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Wynit Adds Lines, Promotes 'eCycling'
NORTH SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Wynit, has added new products, launched an environmental effort and offered two new sales promotions. The distributor has expanded its professional and amateur print lines with the addition of Designjet printers, Photosmart printers and Scanjet products from Hewlett- Packard.

M. Rothman To Carry LG Line In New York
RAMSEY, N.J. — LG Electronics has selected M. Rothman & Co. to distribute its consumer electronics products throughout the New York/New Jersey metro area. The 58-year-old distributor will formally introduce LG's products at its annual dealer show, Rothfest '08, being held at its headquarters, here, Sept.

Ingram Micro Helps Dealers ID 'Green' Goods
SANTA ANA, CALIF. — Ingram Micro launched a service to help resellers identify "green" electronics products. The distributor's North American arm has updated its product database to include information from nonprofit Green Electronics Council's Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) rating system, which evaluates desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on 51 envi...

DDG Gets New Members, Products
SEATTLE — Digital Delivery Group (DDG) has added new members, hosted a unique dealer event and expanded its assortment. Two new members have joined the digital products-focused distribution consortium. J.H. Fagan Company and AUTCO, which will serve the North Central and Great Plains markets respectively.

Distributor Briefs

Almo Unit Inks Merger Deal
PHILADELPHIA — Almo's fulfillment services division is merging with special-markets-channel distributor Power Merchandising Corp. (PMC) to form a new company called Power Merchandising Company. The deal is expected to benefit the new combined customer base because it expands each entity's existing product offerings and increases operation and logistics efficiencies, according to a stateme...

Customer Satisfaction Slips For PC, Majap Web Sites
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Customer satisfaction with company Web sites fell for most PC and major appliance manufacturers in the second quarter, according to the latest's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study from the University of Michigan and Foresee Results. The quarterly e-business report measures customer satisfaction with manufacturer sites, search engines, portals, and online ...

Krillion CE Search Site Adds Categories
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. — Krillion, a product search index that provides shoppers with real-time inventory availability at 20,000 big-box storefronts across the country, has added 96 product categories to its database. The Web site, located at www.krillion.com, now offers location-specific inventory information on 900 brands in 155 product categories representing more than 1 billion SKUs, t...

E-tailers Sold On SellPoint's Virtual Product Tours
SAN RAMON, CALIF. — With more consumers choosing to save gas money by shopping from home, e-commerce enhancements such as SellPoint's on-demand video product tours are enhancing a growing number of Web sites. The tours combine dynamic video with a wide array of printable user guides, brochures and other product information, while SellPoint's graphical dashboard provides manufacturers with...

Returns Conference Set For October
ATLANTA — Consumer Returns 2008, a three-day conference on returns prevention and management strategies co-sponsored by TWICE, will be held Oct. 27-29 at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel here. The event is designed to help consumer electronics and major appliance retailers and manufacturers enhance profitability by reducing returns, optimizing reverse logistics processes and ramping up asse...

ClearOrbit Establishes Supply-Chain Web Store
AUSTIN, TEXAS — ClearOrbit, a provider of real-time supply-chain execution and reverse logistics software solutions, has launched an online store for its certified hardware products, software, and services. The store, located at http://store.clearorbit.com, "further demonstrate[es] the company's commitment to providing manufacturers and distributors easy-to-use solutions that streamline t...

ServiceBench Hosts Conference
WASHINGTON — ServiceBench, a provider of Web-based service management solutions, hosted its fifth annual Service World conference here last month at the Grand Hyatt. The three-day event drew service executives from leading manufacturers and retailers who shared best practices in enhancing service quality, maximizing product performance and decreasing operational costs.

GreenUmbrella Unfolds New Warranty Model
IRVINE, CALIF. — There's a new kid on the extended warranty block with a potentially disruptive business model. GreenUmbrella.com, a division of Experian Interactive, opened up shop last month with a revolutionary alternative to the traditional extended service contract: Rather than offer coverage on individual products, the company has developed a blanket plan that ostensibly protects al...

Office Depot Opens First 'Green' Store
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Office Depot opened its first "green" store earlier this summer. The store, located here, was designed to use less energy and water in its daily operations, has increased recycling operations and is said to leave a much smaller environmental footprint than the typical big-box store.

hhgregg Taking Majap Trade-Ins
INDIANAPOLIS — hhgregg offered customers up to $200 toward the purchase of new Energy Star-certified Frigidaire appliances for a limited time this month with the trade in of their old white goods. The program, dubbed "hhgreen," was designed to help customers save money by cutting back on water and energy usage, the company said.

Best Buy, Circuit City, J&R Offer Live Music-Related Events
NEW YORK — Best Buy and Circuit City each held live, music-related events on their Web sites last month to help drive traffic and, ostensibly, sell content. For Best Buy, the event was the Police's final show at Madison Square Garden, a benefit concert for New York Public Television. The retailer was on-site to document what was billed as the band's "historic final moments" on stage, stre...

Howe Sees Opportunities For Specialty A/V Dealers
LAS VEGAS — The Nationwide Marketing Group's Specialty Electronics unit is diverse enough to tackle the challenges facing custom installers in the period leading up to the holiday selling season. That's what Jeannette Howe, Nationwide's executive director of Specialty Electronics, told TWICE at the organization's PrimeTime! meeting, here at the Mandalay Bay Resort, last month.

Nationwide Holds Diverse PrimeTime! Meeting In Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Recycled refrigerators that were used as a canvas for a painter, massive displays of furniture, inflatable balloons for retailers to promote their stores, 3-D TVs from Mitsubishi, mattresses by Serta, Toshiba's new XDE DVD player, and Emmy-winning ESPN and now HD Net sports interviewer Roy Firestone, who has become a singer, impressionist, author and inspirational speaker, wer...

Scenes From The Show: Brand Source's Convention & Buying Fair
LAS VEGAS — Brand Source mixed business and pleasure at its National Convention & Buying Fair, held here last month at the Paris and Bally's hotels. Besides a plethora of new programs, services and exhibitors, attendees were treated to an inspirational keynote address by former Southwest Airlines and Braniff CEO Howard Putnam — who drew parallels between the challenges faced by ...

Nielsen Analyzing Nationwide's Customers
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Nielsen Claritas is conducting a sweeping segmentation analysis of more than 2 million customer records for the Nationwide Marketing Group. The records will be accessed from a select group of Nationwide dealers, Nielsen said, and results, which will help identify the buying group's best customers, will be shared with its members and manufacturers.