ThermoServ Acquires MugWorld
ThermoServ (asi/91080) announced on Friday that it has acquired MugWorld, a manufacturer of American-made decorative ceramic mugs. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the companies said that MugWorld would remain at its headquarters in Gainesville, TX, and will keep its name. As per the deal, MugWorld will now serve as a product line under the ThermoServ umbrella.

Through the acquisition, ThermoServ is expanding into a new product line for the company – high-quality, American-made ceramic mugs and tiles. The addition of the MugWorld product line marks an expansion of ThermoServ’s drinkware line, which will now cover the full spectrum from economy to specialty drinkware. Established in 2002, MugWorld is known for its series of ceramic mugs, tiles, coasters, and trivets that feature elaborate artwork. In addition to holding more than 200 collegiate licenses, the company holds design rights for many branches of the military.

ThermoServ has been in existence since 1952. The company says it officially closed the MugWorld transaction on June 30 and is now accepting orders for the new division of its company.

USPS Requests Rate Increases
The United States Postal Service (USPS) last week proposed across-the-board rate increases for its services. The independent agency, which is facing a $7 billion deficit for its upcoming fiscal year, submitted a proposal to the Postal Regulatory Commission that requests rate increases ranging from 2 cents for a first class stamp to as much as 8% for periodicals.

If the measures are approved, the USPS says the rate increases would raise $2.3 billion through the first nine months of 2011. No increase would go into effect before January 2011. The changes would include raising the price of a first-class stamp from 44 cents to 46 cents and raising the price of a postcard from 28 cents to 30 cents. The rate increase requests did not include any changes for Express Mail or Priority Mail. The USPS says it will announce new pricing for those services in October.

"There is no one single solution to the dire financial situation that the Postal Service faces," Postmaster General John Potter said in a statement. "These proposed rate adjustments are moderate and part of a fair and balanced approach to ensuring mail service for all Americans well into the future."

The USPS's Board of Governors in May approved a plan to eliminate most Saturday delivery, which would save it an estimated $3.1 million. That move, though, needs Congressional approval before it can be enacted. The Postal Service has also already eliminated more than 40,000 jobs and is expected to close hundreds of post office locations across the country.

Here's a rundown of the latest proposed USPS rate increases:

• First-class mail: 5.4%
• Standard mail: 5.6%
• Periodicals: 8%
• Package services: 6.7%
• Special services: 5.2%
• Single-piece Parcel Post: 7.0%
• Media mail: 7%
• Certified mail: 5.4%
• Registered mail: 4.7%
• Post Office boxes: 5.9%
• Insurance: 4.6%

Tuesday Morning Radio Show Live From ASI Chicago
Every Tuesday morning from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ET, a team of ASI editors debate the most important topics facing the industry. We also, of course, offer our own off-beat look at the market. This morning, we broadcast live from The ASI Show in Chicago, where we talked about how to land the largest clients and shared ideas on decorating trends and cold-calling tactics to take advantage of right now.

If you missed the show, a recording is now available at www.asicentral.com/radio. And, don't forget to join us for our next broadcasts – again, live from The ASI Show in Chicago – tomorrow and Thursday. Log on to www.asicentral.com/radio at 10:00 a.m. ET both days to listen to the radio shows for live updates from Chicago.

As Business Improves, Owners Reluctant To Hire
While business is growing for many small businesses, owners are hesitating to add new employees to their payroll. According to the most recent Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, published in late June, 53% of small business owners are maintaining current staffing levels, while 67% say that they have kept weekly hours the same (though only 19% have actually reduced hours). Intuit Inc.'s Small Business Employment Index reports similar findings. It reported in June that there had been a modest uptick in new hires, with 18,000 new full- and part-time jobs created at small businesses for the month—a 0.09% rise, but lower than had been seen in previous months.

"It's steadily going up, albeit slowly," says Sharna Brockett, spokesperson for Intuit. The index, based on data gathered from 57,000 businesses employing fewer than 20 employees, combines both full-time and part-time positions. Since it began tracking the monthly numbers in October 2009, it has shown small business hiring to consistently predict hiring overall by several months. "One of the reasons might be that a large business has processes and an HR department and people need to get approval before they make hiring decisions," says Brockett. "If you're a small business with just three or four people, you just make that decision and put your ad up on Craigslist."

Tamar Serkin, president of Serkin Promotions (asi/323396), is a symbol of many small businesses. "I have to tell you we're extremely busy—it's actually on the borderline of not being able to cope, but we're just working longer hours," says Serkin. While hiring additional staffers may seem the obvious solution, she dismisses that suggestion, and says that for now when it comes to hiring, "We're keeping our status quo."

David Lewenberg, vice president of Genumark Promotional Merchandise Inc. (asi/204588), says his company has been hiring short-term summer help as needed, but has also held off on offering anything more permanent. "If we have the sales volume we have right now in September, I'd probably go with full time," he says. "But because we're just about at the traditionally slow period of the year, we have to ask, ‘Is this the new reality, or is this a blip?'" 

Northranch Closes Its Doors
Northranch (asi/74260), a supplier based out of Newbury Park, CA, has announced that it is no longer in operation. Through its website, the company announced it has closed its doors after almost 30 years, and thanked its customers for their support over the years. The supplier, which sold calculators, clocks, mugs and more, is no longer listed on ESP.

Sam's Club To Offer Business Loans
Sam's Club, the wholesaler owned by Wal-Mart, has introduced an online pilot program that will offer discounted loans to small businesses. Through an arrangement with lender Superior Financial Group, Sam's Club members can apply for loans of up to $25,000 and receive better terms and interest rates than a bank could normally provide. The loans would be backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"Access to capital is a major pain point for our members," said Catherine Corley, vice president of membership at Sam's Club. "We believe this pilot program is a step in the right direction to help fuel small business growth."

Sam's Club members who take part in the loan program will receive $100 off the application fee and a 7.5% annualized interest rate, which the wholesaler claims is a 25-basis-point discount. The loans carry 10-year terms and there's no penalty for early repayment. Sam's Club will receive a $50 referral fee for each loan that is funded. "All lenders are trying to make an impact on Main Street, which includes minorities, women and veterans to help create jobs," said Tim Jochner, CEO of Superior Financial. "Sam's Club, together with SBA's premier outreach express loan programs, provides both a unique and powerful opportunity to reach and provide capital along with technical assistance and training."

This is not the first time that a wholesaler has tried offering member customers loans. Costco has made several attempts since 2000 to pair up with lenders, including Key Bank and Capital One, but the programs were not successful.

Sam's, which says nearly half of its members are small businesses, has already done a small test of the S.B.A. loans. As of last week, about 200 businesses had applied, with about 45% being approved, according to Superior Financial. "We're not necessarily trying to be a bank," said Corley. "We're just trying to bring to customers, much as we do with products, the things they need." 

Nominations Open For 2010 Counselor Power 50
Counselor is now compiling its Power 50 list for 2010 – our recognition of the industry's most powerful individuals – and we're looking for feedback from you. Click here to see the list of last year's Power 50 and let us know whether you think the members are more or less influential today than they were a year ago.

Plus, this is also the place to nominate new people who you think should be on the 2010 Power 50 list. Scroll to the bottom of the survey to submit new candidates for the Counselor Power 50 list. Please write their name and company in the space provided.

Click here to take the survey and make new nominations.

ASICentral: Top 100 Markets For Ad Specialty Sales
A recent exclusive Counselor study unveiled the best cities for ad specialty distributors to do business in right now. For the interactive online version, we decided to extend the list to the largest 100 markets and give them not only a rank, but a grade too.

Want to know where the best – and worst – cities are for ad specialty sales? Click here.

Got questions, comments or any type of feedback regarding anything ASICentral, don't hesitate to contact us at feedback@asicentral.com. Also, follow ASICentral at: .

ASI Online Learning Center
Did you know you can take self-paced, on-demand courses at ASI Education's Online Learning Center? This is the newest and most convenient way for distributors, decorators and suppliers to get educated. In our newest course for distributors, "Break Into These Five Hot Apparel Markets," we'll unveil five markets that are buying lots of decorated apparel (think: education, high-tech companies, government entities and more), the types of apparel they buy and how to make the pitch and close the sale.

Click here to take the course.

In The News
Bullet (asi/42424) announced that it has experienced significant gains in inventory availability. Customers can now use the supplier's "inventory lookup" tool for individual products on www.bulletline.com.

iPROMOTEu (asi/232119) has announced that 105 distributors affiliated with the company during the first six months of 2010. The new affiliates have an estimated annual sales volume of approximately $28,000,000.

Page & Tuttle Corporate (asi/72725) announced that it has named MVP Promos as its sales representative for New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Washington DC.

Proforma (asi/300094) announced it added five new owners in the month of June: Barbara Butler, Proforma Promotions Remembered, Plano, TX; John Costanzo, Proforma Full Circle, Clinton, NY; Patrick M. Doughty, Proforma Prime Services, Edmond, OK; Mark, Michael and Sheryl Gibson, Proforma The One Source, Bradenton, FL; and Steve Sheard, Proforma Solutions-N-Print, Inc., Winter Springs, FL

Royal Apparel (asi/83731) announced that it has a new address: 65 Commerce Drive, St, Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788. The new office phone number is (631) 213-8299, the new fax number is (631) 922-8438 and the toll-free number remains the same.

People On The Move
Beacon Promotions Inc. (asi/39250) has appointed Gary Haley as president and chief operating officer.

FirstPoint International (asi/54405) has announced the addition of Justin Gooley as sales executive.