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 Recent turmoil in the market adds to uncertainty

July retail sales showed a .06% increase over June and a 2.4% increase over July 2014. The sectors showing the largest increases were furniture/ home furnishings showing a 5.6%   increase and home improvement at a 3.7% increase. General merchandise as a sector only improved by .5%. Mixed sales results reflected a cut back on discretionary spending by the consumer. Early sales numbers for August show a modest increase for back to school. The recent development in China and our own market could dampen consumer confidence moving forward. It will be interesting to see how this turmoil sorts itself out and how we finish the year.
 
With that said, I just returned from New York where I attended the NY NOW show at Javits. The traffic was steady and most of the people who I spoke with felt the show was better that expected. They also indicated that traffic was heavier on the front end of the show, same as  in Atlanta. I think New York has done an excellent job of reorganizing and categorizing the show making it easier for the buyer to work.
 
We continue to follow up on leads from the licensing show and will be announcing several new licensees in future newsletters. We are pleased with the results from the show to date and the new companies and categories   we will be adding to our licensee list.
 
We plan on attending the Casual Furniture show in Chicago mid-September to explore opportunities for the Kim Parker Brand, as well as our own. In October, we will be exhibiting at Brand Licensing in London for the first time.  We have heard great things about this show and look forward to having the chance to formally introduce our brand to that market.
 
We will be celebrating Norman Rockwell’s 100th anniversary with the Post in 2016. His first cover appeared in May, 1916.

We think this is a great opportunity for us as well as our licensees to incorporate this milestone into their merchandising efforts. We have created a special logo for the event and would love to discuss how you can take advantage of this anniversary to further drive business. Please give us a call to discuss!
 
 
Best,

Mike Waldner| Director of Licensing
1100 Waterway Boulevard | Indianapolis , IN 46202
phone (317) 489- 6973 | mwaldner@curtislicensing.com
Curtis Licensing | The Saturday Evening Post