Educational Dealer - The Magazine of the School Supply Industry

THE MAGAZINE OF THE SCHOOL SUPPLY INDUSTRY

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Robyn Soine, a veteran ed dealer in Washington state, shares some of the retail wisdom she’s amassed over more than 25 years in business

In an era when many small businesses fold before they even get off the ground, Soine’s Teaching Tools in Mount Vernon, Washington, is marking its 26th year of operation. It stands to reason, then, that veteran ed dealer Robyn Soine must be doing something right. We contacted her recently to learn about her approach to retail and how she maintains a thriving business despite the ups and downs of the past quarter-century.
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Survey Results
Data Security "High Priority" but PCI DSS Rules Poorly Understood

With the advent of new credit card security guidelines imposed by the PCI Security Standards Council, a credit card industry group, retailers across all sectors are scrambling to ensure they are in compliance. Failure to comply can result in significant fines for merchants imposed by credit card companies. To gauge awareness of the new standards in our industry we asked readers the following questions. Here is their collective response. Read More

From www.edweek.org


Retailers Recommend 10 Fabulous Products
May 2008
Cathy Moore of The Teacher's Apple in Portsmouth, Ohio 'Dr. Seuss products did very well over the past year. They can be hard to find. We don't carry the books, but we have Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat pencil toppers plus pencils (1) and Dr. Seuss decorations from Eureka. The pencils just ca ... [click here to read more]

Ed Expo in Orlando 2010

Ed Expo returns to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, March 18 through 20, and as in past years, attendees can expect to find manufacturers and distributors exhibiting a wide range of new educational materials, furniture, supplies and services for the classroom.

In addition to the displays, educational workshops and special sessions this year provide valuable information for retailers who are looking to improve their marketing, turn their inventory more often throughout the year, and decipher store numbers to come up with financial solutions. Early afternoon sessions scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, include the following.
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Social Media and Other Commonsense Ways to Build Meaningful Business Connections

Relationships are more important than ever, particularly when it comes to doing business. And thanks to social media, mobile technology and the ever-expanding Internet, it’s easier than ever to connect with others.

But while everyone, it seems, is joining the social media craze, it’s time to slow down and consider what will really bring success to your business, says consultant, speaker and author Maribeth Kuzmeski, a business relationship expert. Is it tweeting 100 times per day or having 500 colleagues in your LinkedIn network? Possibly, she says, but it really depends on whether you are truly connecting with those folks.
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The Issue
by Kevin Fahy

Light My Fire

Like thousands of other Americans, I got a Kindle for Christmas. For those of you who don’t pay much attention to gadgets, a Kindle is an “e-reader,” or an electronic device on which one may read books or other published products that were heretofore the province of paper and ink.
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Online Retailers Focus on Checkout to Increase Sales
A recent survey showed that when it comes to how people buy online, retailers pay as much attention to how the shopping experience ends as they do to how it starts. According to “The State of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising Report,” conducted by Forrester Research, eight out of 10 retailers (79 percent) said enhancing the checkout process was at the top of their to-do lists for the remainder of the year, with 90 percent of medium-sized retailers listing checkout as a top priority. Read More