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sales@spotsndots.com Copyright 2017.The Daily News of TV Sales Thursday, April 13, 2017

DEALING WITH THE NEW FRUGAL SHOPPERPOST-RECESSION RETAIL CHALLENGE Keeping up with the Joneses will never go away completely, but a new report from The NPD Group says Americans are becoming more cautious about spending and taking on debt. Millennials, in particular, aren’t aspirational in their purchasing—“They’re frugal, except in a handful of categories,” says the report. And while Millennials are an important segment for retailers, the trend toward prioritizing purchases and carefully evaluating price tags has spread across a large swath of the population following the “Great Recession.” Once it was common for consumers to spend heavily in order to appear affluent, but now even the truly affluent shop in dollar stores. “And once everyone wanted to look comfortable, if not actually rich—now consumers want to feel comfortable,” according to the NPD analysis. Even Boomers, who have more discretionary income than any other demographic group, aren’t spending in the same categories they did a few years ago. The report says signature items are where consumers are putting their money and effort. Shoppers invest time in researching and choosing items that serve as the focal point of how they want to be seen. One area where the decline of aspirational shopping is clear is, predictably, in the world of high-end, high-price fashion. No doubt our readers are aware of the bankruptcies and near-bankruptcies recently of several once-hot fashion brands. Using its Retail Tracking Service data, NPD sorted brands according to average price per item, and then looked at changes in dollars spent on those brands. The results were telling. Of the 10 most expensive brands examined, eight saw declines in 2016; six with double-digit declines. Meanwhile, NPD’s Checkout Tracking service showed about 19% of spending at Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Family Dollar came from households with an income in excess of $100,000 a year. The dollar-store phenomenon is even more significant among Millennials. Checkout Tracking found Millennials with annual incomes of $100,000 or more made purchases at these stores nearly 13 times a year and spent more than $135. Seemingly everyone has developed a preference for off-price stores. NPD’s research shows two-thirds of consumers now purchase at off-price retail outlets. Apparel is most likely to be in their shopping basket. Despite their general frugality, NPD data shows Millennials aren’t always thrifty. Millennials shop more frequently at brick-and-mortar stores—but they spend more money when shopping online. Millennials spend more than twice as much per order when shopping online in three categories: clothing, electronics and home/kitchen. That’s attributed in part to being able to easily compare prices online for big ticket items, so there’s still an element of frugality, but clearly an opportunity for omnichannel retailers.

ADVERTISER NEWS Starting next week, Walmart will offer discounts on about 10,000 online-only items if customers go to the store for pickup. The discount will be based on several factors including what the cost would have been to ship to the consumer’s home, with heavier items likely to get the biggest price cuts. And, of course, having the customer go to the store offers Walmart a chance to make other

sales once the customer is there—while Walmart doesn’t disclose those figures, CNBC reports Target has said about a third of people who come to pick up online orders buy additional merchandise……Another retailer may be headed to bankruptcy court. This time it’s Gymboree, which operates about 1300 stores, has lost money for years, and most recently reported a 5% same-store sales decline. Bloomberg reports

the chain faces an interest payment on its $1 billion debt on June 1, and had warned last month it was running short on cash……McDonald’s is introducing a line of slushies in about 6,000 locations including some big markets like Chicago, Atlanta and Houston. Nation’s Restaurant News suggests Mickey D’s new line is clearly aimed at Sonic, which specializes in beverages and says it has over a million different drink and slush combinations. And some good news for McDonald’s franchisees: no new equipment is needed for the new product……AMC Theaters is rolling out a menu revamp to about 400 locations, saying AMC Feature Fare is its first true restaurant-style menu. Among the items that will be available are spicy hot dogs, flatbread pizzas, and a Chicken & Waffle sandwich……Sales of the Lincoln Navigator slumped to just over 10,000 last year, less than a quarter of what they had been at the model’s peak, and Ford will have a redesigned 2018 Navigator shipped to dealers later this year. Competing in the full-size luxury SUV segment, the new vehicle will start around a $63,000 sticker price……Tractor Supply Company quarterly results aren’t due for a couple of weeks, but it issued a preliminary report that was discouraging. Comp stores sales for the first quarter were down 2.2% compared to a quarter last year when comps had been up 4.9%. This year’s comp transactions were down 1.4% with the average ticket down 0.9%. On a regional basis, TSC saw the worst numbers in its Northern stores, citing weather as a factor…… A study done by Market Force International found 71% of drivers still fill up at a gas station/convenience store compared to just 29% at supermarkets or big box stores. Tulsa-based QuikTrip ranked as favorite, replacing last year’s champ, the similar-sounding Kwik Trip....Victoria Beckham’s Designer collection went on sale last Sunday at Target and Target’s website. Online sales for the collection by the former Spice Girl have already broken a company record for sales by a design partner.

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NETWORK NEWS CBS will air a two-hour primetime entertainment special saluting five-time Grammy winners The Bee Gees. Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to The Music of the Bee Gees will air on the network this Sunday, April 16th at 8 PM (ET). The air date of the special is significant as it falls on the 40th anniversary of the iconic film Saturday Night Fever. John Travolta will serve as host and a star-studded line up will perform, including Jason Derulo, Celine Dion, Nick Jonas, John Legend, Demi Lovato, Pentatonix, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban and Stevie Wonder, among many others. Barry Gibb will perform Jive Talkin’ and You Should Be Dancing and will be joined on stage by the other guest performers. The special will be capped off with a performance of Stayin’ Alive……ABC’s Speechless and NBC’s This Is Us were among the 2016 selections for Television Academy Honors. The honors are presented annually by the Television Academy, which administers the Primetime Emmy Awards, aiming to recognize programs that tackle social issues and use television as a forum advocate for social change. Programs airing in the past calendar year were eligible for submission in fiction and non-fiction categories……A spokesperson for David Letterman confirmed on Tuesday that Letterman’s mother, Dorothy Mengering passed away at the age of 95. Mengering was well-known to her son’s fans as part of a group of recurring characters who appeared often on Letterman’s NBC show Late Night and on Late Show on CBS. She made frequent visits leading up to holidays like Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day. One of her most popular recurring bits was with her son playing Guess Mom’s Pies……Mario Lopez, host of Extra, and Sheryl Underwood of The Talk on CBS have been selected as host of the 44th Daytime Emmy Awards. The awards show will take place April 30th at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Mary Hart, pervious host of Entertainment Tonight will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement award and former All My Children star Susan Lucci will be part of a special tribute to All My Children creator Agnes Nixon……An extra on the set of the Fox comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine says a caterer refused to serve him an omelet and taunted him because he’s Asian. In a complaint filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Kwon Kang says he was dressed in costume as a police officer when he tried to order breakfast in January 2016. The complaint alleged that an employee of Limelight Catering told him he “refuses to serve food to police officers because his brother was killed by a police officer.” Kang named both Limelight Catering and NBC in the suit.

ACCOUNT ACTIONS Ashley HomeStore, which spent about $161.7 million in measured media last year according to Kantar Media estimates, has moved its media planning and strategy assignment to Cincinnati-based Empower MediaMarketing, replacing McCann Minneapolis. Media buying will remain with Icon International for the chain’s 700 stores, most of which are franchisee-owned.

AVAILS WDSU, Hearst owned NBC affiliate in New Orleans, LA, has an opening for an experienced, highly motivated, dynamic and driven Account Executive. The AE will be responsible for selling WDSU TV, MeTV, WDSU.com and Mobile, and our specialty apps such as Parade Tracker and Transit Tracker. New business development is our #1 Priority. Must be able to thrive in a fast-paced, competitive, multi-media environment. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. EOE. Account Executive: FOX O&O, WTVT, Tampa, FL.

This opening at the top rated station in Tampa requires the servicing of existing transactional accounts along with the development of new broadcast and digital business. Candidate must be highly motivated and possess strong presentation and prospecting skills. Position requires prior broadcast sales experience, preferably in an LPM market. College degree is preferred. Please CLICK HERE to apply, or visit us in person at 3213 W. Kennedy Blvd.,

Tampa, FL 33609 EOE/M/F/Veteran/Disabled Account Executive: KSTS – Telemundo 48, the Telemundo station in the Bay Area, has a great new opportunity to join the sales team. We’re looking for an experienced sales person who can negotiate and sell commercial airtime for KSTS and other station multi-platforms. We are looking for someone to develop sales revenue from new advertisers as well as maximize revenue from assigned list. Finding and developing new and non-traditional advertisers is expected, as well as developing revenue opportunities for digital platforms. CLICK HERE for more info or to apply now. WWBT/NBC12 Richmond, VA seeks positive, “can-do” Traffic Coordinator to join our Sales Team. The ideal candidate should have excellent organizational skills, be detail oriented, be a problem solver, and be able to work quickly and accurately in a fast paced, deadline driven environment. Responsibilities include: Working closely with account executives, ad agencies, creative services, master control, and our traffic hub to secure advertiser commercials and traffic instructions. Qualified applicants only, APPLY HERE. Drug Screen required. EOE M/F/D/V.

DEALERS’ NET PROFITS SLIP Looking again at the National Automobile Dealers Association’s Dealership Financial Profile for the first two months of the year, the average dealership showed a significant decline in net profit before tax compared to 2016’s first two months. Net was $173,648 for the average dealership this year (1.9% of total sales) compared to $198,820 last year (2.3% of total sales), a 12.7% decline. Dealerships specializing in imports took the biggest hit showing a 17.2% drop in nets while domestic dealerships were down 12.9%. Dealers that handle luxury brands were down but at a less severe rate that mass-market dealers—luxury brand dealers’ nets fell 7.1% while mass market dealers dropped 15%.

4/13/2017

Conan O’Brien

A package of salad mix that was sold in a Florida

Walmart was found to contain a dead bat.

This is shocking news - someone shopping at

Walmart bought a salad.

The Daily News of TV Sales @ www.spotsndots.com PAGE 3

BUSINESS BYTES “Anybody is for sale, as long as the price is right.” With the report coming this week that there could be a bidding war for Panera Bread, Nation’s Restaurant News says the initial offer for Panera and the earlier purchase of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen by Restaurant Brands shows that some successful chains that aren’t for sale are willing to sell when the multiples get high enough. The Popeyes sale is set at 21 times cash flow and the JAB offer for Panera (which Restaurant Brands may try to top) is 19.5 times cash flow, both well above traditional metrics in the restaurant business. The offer on the table for Panera right now would be the second-largest deal in history in the restaurant industry, topped only by Burger King’s acquisition of Tim Horton’s, which led to the creation of Restaurant Brands three years ago. We reported a while ago about Fiat Chrysler’s plans to add as many as 380 dealerships in the U.S., and what that could do to the value of existing dealers’ businesses. FCA hasn’t publicly confirmed its plans, but Automotive News reports the CEO of Lithia Motors, for one, has said his company in is talks to open multiple news stores. FCA currently has 2,440 dealerships selling its domestic brands, up 15 from last year, but down more than 1100 from pre-recession levels above 3,500 a decade ago. 391 dealers currently sell Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which were brought back to the U.S. in 2012, and there’s some belief many of the new stores would go to Chrysler dealers to sell those brands and perhaps Maserati. Nielsen reports e-commerce is helping to reverse the slowdown in sales of Consumer Package Goods in some categories, including groceries. Nielsen says growth in groceries will add up over time and could reach $100 billion in eight years. E-commerce retail for beauty and personal care CPGs was more than 10% of sales last year and has reached as high as 16% in the pet care category, where over 80% of the category’s growth in 2016 came from online sales.

ALTICE USA FILES FOR IPO The anticipated effort by Altice to sell public stock in its American operation, Altice USA, is underway. The European cable company took on over $20 billion in debt as it acquired Cablevision and Suddenlink to create the #4 cable company in the U.S., so a portion of the proceeds from selling a minority stake to the public will help reduce that debt load—and set the company up for more potential acquisitions. Paperwork filed with the SEC show the company hopes to sell at least $100 million in new stock. Due to the Cablevision acquisition, Altice USA’s subscriber base of 4.3 million households is heavily focused in the New York City and Long Island region. However, its footprint now spreads across portions of 20 states—and it clearly has plans to grow. According to the SEC filing, Altice USA (as currently constituted) recorded a 2016 net loss of $656 million on revenue of $9.15 billion, compared with a loss of $1.1 billion on revenue of $8.97 billion in 2015.

SUBARU, LEXUS TOPS FOR BRAND IMAGE The annual Brand Watch survey by Kelley Blue Book has compiled the brand perceptions of 12,000 in-market new-vehicle shoppers and declared KBB’s 2017 Brand Image Award Winners. All are repeat winners: Subaru for non-luxury brands; Lexus for the luxury category; and Ford as the best truck brand. For 2017, Subaru retains its Best Overall Brand crown for the second consecutive year, in addition to winning Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand.

As the Best Overall Brand, Subaru captured the highest average scores among all 12 Brand Watch factors, including affordability, driving comfort, driving performance, durability/reliability, exterior styling, fuel efficiency, interior layout, prestige/sophistication, reputation, ruggedness, safety and technology. The Forester, Crosstrek and Outback contributed to Subaru’s overall success. Subaru has earned KBB’s Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand titles since 2015.

Lexus remains the Best Overall Luxury Brand for 2017, taking the title for the second consecutive year. The brand is highly regarded for its strong lineup among consumers, with the RX, ES, NX Hybrid, IS, GS and LS as the primary drivers of Lexus’ success. In addition to its top luxury award, Lexus takes home the Most Trusted Luxury Brand win for the second consecutive year. For the fourth year in a row, Ford claims the top spot among truck shoppers, winning the Best Overall Truck Brand category. Ford has won eight out of the nine times KBB has announced this award (with only Toyota outranking them in 2013), giving truck buyers what they want in its F-150, including best-in-class towing and payload capacity, a cabin filled with luxury and tech amenities, and more.

4/13/2017

Jim Gaffigan

Herbal supplements aren’t FDA approved, and just to

put that in perspective, the Twinky is.

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