 USB ports for charging up your portable phone - just one of the many styles of Desk Lamps available from Vision Global Media.