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Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Good morning,
Here are the top stories appearing today on www.dmnews.com:
- FAO TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION AGAIN
- DID BOYCOTT FEARS FORCE A&F QUARTERLY OFF SHELVES?
- SURVEY: SPAM TOP WORRY FOR HOLIDAY E-SHOPPERS
- AUSTRALIA PASSES ANTI-SPAM BILL
- ADDRESS BOOK SEEN AS WAY AROUND SPAM FILTERS
- PITNEY BOWES REALIGNS WITH CUSTOMERS IN MIND
- HOCHWERT RECEIVES DMA'S FIRST MTIC EXCELLENCE
FAO TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION AGAIN
FAO Inc. said yesterday that it will file for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection this week for the second time this
year. The company said it hopes to sell its FAO Schwarz and
Right Start chains but will liquidate the Zany Brainy
business. FAO already had warned last month that early holiday
sales were worse than expected and that it might not have
enough cash to get through the holiday season. FAO emerged
from bankruptcy protection in April, three months after filing
for Chapter 11 when it failed to get necessary funding from
lenders after poor holiday sales last year. The company said
that if efforts to sell FAO Schwarz and Right Start fail by
Dec. 15, they also could be liquidated. Stores will stay open,
though the company said it will reduce non-store staff
"significantly in the coming days."
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25780
DID BOYCOTT FEARS FORCE A&F QUARTERLY OFF SHELVES?
One thing is for sure: Abercrombie & Fitch has taken
its racy holiday magalog off store shelves. The question is
why. News reports yesterday quoted A&F spokesman Hampton
Carney as saying it was because the company launched a new
perfume called NOW and "we had to make space on the counter
for the product." However, the National Coalition for the
Protection of Children & Families said the retailer pulled the
"Christmas Field Guide" magalog over threats of a boycott.
This holiday's issue included advice on oral sex and group
sex.
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25786
SURVEY: SPAM TOP WORRY FOR HOLIDAY E-SHOPPERS
Many consumers say the fear of triggering spam will
curtail their online holiday shopping, according to a survey
released this week. The poll, done by NFO WorldGroup for
privacy organization TRUSTe, asked 1,200 consumers their
comfort level with e-commerce. Spam was the top factor
identified as limiting or preventing e-commerce this holiday
season, with 38 percent saying they feared a product purchase
would lead to spam. Another 35 percent said identity-theft
risk hindered their e-commerce, and 30 percent feared credit
card fraud.
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25779
AUSTRALIA PASSES ANTI-SPAM BILL
Australia's parliament approved legislation yesterday
that bans unsolicited commercial e-mail outright in most
cases. Unlike the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 nearing approval in the
United States, Australia's Spam Bill 2003 requires customer
consent before a commercial message may be sent. Consent can
be obtained directly or inferred through a business
relationship. The bill becomes law 120 days after Australia's
governor-general approves it. The legislation requires all
commercial e-mail sent from Australia to include information
about the sender, including contact information, and an
unsubscribe option. It bans harvesting e-mail addresses or the
use of lists obtained through harvesting. Repeat violators are
subject to fines up to $729,000 (AUS $1 million).
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25777
PITNEY BOWES REALIGNS WITH CUSTOMERS IN MIND
Postal equipment and systems provider Pitney Bowes
announced a new structural alignment for the company yesterday
based more on customer needs than its products. Pitney Bowes
will do away with its historical structure and create two new
business units. Global Mailstream Solutions will serve
mailers, shippers and postal facilities while Enterprise
Solutions will provide high-volume mail and document-
management systems, software and services for large customers.
The new formation also synchronizes with its financial
reporting structure.
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25781
ADDRESS BOOK SEEN AS WAY AROUND SPAM FILTERS
As Internet service providers grow more vigilant in
blocking spam, e-mail marketers want customers to add them to
their address books in order to bypass some restrictions. The
largest ISPs are treating mail from senders in the address
book differently. At AOL, mail from senders in a member's
address book is not stripped of HTML images and links, a move
AOL made to prevent spammers from sending pornographic images
or using Web beacons to find valid e-mail addresses. (AOL
promised marketers some relief from this with an enhanced
whitelist that will display HTML images and links from senders
that meet strict guidelines.) Microsoft made a similar move
with MSN 8.5 and Outlook 11. For marketers, disabled graphics
translate into lower open and conversion rates and a tougher
time tracking campaign performance.
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25784
HOCHWERT RECEIVES DMA'S FIRST MTIC EXCELLENCE
The Direct Marketing Association's Marketing
Technology & Internet Council has awarded its first MTIC Award
of Excellence to Stuart Hochwert, president and founder of
Ampere Media LLC. Hochwert will be honored today at the
National Center for Database Marketing Conference & Exhibition
in Orlando, FL. The MTIC Award recognizes an individual who
has at least three years marketing technology and Internet
experience and who has contributed to the marketing technology
and Internet industry. Under Hochwert's leadership, Ampere
Media used the Internet to generate leads, acquire customers
and create new revenue opportunities for clients.
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=25785
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