TabletopJournal says again that the foodservice industry - especially the chefs and tabletop suppliers - continues to have some of the most giving and benevolent individuals and companies to those who might be somehow less fortunate. This time its the people at leading tabletop company Fortessa supporting those with Cystic Fibrosis in the Washington, DC area by helping to sponsor, along with Chefs in The City, their annual fundraiser. Nicely done. To see the collection of tabletop products available from Fortessa, go here: http://www.fortessa.com/
Higher occupancy and room rates, combined with minimal increase in expenses, made April a record month for hotels in Dubai.
Dubai hotels hit a three year-high in April, according to the latest figures released by TRI Hospitality Consulting in and article just published by www.HotelierMiddleEast.com The average occupancy levels in Dubai for April saw a slight increase of 0.6% year-on-year to 86.5%, however the average room rate rocketed 8.6% to US $359.51, leading to a RevPAR increase of 9.4%, to the three-year high of US $311.12. Growth was attributed to regional school holidays falling in early April and continued growth in global conference business. To read the entire article, go here: http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/14406-dubai-hotels-score-record-revpar-figures-for-april/
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined slightly in April, fell further in May. The Index now stands at 64.9 (1985=100), down from 68.7 in April. The Expectations Index declined to 77.6 from 80.4, while the Present Situation Index decreased to 45.9 from 51.2 last month. The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was May 16. Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer Confidence fell in May, following a slight decline in April. Consumers were less positive about current business and labor market conditions, and they were more pessimistic about the short-term outlook. However, consumers were more upbeat about their income prospects, which should help sustain spending. Taken together, the retreat in the Present Situation Index and softening in consumer expectations suggest that the pace of economic growth in the months ahead may moderate."
To read the entire article, go here: http://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerconfidence.cfm
Another good dose of "not always common" sense from Seth Godin: A hierarchy of business to business needs
If you're selling a product (hmmm.....like, tabletop, for instance) or service to a business--to a non-owner--consider this hierarchy, from primary needs on down:
- Avoiding risk
- Avoiding hassle
- Gaining praise
- Gaining power
- Having fun
- Making a profit
In most large organizations, nothing happens unless at least one of these needs are met, and in just about every organization big enough and profitable enough to buy from you, the order of needs starts with the first one and works its way down the list.
That means that a sales pitch that begins with how much money the organization will make is pretty unlikely to work. Instead, the amount of profit has to be tied in to one of the other more primary needs of the person sitting across the table from you (as well as the committee or boss she reports to).
B2B selling is just like regular sales, except the customer (who might not be the person you're meeting with) is spending someone else's money (and wants to please the boss).
Coming on June 3rd, for the 10th year, Aucklands outstanding hospitality staff will be officially recognized by their peers - at the 2012 Lewisham Foundation Awards. The Awards are named in honour of colourful hospitality entrepreneur Richard Lewisham who helped establish the modern day eating and drinking scene in the City of Sails. At a night of glamour and glitz the current cream of the crop in Aucklands hospitality industry will be honoured for their outstanding commitment to this exciting and vibrant business in this exciting city. For more information, go here: http://www.lewishamawards.co.nz/awards/
As you know....when TabletopJournal thinks Zak Designs....we think color. Well, now, we're going to also have start thinking function, as well. If you like your glassware, you're going to love these serving trays. And, yes....before you start....we know these aren't technically tabletop....but we also know that you operators want to reduce your glass breakage - so, here's a way to do just that! For years, Zak Designs' GALLERY TRAYS have been a serving staple for restaurants and bars around the world. The high sides, durable construction, and extreme versatility have helped the GALLERY TRAYS set the standard in serveware. In 2012, however, Zak Designs has found a way to improve the trays by incorporating a non-skid surface onto the classic design. In keeping with Zak Designs' ongoing mission to blend fashion and function together in all of its products, the surface on the new Non-Skid GALLERY TRAYS creates a checkered design that adds to the aesthetics of the tray as well as the practicality. The criss-cross pattern is made of a no-slip material that is also heat and moisture resistant, so even hot dishes or dripping glasses will stay securely in place. The new non-skid surface is featured on the popular rectangle Half-Tray and is available in a red tray with a white checkered pattern or a white tray with a black checkered pattern. And, like the standard GALLERY TRAYS, the new Non-Skid trays are designed to be used either separately or in conjunction with both the Full Tray and the Small Tray to create a variety of serveware options for nearly any type of get together. For even more serving options, Zak Designs is also introducing a new Round Gallery Tray that's available in white with black non-skid stripes. With the increased function that these new trays create, there's little doubt that the bar the GALLERY TRAYS set years ago has just been raised. For even more serving options, Zak Designs is also introducing a new Round Gallery Tray that's available in white with black non-skid stripes. With the increased function that these new trays create, there's little doubt that the bar the GALLERY TRAYS set years ago has just been raised.
"Remember, companies don’t build brands, consumers do by experiencing those brands, developing feelings for those brands and emotional connections to them, and talking about those brands with other people." - a quote from Susan Gunelius in Forbes magazine blog. In his article on branding titled Brand Hopes v. Brand Reality, author Chuck English describes the way the every organization, every business.... every brand ... has two facets to their brand: 1) the aspirational brand that is projected through all the various brand messages that we send - we've talked about how a brand's essence is the sum of all the things we do; and, 2) the brand that is perceived by your targeted base of potential customers. In his blog - Marketing That Works - Chuck English goes on to discuss the things we need to do to insure that the reality brand that we have (in our customer's minds) is as close as possible to the aspirational brand that we desire. You can read Chuck's entire article by going here: http://marketingthatworksblog.blogspot.ca/2012/05/brand-hopes-v-brand-reality.html?goback=%2Egde_3062007_member_118392989
TabletopJournal has written before about the great emphasis on style and design of the Mepra tabletop products, but now the company has produced a video detailing the quality of their production. This video allows a look into how Mepra makes the quality level of their products match up to their products level of elan and style. While the video is a little long at 8+ minutes, Mepra has made their fascinating to watch and will seem much shorter. A couple of points that are noticed: 1) notice how clean and organized the Mepra production facility is. Anyone who has visited flatware and cutlery production facilities knows that often this can be a pretty industrial experience. However, the Mepra facility takes on the appearance of a laboratory of design that just happens to be producing spoons, forks, and knives. and, 2) interesting to see how the polycarbonate products are made....whether they be products unto themselves or accessories for the metal products. Again, a clean, well lit modern produciton facility. You've known the Mepra brand as an Italian leader of design for innovative and functional tabletop products. Now you will have the chance to see that they are also masters of the production and quality side of the business, as well.
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