PLBuyer April 2011 : Page 4

Frankly Speaking BY JOHN N. FRANK LET’S ALL SALUTE PLBUYER’S NEW CATEGORY COLONELS O ne of the fun facts about me that friends and acquaintances know is that I attended a military high school. Indeed, this May, my wife and I will be journeying back to New York City, land of my birth and youth, for my 40 th high school reunion, an event I’m tremendously excited about. One of the classmates who has said he’ll be at the reunion is our cadet colonel. The colonel was the highest ranking cadet officer in our Junior ROTC regiment. Selected from among the senior class at the start of our senior year, the colonel was our leader, someone who had been there with us through all the trials, challenges, sorrows and joys of our first three years. He’d risen to the top, demonstrating outstanding leadership qualities. He received command of our cadet regiment on Colonel’s Day, the day all of us who had been selected as officers (I was a platoon leader) first wore our sabers, the symbols of the ranks and recognition bestowed upon us. The entire school, about 1,000 students, attended the ceremonies, recognizing the leaders who were about to take them through another year in the school’s 150-plus-year history. Colonel is a significant rank, the highest of what are known as field grade officers. That means when the battle trumpets sound, colonels are generally in the field with their troops, leading from the front. That gives the rank of colonel a special significance. So, it’s only fitting that PLBuyer annually gives out our Category Colonel Awards to industry suppliers that retailers consider shining examples of category leaders. This year, we are making the Category Colonels more prestigious, and easier to take part in, than ever before. You’ll see in this issue (see pages 26-27) and on our Web site, PrivateLabelBuyer.com, our 2011 Category Colonels ballot and you’ll notice it’s very different than in the past. Past ballots were blank; retailers/voters were asked to write in candidates for the awards. This made voting cumbersome and so may have discouraged participation. Our new ballot lists outstanding candidates for each of our 105 awards. We’ve left room for your write-ins, but we’ve done our homework to suggest the best-of-the-best for you to choose from. We’ve also added very specific criteria you can use in making your selections, again to facilitate as much participation as possible. And we’re giving away an Apple iPad to one lucky voter, our thanks for taking part. PLBuyer’s Category Colonel’s Day is coming. Be among the retailers/readers to cast your vote and gain for your best suppliers the recognition they deserve. Join us in saluting your Category Colonels by voting for the suppliers of your choice. John N. Frank Editorial Director 847-405-4105 frankj@bnpmedia.com VOLUME 25 • NUMBER 4 EDITORIAL John N. Frank ................................................. Editorial Director frankj@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4105 Lynn Celmer ..................................................... Managing Editor celmerl@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4122 Betty Vandenberg ...................................................... Art Director Jordan Brandes .......................................................... Contributor Molly Strzelecki .......................................................... Contributor Ed Finkel ..................................................................... Contributor ADVERTISING Brion Palmer ..................................................... Group Publisher palmerb@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4072 Don Beal .................................................... Associate Publisher beald@bnpmedia.com, 908-889-4506 Todd Tamcsin .................................... Regional Sales Manager tamcsint@bnpmedia.com, 623-825-5414 Rosemary Weiss ................ Advertising/Production Manager weissr@bnpmedia.com, 847-405-4021 Jill DeVries .................................. Corporate Reprint Manager devriesj@bnpmedia.com, 248-244-1726 SUPPORT SERVICES Drew Matthews .......................................... Marketing Manager matthewsd@bnpmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Peggy Perez ........................ Audience Development Manager Devon Bono ........................................ Multimedia Coordinator Carolyn M. Alexander ................. Audience Audit Coordinator CORPORATE DIRECTORS Timothy A. Fausch ...................................................... Publishing John R. Schrei ............................................................. Publishing Rita M. Foumia ............................................ Corporate Strategy Scott Kesler ........................................ Information Technology Ariane Claire ................................................................. Marketing Vincent M. Miconi ...................................................... Production Lisa L. Paulus ................................................................... Finance Michael T. Powell ............................................................ Creative Nikki Smith ................................................................. Directories Marlene J. Witthoft ........................................ Human Resources Emily Patten ................................. Tradeshows & Conferences Beth A. Surowiec ...................................... Clear Seas Research FOR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION OR SERVICE Please contact Customer Service at: Tel. (847) 763-9534, or Fax (847) 763-9538, or e-mail PLB@halldata.com www.privatelabelbuyer.com LIST RENTAL: For postal information Please contact Rob Liska at 800-223-2194 x726, or e-mail him at robert.liska@eraepd.com For e-mail information Please contact Shawn Kingston at 800-409-4443 x828, or e-mail her at shawn.kingston@eraepd.com BNP Media Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information MEMBER PLBUYER (ISSN 1532-8899) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media II, L.L.C., 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084-3333. Telephone: (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $178.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $216.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $228.00 (int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2011, by BNP Media II, L.L.C. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Troy, MI and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: PLBUYER, P.O. Box 1080, Skokie, IL 60076. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. GST account: 131263923. Send returns (Canada) to Pitney Bowes, P.O.Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to PLBUYER, P.O. Box 1080, Skokie, IL 60076. For single copies or back issues: contact Ann Kalb at (248) 244-6499 or KalbA@bnpmedia.com 4 PLBUYER AP R I L 20 11 WWW.PRIVATELABELBUYER.COM

Frankly Speaking

John N. Frank

LET’S ALL SALUTE PLBUYER’S NEW CATEGORY COLONELS One of the fun facts about me that friends and acquaintances know is that I attended a military high school. Indeed, this May, my wife and I will be journeying back to New York City, land of my birth and youth, for my 40th high school reunion, an event I’m tremendously excited about. One of the classmates who has said he’ll be at the reunion is our cadet colonel. The colonel was the highest ranking cadet officer in our Junior ROTC regiment. Selected from among the senior class at the start of our senior year, the colonel was our leader, someone who had been there with us through all the trials, challenges, sorrows and joys of our first three years. He’d risen to the top, demonstrating outstanding Leadership qualities. He received command of our cadet regiment on Colonel’s Day, the day all of us who had been selected as officers (I was a platoon leader) first wore our sabers, the symbols of the ranks and recognition bestowed upon us. The entire school, about 1,000 students, attended the ceremonies, recognizing the leaders who were about to take them through another year in the school’s 150-plus-year history. Colonel is a significant rank, the highest of what are known as field grade officers. That means when the battle trumpets sound, colonels are generally in the field with their troops, leading from the front. That gives the rank of colonel a special significance. So, it’s only fitting that PLBuyer annually gives out our Category Colonel Awards to industry suppliers that retailers consider shining examples of category leaders. This year, we are making the Category Colonels more prestigious, and easier to take part in, than ever before. You’ll see in this issue (see pages 26-27) and on our Web site, PrivateLabelBuyer.com, our 2011 Category Colonels ballot and you’ll notice it’s very different than in the past. Past ballots were blank; retailers/voters were asked to write in candidates for the awards. This made voting cumbersome and so may have discouraged participation. Our new ballot lists outstanding candidates for each of our 105 awards. We’ve left room for your write-ins, but we’ve done our homework to suggest the best-ofthe- best for you to choose from. We’ve also added very specific criteria you can use in making your selections, again to facilitate as much participation as possible. And we’re giving away an Apple iPad to one lucky voter, our thanks for taking part. PLBuyer’s Category Colonel’s Day is coming. Be among the retailers/readers to cast your vote and gain for your best suppliers the recognition they deserve.Join us in saluting your Category Colonels by voting for the suppliers of your choice.

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