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The Official AmeriBag® Healthy Back Bag® Newsletter
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A note from "De Boss"
 It is no surprise that the world we live in now offers many new and exciting products to pick and choose from. It seems like everyday there is a new rage - from fashion trends to celebrity-endorsed products and "the flavor-of-the-day" changes in the blink of an eye. It is also no secret that the state of the economy has made a huge impact on all of us. Across the nation and in many parts of the world, rising costs of food, fuel and goods directly influence our retail sales, and our ability to make a living.
With that being said, I believe there is a positive side to all of this, the silver in the dark storm cloud. Our trademarked and patented Healthy Back Bag® tote, has built such a strong and loyal fan base that it has become a trusted core product for retailers both in the U.S. and worldwide. While other products can be thought of as a frivolous purchase, or fashion-oriented with a short shelf life, the Healthy Back Bag® remains a "classic" with strong health and utilitarian benefits. It is truly a mainstream product - selling nearly $200 million at retail to date. With its classic design and recognizable profile always guaranteeing interest and sales, it is absolutely a product for whoever you are, wherever you go and whatever you do.
In the coming months, we are ramping up our marketing efforts and creating valuable POPs and other marketing tools to help increase interest and sales at the retail level. An aggressive new PR campaign will be sure to get us noticed and "out there." We are also now working with an outside design firm and a color specialist to assist us in choosing new 2009 colors, prints, fabrics and design innovations. It's a very active and exciting time here at AmeriBag, and we will continue to update you with our progress throughout the process.
I will end by saying that Margery and I are looking forward to some great things for the future of this company. We feel that the opportunities are endless. We invite you to join us on this amazing journey.
Best Regards, Irwin Gaffinaka "De Boss"
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New Directions:
The 2008 AmeriBag® Annual
Product Development Meeting
It's that time of year again! The AmeriBag annual product development meeting was held from June 9-11 at its headquarters in Kingston, New York. Each year, the AmeriBag team comes together and collaborates on current products, trends and ideas. Representatives from all across the country attend, along with our UK office, which is where our international headquarters are located.
Discussions began bright and early on Monday morning about exploring new marketing projects, advertising options, product development and fresh color ideas for the upcoming year.
Here's a sneak peek of what we have in store for 2009:
~Eco-Friendly Collection: AmeriBag is going green! With the current worldwide focus on protecting the environment, we are researching different types of materials to help do our part. Eco-friendly and recycled materials and organic cotton will make their debut into a Collection in the coming year.
~Colors and Prints:
We are exploring incorporating new and fashionable colors and prints into the Collections, and are working with renowned colorist and textile designers Richard and Parvaneh Holloway.
We are also looking into expanding our popular dragonfly print into the Healthy Back Bag® tote profile. We will have more news on this in the upcoming months.
~Current product updates:
AmeriBag is collaborating with Riot Design, a Colorado based product design company, to revamp some of our current collection styles, such as the Catskill Collection, to give them a fresh look. The company is also looking at updating the Healthy Back Bag® tote in various collections to appeal to a wider consumer demographic.
Stay tuned. We'll keep you updated with our progress...
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In the News:
The Cause Bag is Causin' A Commotion!
When AmeriBag co-founder Margery Gaffin came up with the idea to develop a bag to help in the fight against breast cancer, she had no idea what a huge hit it would be. To say they are flying off the shelves is actually an understatement. Since its debut on May 1, the Cause Bag has enjoyed such tremendous success that AmeriBag is ramping up production to fit the demand. The first two shipments sold out within days, and the third shipment is rapidly following suit. Not bad for one little bag!
The Cause Bag is actually a larger version of AmeriBag's popular Baglett. It is a small, yet functional accessory made out of lightweight black microfiber and has a pretty pink interior lining and exterior pink ribbon. The very best thing about it is that the majority of its proceeds are donated to a charity in support of Breast Cancer initiatives.
We're very excited about this wonderful little bag and expect to make a substantial donation. The more we sell, the more we can donate, so please help us spread the word in the communities around us. We truly appreciate your interest!
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Revving up the engines at
ABag® OEM
It's official, ABag OEM, is revving up its engines for a great year! Already for 2008, the OEM division of AmeriBag has done bags for some very unique clients including Orange County Choppers and Black Dog.
"This division is really taking off," states Curt Schock, Vice President of Sales and Director of the OEM division. "I believe that there is huge potential for us to grow bigger than we ever expected."
Currently, ABag OEM is working on product development with a variety of new customers through its New York, Chicago and Colorado offices.
For more information on what we've done and projects in progress, please contact
Curt Schock at curt@ameribag.com
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Global Growth
Healthy Back Bag® International News
We asked our International Sales Team, Priscilla Chase our Vice President of UK/EU Operations, and Nancy Evans who heads up our Global Business Development, what is new and exciting around the world. Here's what they said:
In the UK
Melin Tregwynt
Following the success of our Harris Tweed Collection in 2007, the UK announced the launch of the 2008 Melin Tregwynt Collection of Healthy Back Bags®!
Melin Tregwynt is a thriving woolen mill in Pembrokeshire, owned by the same family since 1912. Their fabrics' subtle vibrant color and innovative contemporary designs can be found in boutique hotels and design-led stores worldwide. Each Melin Tregwynt Healthy Back Bag® tote combines 100% lambswool doublecloth from their Mondo and Luna ranges, along with grain leather trim and detailing. The limited edition bag is available in Extra Small only. We are excited to say that response from retailers and the public has been extremely positive!
HBB Charities
Our UK office continues to support Plant a Tree Today (PATT) with sales of a range of green bags, and Abreast, the chosen breast cancer charity, with sales of pink bags. The team recently added the 'Cause Bag' for further fundraising for Abreast. The bag is flying off the shelves in the U.S. and they anticipate the same to happen in the UK!
Across the globe
Australia: Above and beyond a successful launch in David Jones
doors (the Aussies version of Nordstrom), HBB's have just landed in
both the Sydney & Melbourne airports.
Japan: Amongst a flurry of activity between high profile department
stores and catalogues, AmeriBag can be seen on 9/3 on the ground floor of
Takashimaya alongside the Louis Vuitton shop; always keeping the 'best
of' company!!
Italy: Whoever said our demographic was 50+ hasn't been to Milan!
March found us launching the HBB in AmedeoD, the trendiest shop amongst
the 12-18 year old set. The store reports a 55% sell-thru....Fantastico!!
Ireland:This just in! Foot Solutions in Cork just received product
and is looking to take the country by storm with their aggressive
growth plans in Ireland and the UK.
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Meet Our Customer Service Team
You talk to them on the phone all the time. They help you with your
orders, find the person you are looking for or guide you in the right
direction. So who's behind these friendly voices? Meet Donna, Jennifer,
Cecilia and Melissa - our customer service team!
Donna
If you call our Kingston office, there's a good chance Donna will pick up the phone. You can't miss her friendly voice and upbeat attitude. Donna specializes in new account processing and set up. She likes to think of herself as the resident party planner.
Jennifer
Ever wonder how orders are checked before they ship? Jennifer proofs all orders and makes sure they are perfect before shipping. She also takes care of vendor compliance and answers customer calls.
Cecilia
Specializing in order entry and processing, Cecilia is also bi-lingual in Spanish. Para servicio en Español, llame a Cecilia - ext: 326!
Melissa
Always a friendly voice, Melissa is great at helping out customers. She is also in charge of internet agreements, website compliance and sales reports.
Say "Hi" to our customer service team next time you call!
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We'd love your input...
Have ideas or comments? As we move forward with our quarterly newsletter, we'd love your input. Just drop us a note at marketing@ameribag.com
Or you can email Lisa or Erica directly at:
lisa@ameribag.com or
erica@ameribag.com
Enjoy the rest of your Summer! |
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Retail News
See what's hot in
Summer 2008
At AmeriBag Adventures:
We
asked Amy Ravinett, Director of Retail Sales of our flagship store,
AmeriBag Adventures, what's hot this Summer. This is what she told us:
· Cause Bag
The Cause Bag is on top of the best-seller list for both number of sales and retail dollars. The little bag is truly a big sensation!
- Colors
Desert, Sage and Imperial Purple are the hot colors in our distressed nylon Healthy Back Bags this Summer.
- Leather
Cognac, Sand and Saddle are the hottest sellers in Leather HBB's. All the brown tones seem to be doing very well.
- Dragonfly Print
Customers are loving the Dragonfly print wallet and coinpurse, and they're selling through nicely.
and as always, our classic...
- Black
The Healthy Back Bag and Baglett in black distressed nylon and microfiber top the list. These are our tried and true core products that always move off the shelves.
From our Reps:
Who better to tell us what the upcoming trends will be than our hardworking Retail Sales Reps! Straight from their mouths to your ears...
"From everything I have read and seen...rich brown's, gold's , burnt orange
and deep greens are "in"...
We are on the right track with our brighter colors that show up every year...our
navy, reds and hunter green will do well for the fall if an account prefers
color."
- Yvonne Wathen
Bravo Sales
Gift Market
"...colors like yellows and turqs and deep grays were the talk of the market place...along with dots and circles of all colors."
- Jon Stierwalt
Swimwear Market
"I see a continuing influence of all things 60's and 70's. Lots of
funky retro patterns and unusual color combos. Individuality is still
key...lots of overprinting of text and patterns with that 'silkscreened' look layered over a traditional pattern...Color trends show lots of blues, and other colors have that contrasting twist of brights and muted tertiary colors."
- Laurie Taylor Williams
Luggage Market
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So...what's new
at AmeriBag?
In the past few months, we've taken some new and exciting steps toward our future. This includes working with several innovative and creative teams who will help us to shape our product and build on its success. Here's a recap on what's been going on:
Riot Design
This creative design firm, located in Colorado, is headed up by industrial designer Rio Telge. Currently, Riot Design has been working with us to develop our "Green" Collection. They are also exploring the possibiltiy of updating some of our other Collections with their innovative and fresh design style. We will keep you posted!
Parvaneh & Richard Holloway
Renowned artists Parvaneh and Richard Holloway are working with us to explore new colors and patterns for the upcoming year. This team has an impeccable sense of color and style, and we are very excited to see what they come up with.
J. Goldstein PR
Jill Goldstein and her boutique PR firm is working with our marketing department on a multi-faceted, national PR push. We'll be targeting holiday gift guides, magazine editors and TV and news producers - just to name a few. The possibilies are endless to get our HBB out there!
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2008 Promotions
With the end of Summer fast-approaching, we wanted to give you an update on our most recent promotions.
The Recession Buster Program
has proven to be a great success! Customers were able to replenish
their inventory and save at the same time by taking advantage of one of
three offers: free freight, 5% discount on product, or 60 days dating
terms. The promotion ended on July 31st.
 We
are looking into several new promotions for Fall 2008. Keep your eyes
and ears open and be sure not to miss out on getting some great core
product in your store.
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2008 Trade Show Schedule
We were at WSA
July 28-30
at the Las Vegas
Convention Center
Thank you everyone who stopped by our booth.
We had a great show!
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We will be at
NYIGF
(New York International Gift Fair)
August 17-21
Booth #8282
at the Jacob Javits Center
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Anyone with questions regarding our upcoming show schedule, please contact Beth at
beth@ameribag.com
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