French to Retire
Nashville, TN — Laurie Gilner has been named the new president of C.R. Gibson LLC effective September 2. C.R. Gibson, a major stationery vendor, is a subsidiary of CSS Industries Inc.. Gilner will succeed Donald French, who has decided to retire.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Aug. 23, 2010) — Do you know someone who turns 100 in 2010? Hallmark writers want to talk to you.
As part of Hallmark's ongoing celebration of its own centennial, Hallmark writers are seeking individuals who know someone who shares the company's 1910 birth year. Based on information submitted by centenarians' friends and family members, the writers will create a special birthday greeting card for the submitter to give to the 100th birthday celebrant.

Cleveland, Ohio (August 17, 2010) – Consumers shopping the greeting card aisle for the perfect birthday greeting are looking for a fun new way to make the recipient smile and know how much they care. Sometimes this is done with a great joke, the perfect song, or a fun interactive element. Adding all of these favorite ingredients together, American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is introducing Good Vibrations™, an innovative new greeting card that takes traditional musical birthday greetings to a new level with a fun visual that moves and grooves to the music.
Perfectly combining music and movement, Good Vibrations cards feature a character or object on the inside that excitedly dances, bounces, shakes, or bops along to the music when the card is opened, surprising the recipient and adding a whole lot of fun. The unique technology, modern design elements and clever copy create an exciting card collection to jump-start any birthday celebration. With characters ranging from a baby doing the conga to a hamster disco, there is something fun for everyone and every relationship.

Washington, D.C.—Despite a resurgence of commercial direct mail, the U.S. Postal Service continues to hemorrhage money, posting a net loss of $764 million in July. The Postal Service reported a year-to-date loss of $6.14 billion, with just two months left before its fiscal year closes Sept. 30.
Overall, total mail volume increased about 1% in July to 13.8 million pieces compared with the same period last year, led by a continuing strong performance by standard mail, used most often in direct commercial mailings.

Cleveland, Ohio (August 24, 2010) – When shopping for the perfect card for a child’s birthday, consumers are always looking for ways to surprise them with something fun and interactive. They want to recognize that this is an important day, let them know how special they are, and give them a big birthday smile. To help meet this need, American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) has given m usic cards a makeover with Guitar™, an innovative new greeting guaranteed to keep them rocking long after the birthday celebration is over.

Washington, D.C.—The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service, facing a deficit this year approaching $7 billion, has frozen all hiring and promotions of managers and administrative staff.

David Henkel, president, Johnson & Quin

With the U.S. Postal Service facing an estimated cumulative shortfall of $238 billion by 2020, it is seeking approval for an overall price increase of about 5.6% starting in January 2011. Add to that tight corporate budgets and it's easy to understand why marketers are intensely focused on looking for flexible solutions that meet their direct-mail delivery time frames yet stay within the budget.

By: Christopher Hosford

New York Marketing groups and businesses are galvanizing their opposition to a U.S. Postal Service request to raise postage rates, appealing to the Postal Regulatory Commission on Monday to reject the USPS request.

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD, The New York Times

The grills shaped like kegs and toolboxes, ordered for a Father’s Day promotion at Cost Plus World Market, arrived too late for the holiday. At the Container Store, platinum-color hangers, advertised in a summer sale catalog, were delivered days after the sale began. At True Value Hardware, the latecomers were fans and portable chairs.

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
WASHINGTON (AP) - Battered by massive losses, the Postal Service wants to raise rates to bring in more money. Postal officials scheduled a briefing Tuesday to discuss the amount of the increase, which will go to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission for review.

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Tired of waiting for spending to rebound on its own, retailers are taking matters into their own hands. Stores like Sam’s Club, Target, Toys “R” Us, Staples and Office Depot are offering unconventional promotions meant not only to attract visitors to stores, but also to get them feeling profligate.

Shoppers are always looking for the latest way to make their greeting cards even more special, and now American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) has a fun way to do just that. The company today introduced its latest innovation in the card aisle: greeting cards with a song download from iTunes.

Sunday, June 20, is Father’s Day, a distinctly American occasion for showing Dad how much he means to his family.

Gart Capital Partners of Denver said Friday it has purchased the remaining assets of Swoozie's Inc., an Atlanta-based specialty retailer that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early March, and plans to re-open some of its shuttered stores.

Optimism and a decisive need for face-to-face connection among some 900 social stationery manufacturers and nearly 10,000 buyers resonated throughout the aisles of the 64th annual National Stationery Show® (NSS), held May 16-19, 2010, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Some 900 exhibiting companies – an increase of more than 125 from the previous year – cited this year’s NSS as critical to connect with new, prospective customers and to reconnect with current accounts, as the economy show signs of improvement.