Asian trade breakthrough in Thailand

As fears of increased protectionism grow during the international financial crisis, New Zealand products are to benefit from a new trade deal signed up to in Thailand last night.

New Zealand and Australia entered the free trade agreement (FTA) with 10 Asian countries - members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia - representing a market of more than 500 million people.

Trade Minister Tim Groser and Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean signed the agreement in Hua Hin, Thailand.

"We've just put down an agreement that's exactly what the world needs on a global level," Tim Groser told Reuters in an interview.

"It's a very good response in the current macroeconomic situation, when some of these economies are hurting in the massive downturn in world trade."

"This agreement is a significant agreement for the region," echoed Mr Crean to a press conference after the signing.

"It powerfully demonstrates... the region's strong commitment to opening up markets in the face of this crisis."

As leaders of the regional grouping arrived in the Thai beach resort for their three-day summit, they gave mixed signals on the region's attitude to economic protectionism, AFP reported.

"We must not resort to protectionist tendencies at trying times," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a speech to business leaders.

But Malaysian premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in an interview with the Bangkok Post that it was a "normal reaction" to urge people to buy local goods during times of crisis.

The deal means eventually 99 per cent of New Zealand's trade in key Asian markets will be duty free.

Tariffs will be eliminated in 2010 on New Zealand exports worth $429 million a year, including in some markets butter, milk powder, wool, kiwifruit, apples and some manufactured products.

Tariffs on a further $435m of exports to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines will be eliminated between 2011 and 2020.

Within 12 years, 99 per cent of tariffs will have been eliminated in the key markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.

When the FTA is fully implemented it will mean annual duty savings of about $50m.

Asean's side of the agreement means that by 2010, 85 per cent of their exports will enter New Zealand duty free.

All New Zealand tariffs on Asean goods will be phased out by 2020.

Progress is being made on deals with South Korea and India.

Meat and Wool New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen said the FTA was a big opportunity and a positive step during gloomy economic times.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business

Imported scrap to be checked for radioactive elements

NEW DELHI: The government is expected to soon make it mandatory for all steel scrap being imported into the country to be certified as being free of radioactive elements by designated international agencies.

The step is being taken following complaints from European countries, especially Germany, of radioactive contaminants being detected in engineering goods exported by India. The directorate general of foreign trade, a body under the commerce department regulating all activities related to exports and imports, will issue the necessary notification soon, a government official said.

India is apprehensive that steel scrap contaminated with radioactive elements is finding its way into the country and is being used to make a variety of steel products including engineering goods.

Since Indian ports do not have the necessary infrastructure to check for radioactive elements in steel scraps being imported, the government has decided that it will not accept any steel scrap consignment which has not been certified as being free of such substances by international agencies designated by it.

“We have yet to finalise the international agencies from where suppliers of steel scrap to India have to get their certificates. It will all form part of the DGFT notification,” an official said. India is a major importer of steel scrap and imports about 7-8 million of scrap every year from countries including the US, the EU and the CIS countries.

Europe is an important market for India’s engineering exports with the region sourcing about $20 billion worth of engineering goods like various machinery parts and auto engine parts. With the contraction in world demand owing to the global economic crisis, India wants to ensure that it does not lose its existing markets due to avoidable reasons, the official added.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/

Exports boosting Bama

WITH NEARLY $16 billion in trade between Alabama companies and foreign customers during 2008, it's easy to see the advantages of living in a global economy.

Moreover, Gov. Bob Riley's wise initiative known as "Export Alabama" can be credited with helping Alabama companies make significant gains in international trade.

The initiative, launched by the governor in 2004, helps producers in the state find opportunities in foreign markets where demand is growing.

And the initiative has paid off. Foreign trade by Alabama producers has increased from $8.3 billion in 2004 to $15.8 billion last year, with a 10 percent increase between 2007 and 2008.

Such robust trade creates jobs and raises salaries in Alabama. So while critics of free trade agreements can rightly point to lost jobs in the state to other countries — particularly in the textile industry — they are remiss to discount the economic advantages of eliminating tariffs on goods shipped between the U.S. and other countries.

Alabama reaps the benefits of shipments of automobiles (shipped to 113 countries and valued at $5 billion in sales), chemicals (up 13.5 percent over 2007 to $2.27 billion), minerals and ores (up 69 percent from a year ago to $1.15 billion), paper (up 12.7 percent to $1 billion), and primary metal manufacturing (up 73 percent to $1 billion).

Foreign trade of food products from Alabama increased a healthy 180 percent to $348 million in 2008.

Alabama also is a strong exporter of transportation equipment, machinery, computer and electronic products, agricultural products and plastics and rubber products.

Even with declines in trade, Germany and Canada remain Alabama's strongest trade partners, with a combined trade worth nearly $6 billion in 2008.

Gov. Riley deserves praise for recognizing Alabama's potential for foreign trade growth and acting to ensure that the expansion occurred. And Alabama's companies deserve recognition for developing trade with customers in 192 countries.

Source: http://www.al.com/opinion/

American manufacturing outsourced to China

In their outcry over the U.S. House of Representatives' policy to "Buy American" for steel needed for infrastructure projects, the critics seem to have forgotten that by outsourcing most of America's steel manufacturing to China, India, and other so-called low-cost countries, the American steel industry has been decimated to the point that most steel is imported. The American steel manufacturing region is now a rust belt of cluttered factories and laid-off workers surviving on low-wage service jobs. You cannot protect an industry that no longer exists. And this is true about other industries.

China, with its billion-plus impoverished people, has become a magnate for corporations like Hewlett-Packard because of its huge pool of cheap labour. But manufacturing a high-tech product like computer is capital, not labour, intensive.

Relatively small numbers of highly-trained workers are needed to manufacture laptop computers. Then I realized that in order to circumvent Chinese protectionist measures which demand that products for sale in China must be made locally, Hewlett-Packard has set up factories in China while shutting down factories in the United States. By this way, Hewlett-Packard is killing two birds with one stone—they have set up factories in China for the Chinese market, while using the same facilities in China for the American market, multiplying their profits.

But Hewlett-Packard and such other companies fail to realize that by replacing well-paid factory jobs by low-paid service jobs in America, they are eventually undermining their customer base in the U.S. With more and more Americans facing falling incomes due to factory closures, they can no longer afford to buy computers and cameras even though they may be cheaper. The Chinese-based U.S. companies eventually face falling demands. Ultimately, these companies face huge losses, laying off workers in China. All become victims of corporate greed.

Mahmood Elahi

Ottawa, Ont.

Source: http://www.hilltimes.com/

Textile treasure trove unearthed

As far as treasure hunts go, this yielded a whopper of a bounty samples of fabrics that one had only heard of, tucked away inside 18 volumes of an extensive omnibus. Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay & Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey flip through the pages of the exciting discovery.

The almirah in an obscure corner of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) building had been locked for ages. When BSI deputy director Dr H S Debnath had it opened recently, all he could spot at first were rows and rows of hard-bound dusty books. Then, he opened one of them and a treasure tumbled out.
The book was part of the 18-volume omnibus: Textiles Manufactures and Costumes of the People of India. It stood on the dusty shelf with a 15-volume companion set on natural dyes and 700 samples of Indian textiles in silk, cotton, muslin and wool. Together, the two sets possibly form the most comprehensive document on traditional Indian textiles and weaves. The information would be enough to impact our understanding of Indian loom craft, felt historians. In a world going crazy over Indian weaves and stitch patterns, designers said it should influence the dynamics of the fashion industry.

"The fascinating part is that many of the lost arts can now be revived with the help of the omnibus. It is fashionable to say these days that handloom is a sunset industry. But the livelihood of millions still depends on handloom. The revival of some of these designs and styles can turn handloom into a sunrise industry. This is perhaps the greatest catalogue of Indian textiles and it reveals fascinating facts. For example, all of us know about chikan from Lucknow. But the document reveals that Dhaka was also a major centre for chikankari craft," said Kasturi Gupta Menon, retired IAS officer and president of the Crafts Council of India.

The omnibus was compiled by John Forbes Watson while he held the post Reporter on the Products of India in the 1850s. He finished work on the 18-volume series in 1866. Today, Forbes is universally recognized as the pioneer in studying Indian textiles. Thirteen out of 20 sets of the 18-volume omnibus of Textiles Manufactures and Costumes were sent to English textile manufacturing towns such as Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Macclesfield, Preston and to the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria Albert Museum). One set was retained in Kolkata, while six were sent to Allahabad, Bombay, Karachi, Madras, Nagpur and Lahore.

"Since none of the other sets, except the one at BSI, has seen light of day, we will be patenting it. It has tremendous commercial potential. We already have some good proposals. BSI can earn a lot by selling the copyrights of each textile design," said BSI director

Dr M Sanjappa. The paper sheets, on which the pieces of cloth are mounted, have become very brittle, but the colours and texture of vegetable or natural dyes are as bright as they were 200 years ago.

Debnath spoke on how he discovered the volumes accidentally. "I was taking stock of things strewn all over the building. I found this almirah under lock and key and had it opened. Inside, I found these huge books. When I studied them, I was so struck by the exhaustive compilation that for days together I just kept reading them to assess their importance. It was clear that the books were a treasure trove," he said.

According to Debnath, many of the textiles and designs have been lost for ever. "The muslin creations like Abrawan (running water), Shubham (evening dew) Nayansook (eye-soother), Jungle Khassa, Dooreea, Charkanu and Tunzeb can never be brought back in these this modern times. Our craftsman have lost the art. That is why I'm working hard to conserve and digitize this priceless body of work. The purpose of preparing these volumes was to promote trade between the East and the West. Britishers wanted to emulate the exquisite art of India," said Dr Debnath.

"The art of dyeing or reproducing colour by extraction from natural resources was a skill practised both in India and Egypt from ancient times. The skill could have originated in either country, as each possessed the raw materials for producing a great variety of colour from plants and flowers," said Kasturi Gupta Menon.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Textile treasure trove unearthed

As far as treasure hunts go, this yielded a whopper of a bounty samples of fabrics that one had only heard of, tucked away inside 18 volumes of an extensive omnibus. Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay & Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey flip through the pages of the exciting discovery.

The almirah in an obscure corner of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) building had been locked for ages. When BSI deputy director Dr H S Debnath had it opened recently, all he could spot at first were rows and rows of hard-bound dusty books. Then, he opened one of them and a treasure tumbled out.
The book was part of the 18-volume omnibus: Textiles Manufactures and Costumes of the People of India. It stood on the dusty shelf with a 15-volume companion set on natural dyes and 700 samples of Indian textiles in silk, cotton, muslin and wool. Together, the two sets possibly form the most comprehensive document on traditional Indian textiles and weaves. The information would be enough to impact our understanding of Indian loom craft, felt historians. In a world going crazy over Indian weaves and stitch patterns, designers said it should influence the dynamics of the fashion industry.

"The fascinating part is that many of the lost arts can now be revived with the help of the omnibus. It is fashionable to say these days that handloom is a sunset industry. But the livelihood of millions still depends on handloom. The revival of some of these designs and styles can turn handloom into a sunrise industry. This is perhaps the greatest catalogue of Indian textiles and it reveals fascinating facts. For example, all of us know about chikan from Lucknow. But the document reveals that Dhaka was also a major centre for chikankari craft," said Kasturi Gupta Menon, retired IAS officer and president of the Crafts Council of India.

The omnibus was compiled by John Forbes Watson while he held the post Reporter on the Products of India in the 1850s. He finished work on the 18-volume series in 1866. Today, Forbes is universally recognized as the pioneer in studying Indian textiles. Thirteen out of 20 sets of the 18-volume omnibus of Textiles Manufactures and Costumes were sent to English textile manufacturing towns such as Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Macclesfield, Preston and to the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria Albert Museum). One set was retained in Kolkata, while six were sent to Allahabad, Bombay, Karachi, Madras, Nagpur and Lahore.

"Since none of the other sets, except the one at BSI, has seen light of day, we will be patenting it. It has tremendous commercial potential. We already have some good proposals. BSI can earn a lot by selling the copyrights of each textile design," said BSI director

Dr M Sanjappa. The paper sheets, on which the pieces of cloth are mounted, have become very brittle, but the colours and texture of vegetable or natural dyes are as bright as they were 200 years ago.

Debnath spoke on how he discovered the volumes accidentally. "I was taking stock of things strewn all over the building. I found this almirah under lock and key and had it opened. Inside, I found these huge books. When I studied them, I was so struck by the exhaustive compilation that for days together I just kept reading them to assess their importance. It was clear that the books were a treasure trove," he said.

According to Debnath, many of the textiles and designs have been lost for ever. "The muslin creations like Abrawan (running water), Shubham (evening dew) Nayansook (eye-soother), Jungle Khassa, Dooreea, Charkanu and Tunzeb can never be brought back in these this modern times. Our craftsman have lost the art. That is why I'm working hard to conserve and digitize this priceless body of work. The purpose of preparing these volumes was to promote trade between the East and the West. Britishers wanted to emulate the exquisite art of India," said Dr Debnath.

"The art of dyeing or reproducing colour by extraction from natural resources was a skill practised both in India and Egypt from ancient times. The skill could have originated in either country, as each possessed the raw materials for producing a great variety of colour from plants and flowers," said Kasturi Gupta Menon.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Fashion fraternity looking ahead

Fashion designers and design houses were overjoyed at the discovery of the 18-volume set of books documenting forgotten fabrics and textures from a bygone era. Most of them hailed the find as something that could take designing to new heights.

"Anything to do with history generates a lot of interest and you are talking about silks and cottons dating back to over 300 years! I would love to see them for their weaves, look and texture," said Kiran Uttam Ghosh from Mumbai.

Former bureaucrat and Craft Council of India president Kasturi Gupta Menon said, "Today, there is a lot of duplicity and copying in the designing industry. But each of these specimens is fundamentally unique and fresh in creativity. Even mere copying the designs requires extraordinary skill. It would be an inspiration for designers to recognize the height that these weavers had reached, and to strive for attaining that height."

Designers Dev and Neil said that a lot of experiments are on with handloom and hand-printed textiles, as they have a huge market abroad. These samples would certainly help, they felt. "Take the case of Dhaka's muslin, which is not manufactured any longer despite the fact that we have made immense strides in the field of textile manufacturing. And here, you are talking about muslin not only from the British era, but also that of the Mughal era! We had just read about them in books. Now, we will love to see them and analyze if their weave and feel can be recreated today. We could use them not only to create period costumes, but also to design modern clothes," Dev said.

The discovery is so startling that it is giving her "goosebumps", said textile expert and kantha stitch revivalist Shamlu Dudeja. "It is great to know that the textile scraps have withstood the ravages of time. These need to be restored immediately, and this is not an easy task. I would first look at these myself and then get in touch with Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who takes deep interest in restoration, so that the best in the field could be involved," she said.

For designer Agnimitra Paul, the news sounded as exciting as being told that some pharaoh was discovered living underneath a pyramid! "We read about such textiles in design classes and thought this was heritage, on which we can never lay our eyes again. But now, there's an opportunity to see them. I would love to recreate some of them for my designs," Paul said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

PIBC to make proposals to increase Pak-India trade volume

LAHORE, March 1 (APP)- Senior Federal Minister and Minister for commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim has assigned the task to Pak-India Business Council (PIBC) to make proposals to remove bottlenecks in way of mutual trade between the two countries.

Chairman,PIBC, Noor Muhammad Kasuri told APP here on Sunday that comprehensive proposals will be made in this regard after getting views from important chambers of commerce and industries and other concerned institutions of both the countries.

He said that increase in trade volume between the two countries is in the interest of of people of both the countries adding that PIBC is working on it.

Kasuri said that Pakistan and Indian traders use Dubai and such other channels for trade on which they have to pay freight charges and other expenditures as a result the price of their products increases and the buyers have to suffer.

He said that incase of removal of unnecessary trade barriers between the two countries the people will benefit which, he added, is manifesto of PPP government.

PIBC chairman also welcomed the statement of Indian foreign minister on sincerity of Pakistan’s leadership.

He expressed hope that such a gesture would help in restoring process of composite dialogue between both the nuclear states to improve their relations.

He said that people of Pakistan have expressed concern on hurdles in Pak-India trade and demanded of the Indian government not to block the trade despite incidents of terror.

He said that this is for the first time that people of Pakistan are not willing to sever trade relations despite difficult time in relations between both the countries adding Indian government should feel the change and avail the opportunity for boosting trade.

Source: http://www.app.com.pk/en_/

Lifestyle retailers may face liquidity pressure at least for one year

Lifestyle retailers such as Lifestyle International, Shoppers Stop, Trent, Pantaloon may face liquidity pressure at least for a year due to slower sales coupled with growing debt, higher rentals and slower expansion, which are bringing down their profitability, rating agencies and analysts said.

On Friday, rating firm Crisil downgraded ratings on Lifestyle International, part of Dubai-based Landmark group, by a notch due to Lifestyle’s financial risk profile, expectation of continued losses, and weaker debt protection measures. In December last year, Fitch Ratings downgraded short-term debt and commercial papers of the Raheja-owned Shoppers Stop due to ongoing margin pressures resulting from slower sales growth and losses from new businesses.

According to experts, slower sales from existing stores and delay in opening new stores, which were expected to add to their top lines, have impacted their profitability negatively.

Privately-held Lifestyle International, which runs Lifestyle departmental stores Home Centre stores and value format Max stores, posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 46.5 crore for the first nine months of 2008-09, further to its losses of Rs 18.9 crore in 2007-08, according to rating firm Crisil.

Crisil cited this dismal performance to higher rental expenses and service tax, increased employee and power costs, lower productivity of its stores because of reduced consumer spending, and initial losses of start-up Max stores.

The performance of listed retailers was also no better. Pantaloon Retail’s net profit grew by 6 per cent in the December quarter, which was its lowest growth in the last four quarters. Department store chain Shoppers Stop made a combined net loss of Rs 36.84 crore in the last three quarters.

“All the lifestyle retailers have seen their profitability coming down, though their top lines have not fallen much. Their same store sales have also fallen as footfalls are coming down. Most of the retailers were banking on sales from new stores. But that has also not happened as malls are not coming up on time or footfalls not yet started in some cases,” said Amod Khanorkar, head, corporate and infrastructure ratings, Crisil Ratings.

Retailers attribute overall slowdown in the economy for their falling sales. “It’s the impact of overall slowdown that is hurting retailers. Shoppers are downtrading and deferring big-ticket buys as they are unsure of their jobs, incomes, and economic scenario. We are working on plans to become profitable once gain,’’ said PVK Sundaram, director of finance, Lifestyle Group.

“Consumption demand in the first three quarters of the next financial year look tough,” said Shoppers Stop Managing Director B S Nagesh in December last year.

Analysts also said that retailers were borrowing more debt to fund their expansion and operations. Shoppers Stop’s gearing (debt to equity) has increased to about 3 times as on September 30, 2008 from around 2.5 times as on March 31, 2008, while that of Lifestyle International improved, despite losses, because of heavy promoter fund infusion, Crisil said. Its adjusted gearing is expected to be 2 times as on March 31, 2009 as against 2.5 times as on March 31, 2008.

“They are not able to pass on the expenditure to consumers as they could not expand as planned. If their scale had increased, they could have better bargain power with merchandisers, spread their fixed costs, which would have improved their margins. They were adding 0.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent of gross margins every year between 2003 and 2007. But increase in rentals and taxes on that increased their costs,’’ said Khanorkar.

Pantaloon added 0.3 million sq ft of space in the December quarter of the current financial year, compared to 0.9 million it added in the corresponding quarter last year. New Delhi-based Vishal Retail added only 0.2 million sq ft of space in the just-concluded quarter compared to 0.5 million sq ft it added in the December quarter of the last financial year. However, Shoppers Stop added the same amount of space in the December quarter this year as in the corresponding quarter last year.

The performance of existing stores is also declining. The same store growth in lifestyle segment of Pantaloon Retail fell 14 per cent in December 2008 before being increased by 12.5 per cent in January 2009. Same store growth in home segment fell 10 per cent and 4.32 per cent in December 2008 and January 2009 respectively.

Lifestyle’s operating margin for the nine months of 2008-09 fell by 500 basis points from the margin of 2007-08 and expected to remain subdued over the medium term, according to Crisil. Shoppers Stop’s margins have dropped by 150 basis points due to a drop in consumer spending, Crisil said.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/

Havells India restructuring global operations

NEW DELHI: Electrical products maker Havells India, which acquired international lighting products maker SLI Sylvania in 2007, is restructuring its global operations to generate efficiencies, said a top company executive. It has consolidated entire compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) manufactur-ing units into a single plant based at Neemrana and has rejigged the manufacturing operations for switchgears within the country.

Havells has shut down the UK-based CFL plant which employed around 250 people, and the entire production has been shifted to Neemrana in Rajasthan. The UK plant, located at Shipley, was ac-quired as part of Sylvania deal two years ago.

Besides closing the UK plant Havells has also consolidated existing In-dian units which produced the energy efficient lighting products in Faridabad and Haridwar.

“This is to create a single hub and thereby build efficiencies during the economic downturn. The arrangement resulting from the merger would help maximise core competencies,” said Havells India joint managing director Anil Gupta.

After the consolidation, the Neemrana plant is expected to produce 70 million units of CFL from 24 million units currently. The headcount at Neemrana will increase from 1,400 to 1,700. But this would primarily involve relocation of 300 workers from the Faridabad and Haridwar units.

A similar revamp is taking place at Havells’ plant in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. The company is set to consolidate switchgear plant based in Delhi with the one located at Baddi taking its capacity to 60 million units from 48 million currently. The company claims that there will be no layoffs and those working in the Delhi unit will be relocated to Baddi.

Recently, global private equity firm Warburg Pincus bought additional stake into Havells by converting warrants. The conversion of warrants into equity had surprised analysts as the conversion price was almost six times Havells’ ruling market price. Explained Mr Gupta, “It was in-evitable as we had an agreement with Warburg that they would con-vert the warrants at that price.”

Talking about demand for electrical products, he said, “The October-December quarter was very weak. But we have seen some revival in demand in January.”

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Cape Business Publishing launches diversified communications division

Cape Business Publishing Group LLC is expanding with the launch of a new division, Cape Business Communications, designed to provide a full array of marketing services and support.

“This is a natural outgrowth of our magazines and Web sites,” said Co-Publisher Glenn Ritt, who will be managing Cape Business Communications. “Many businesses have been asking us to support them beyond magazine advertising – especially in the current economy, which may be the most challenging we have experienced in our lifetimes,” he noted.

“Many advertisers recognize this is not the time to shrink from the marketplace. It is precisely during times like these that they must increase their market share,” said Robert Viamari, co-publisher. “The new division is a wonderful way for us to help position businesses on the Cape and South Shore for future growth.”

Ritt noted that some businesses may not have sufficient marketing and communications resources within the company. “As an independent partner, we can help them cost-effectively reach new customers and clients, while nourishing current ones. All this by leveraging the same rich resources we use every day to publish our magazines and Web sites,” he said.

“Being an advertiser with us is only the beginning,” emphasized Ritt, who brings four decades of experience to the communications and marketing fields. Cape Business Communications will provide an array of paid support services, including advertising, communications, custom publishing, design, event planning, market research, digital strategies, target marketing and strategic planning.

In 2009, the new division will emphasize business communications, events and custom publishing – ranging from magazines and annual reports to newsletters in print and online.

“As a publishing company, we constantly receive press releases by e-mail or snail mail. As a consumer of these overtures, we understand which ones are effective and why. We are very well positioned to help businesses get it right,” said Ritt. “It’s about making news and creating an impact.”

At the same time, many companies – large and small – do not fully appreciate the power and ability they possess to get their messages clearly and economically to specific audiences, even individual customers, beyond traditional press coverage.

“While the new division is designed to address the growing needs of our current advertisers, we anticipate that Cape Business Communications welcomes new clients who wish to also leverage our magazines, which are mailed directly to nearly 20,000 business addresses south of Boston and nearly 20,000 of the highest-valued homes on Cape Cod. Where else can a company reach so many potential customers as part of its communications and direct marketing plan?” said Ritt.

One mission of Cape Business Communications will be to help regional companies connect more effectively on Cape Cod, which brings unique challenges because of its small business composition and ever-growing second-home population. “In recent months in particular, we have been approached by companies that lack the manpower or expertise to effectively reach this very attractive, wealthy – but somewhat elusive – market. Until now, we have not been positioned to help,” said Ritt.

A major strength of Cape Business Communications will be its ability to leverage the publishing company’s extensive database of businesses and homes as well as its array of printing resources under the management of co-publisher Ernie Johnson.

Cape Business Communications also will expand the company’s events business. “In addition to our own workshops, seminars and conferences, we plan to organize and promote individual company initiatives,” Ritt said. The new division will be responsible for managing Business Connect 2009, the company’s annual B2B conference that is scheduled for November.

Cape Business Communications is not designed to be all things to all businesses. “Our most important mission moving forward is to assure a client’s immediate success while also building a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. If we are confident we have the resources, time and expertise to accomplish that, we can be the right match,” Ritt emphasized.

Source: http://www.capebusiness.net/