ANSOM

The man we knew as Bob Shelton, owner of Joy Enterprises in West Palm Beach, Florida passed away last week. He built his company into one of the preeminent cutlery products distributors and manufacturers in our industry. Bob was also a long-time, familiar face at the ASD/AMD trade shows. Many of his employees considered him a father figure and he will be greatly missed.

Official obituary notice -
SHELTON, Steven B., otherwise known as “Bubi”, 79, of West Palm Beach, FL and formerly of Northern New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 9, 2008 at his home. Mr. Shelton was the beloved husband of Alex for 26 of the best years of their lives; loyal and loving father of Deborah Mia Shelton and his predeceased son David Samuel Shelton; dear brother of Ruth Goldstein; adored by all who knew him. As a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Shelton nevertheless believed in the goodness and equality of all people and lived his life with a joyous and open heart. He embodied the essence of his Hebrew name “Simcha”; indeed he brought joy to all who knew him. In loving memory, contributions may be made either to Hospice of Palm Beach County – 5300 East Avenue., W.P.B., FL 33407 or World ORT Representative Office - 2152 Ralph Avenue. Box #146, Brooklyn, New York, NY 1123

Chapel Services were held on Friday, June 13, 2008 at I.J. Morris Funeral Directors – 5411 Okeechobee Blvd., W.P.B., FL 33417.

From the National Retail Federation today -

Wal-Mart becoming grocer of choice for a larger segment of Americans. Nationwide, an average of 16% noted that they do the bulk of their food shopping at Wal-mart. In the south, it’s 25%. The study also indicated that the growth rate of most regional grocery chains remains flat. More here.

FedEx will rename Kinko’s - From FedEx Kinko’s to FedEx Office. More here. (At last, our long national nightmare is over. Especially since Kinko’s original name was Pervo’s.)

PetSmart’s pricing strategy of 10% higher than discount stores but 10%-15% lower than grocery stores has been a winning mix when combined with their commitment to greater product selection and competent customer service. More here. Of course, since they’re a specialty retailer, offering a greater product selection would seem to be mandatory.

This is a teaser blog posting, deliberately not posted on April 1st so as not to be taken for an April Fool’s thingy.
The tease is that your April issue of ANSOM will be smaller, squarer (if that’s a word) and way cuter than the stodgy old stovepipe hat that was ANSOM over the past several decades. Harumph.

Just wait until you see the elegant, modern new look, full editorial color throughout and our environmentally oh-so-sensitive use of recycled paper stock. ANSOM’s new, bite-sized and easy to handle format will make for friendlier relations with bookshelves, briefcases, tabletops, crowded restaurants, buses and eyeballs from coast to coast. Just you wait and see.

Our web site remains the same size, however.

The April issue is our annual all-camping issue. Plenty of information on tents - but no longer in a tent-sized format.

Making a one-time-only cameo appearance at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the ASD/AMD MTO Show (March 2-5) was determined by a majority of mil-surp exhibitors to be a good thing. Almost to an exhibiting firm, the consensus was that order-writing was consistent and financially satisfying, especially in light of a reduced traffic flow which was anticipated anyway.

In August 2008 (August 10-13 to be precise), the ASD/AMD Military Tactical Outdoor Show will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center, and for the foreseeable future. The much-rumored consolidation of show sites into the Sands has been put on indefinite hold. Seems there are some intra-city squabbles over who decides how and if the Sands expansion will proceed and as to who is calling the shots. We know it ain’t Frankie, though. Who knows, maybe they’ll build a casino instead. About time Vegas got one, if you ask me. Thank you, thank you very much.

Want more info on the upcoming ASD/AMD MTO Show? Good for you. Go here.

The second Army Navy Military Expo took place last week in Las Vegas at the new South Point Hotel & Casino just outside Las Vegas. It featured the return of most of the previous show’s exhibitor cadre, with a few newbies. A couple of pleasant surprises for both exhibitors and buyers attending that show - the shuttle bus from Mandalay Bay to South Point was a much quicker and easier journey than many had anticipated; and the hotel itself was found to be (relatively) inexpensive, clean and comfortable, a good deal all around. And not many army/navy trade shows get to throw in a free rodeo (taking place in the arena next to the show floor) for attendees’ viewing pleasure. Reports on the show itself was that traffic was light but many exhibitors still expressed satisfaction with the quality of the orders they wrote.

What was remarkable about the trip from Mandalay to South Point is that I believe that it took less time and effort than the walk from the entrance to Caesar’s Palace to the Augustus Ballroom within Caesar’s at the previous (August 2007) show.

In August 2008, the Army Navy Military Expo will operate as an inline component of the well-established Off Price Apparel Specialist Trade Show. The event is scheduled for August 23-26 in Las Vegas (Sands Expo Center), almost two weeks after the ASD/AMD/MTO Trade Show, also in Las Vegas. The ANM Expo/Off Price Show will overlap with the Las Vegas-based MAGIC Show (August 25-27) for two days, giving army/navy buyers an additional reason to be in Las Vegas.

In our opinion, partnering with the Off Price Show, especially as a combined unit rather than a stand-apart show in another venue is an interesting, creative and positive development for the ANM Expo.

We will offer more details on this development in our March issue. Meanwhile, for further information, click here.

The American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, NY is the creation of Jeff and Jacky Clyman of Cockpit, USA, a supplier of authentic vintage military and military-style jackets, t-shirts and other apparel based in New York City. The museum features not only famous military aircraft from the past (many in airworthy condition), but also a comprehensive historical recreation of a World War II-era airfield hanger and barracks on the grounds of the museum.

The museum, and Jeff Clyman are featured in today’s New York Times. Please go here for the article; and go here to learn more about the American Airpower Museum.

Spoke with Ted Abma of Abma Sales today. Ted is one of our industry’s longtime stalwarts, a true surpie.

Ted has been married to wife Carol for 56 years, and he tells us that she has some health concerns that will now require hospitalization.

He is asking all of us to pray for her and keep her in our thoughts.

It is with great sadness and a profound sense of personal loss that we report that Ethelyn Schreck Hirsch passed away on Friday, 25 January at the age of 56 after a short illness. Ethelyn, the daughter of industry pioneers Sol and Pauline Schreck, co-owned Schreck Wholesale in Chicago. Ethelyn was one of the finest people in our industry - warm, intelligent, outgoing and a respected businesswoman. It is particularly tragic that such a young woman - both chronologically and in the manner in which she lived - should leave us so soon. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to her husband, Ken, their sons Scott and Adam, brother in law Harold Hirsch and to their loved ones.

The family is requesting donations to be made to the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Skokie, Illinois. More information here.

In our February issue, we will be introducing the inaugural inductees of the ANSOM Hall of Fame. Dedicated initially to pioneers, movers and shakers in the military surplus (and related) marketplace, the Hall will be updated every six months for a couple of years, then on a yearly basis thereafter. Our web site (which is where you are right this moment) will contain a permanent archive of members and an opportunity for visitors to add reminiscences and tributes.
We welcome your nominations for the Hall - there are currently two categories, Supplier and Retailer. In theory, a nominee can be inducted into both.

In an industry with a rich heritage and fascinating history such as ours, it is fitting to honor those who helped lead so many on the road to success.

Those wishing to nominate potential inductees may do so by posting a comment to this blog, or by contacting me directly via email or phone.