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| FAH3 |
Trans World Entertainment announced the other day that they will be pulling all the Stones product from the shelves because of the Four Flicks deal.
Following is an email that I wrote to the company:
"To Whom It May Concern:
I recently read the comments from your company with regards to the pulling of the Rolling Stones merchandise from the shelves of TWEC�s stores in response to the signing of an exclusive deal with Best Buy to market Four Flicks. I believe this demonstrates a lack of sound judgment on the part of the company and is nothing more than a glorified �strong arm� technique being perpetrated by Trans World Entertainment.
The Philadelphia market, for a number of years, saw TWEC, and its predecessors Camelot Music and W.H. Smith, reaped the benefits of an exclusive contract to distribute the Y-100 Sonic Sessions. This title was guaranteed to move a large number of units and consistently was a huge seller for the company. TWEC allowed the contract to expire so it was subsequently picked up by Musicland. Please explain what the difference is. Why was it acceptable for TWEC to have exclusivity to a product but not Best Buy?
In the past I recall TWEC having certain exclusive singles that could be given away with the purchase of the artist�s full length album, such as a recent promotion for John Mayer. I wouldn�t classify that as being �fair�, yet I doubt TWEC executives made any qualms about engaging in that business practice. I also sincerely doubt that TWEC would have had any reservations about entering into a deal with any artist to market a title exclusively. The fact of the matter is in an industry where many retailers struggle to say afloat it makes great business sense to gain an advantage over the competition any way one can.
So the TWEC solution is to pull the �slower-turning, older catalog pieces� from the stores. I must question the business acumen of any corporation to make this decision prior to the holiday season. Your stores have the capability to view the number of pieces of a product sold and I know for a fact that during the holiday season the back catalog of all artists, not just the Stones, sells very well. So rather than swallowing corporate pride and offering these titles to the public, your company�s stance is to cause inconvenience to the customers and force them to shop elsewhere. So rather than sell Hot Rocks for $35.99 and receive the margin off of that the company has elected to forego that income altogether. The effects to the bottom line may be negligible but the customer who has �Exile On Main Street� on their Christmas list will walk away empty-handed and disgusted that they must go somewhere else during the most frenetic time of the year.
TWEC�s decision to make a statement on this issue is reminiscent of the 1999 decision on the part of the company not to carry �Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes � Live At The Greek.� That decision cost the company sales as will this one. Both decisions are based on foolish pride, in my opinion, and do nothing but hurt what is supposedly the most valuable component of retail � the customer."
If you want to send a message to these corporate types email TWEC at
[email protected]
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Hey, that's a pretty good letter! |
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| glencar |
I think it'd be a great idea to start buying a bunch of Stones product at stores that will still carry it, whether it's Best Buy or whomever. |
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| Monkey Woman |
Very well written, FAH3. I hope this kind of customer reaction will make a few corporate heads think for a change!  |
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| SHINE A LIGHT |
oh the suits...they never cease to outrage me. BUT, the stones will only profit from this kind of foolishness, they always do!!!!!! |
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| jb |
Stones record slaes are so diminimus that this is a boycott without any risk....they would never do this to pop stars like Britney and her elk as they move a tremendous amount of product...they take no loss by removing Stones records b/c their sales are so small and insignificant. The Stones have never been a commercially viable band outside of touring , in which, obvious, they have made their fortunes.
[Edited by jb] |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
>Britney and her elk <
Hey lay off the elk! They are just stupid antlered beasts, they never did anyone any harm. OK, except for that guy that got gored...but he was asking for it! Never piss off an elk, no matter how tempting....that's what I always say.
So how many elk does Britney have? A herd, or just a couple? I would think it would be hard to feed a whole herd of elk. I mean Purina Elk Chow ain't cheap!
Does she have any moose? What about mule deer? White tail? Of course she has white tail. I'll bet she has some black tail too!
I had an elk burger once. It tasted like chicken. |
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| nankerphelge |
Purina Elk Chow is definitely not cheap!
Elk are by far some of the highest maintenance beasts out there! And cloven hooved, I might add. Are we seeing a trend yet???
I've never much cared for Elk.
They have an elitist attitude and really bad breath! |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
Elk breath is not nearly as bad as moose breath though.
And teats! Good GOD, what about those elk teats! Amazing! Hypnotizing! Exotic!
I can't believe that some plastic surgeon out there hasn't offered elk teats yet. |
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| Zeeta |
Ever tried Ostrich?!
Seriously pretty tasty - a bit like beef but mintier!
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| gypsy |
Damnit, SS, I was sooo going to jump on jb's non-spelling ass...but you beat me to it, as usual. |
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| Soldatti |
I don't think that an artist with 63.5 millions of copies sold on the States (the #10 artist most selling in the US history) has "insignificant sales".
Their back catalog is selling very well through the years: Hot Rocks reaches the 12 millions mark last year only on US.
The last year, by one week (Sep. 14), the Rolling Stones had 4 (four) albums on the Top 50 of the Billboard Pop Catalog:
#11 Hot Rocks
#16 Let It Bleed
#19 Beggars Banquet
#50 Singles Collection
Is the only living artist with this impressive record.
I don't think that the Stones are insignificants...
[Edited by Soldatti] |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
>Britney and her elk <
Hey lay off the elk! They are just stupid antlered beasts, they never did anyone any harm
You're mean. LOL. I thought we weren't supposed to bring attention to misspletlled words.
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| Sir Stonesalot |
What? What word did he misspell?
Oh, wait...it's Brittany, not Britney, right?
He spelled elk right. |
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| Maxlugar |
Mmmmmm Elk have legs....
Long, lusciuous, muscular legs.
I had an Elk once that I made shave her legs and walk around in Wooden Stilletto Heels that I had imported from Holland.
Looking back, those were some heady days.
Although the heels made her so tall she left rub marks in my ceiling. Marks that I sometimes run my fingers over late at night when I'm drunk and full of longing...
An Elk'll spoil a man.
They ruined me for sheep.
Can't get THEM to walk around in Wooden Stilletto heels imported from Holland!
Much less shave........
Wolly whores!
MACKY! |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
What? What word did he misspell?
Oh, wait...it's Brittany, not Britney, right?
He spelled elk right.
Man....spell a word wrongly and the spelling police will nab you. It's Britney I think. But nowadays the Touchy/Feely curriculum crowd doesn't believe in spelling. It's bad for self esteem or something. I spent 4 years of my life wasting to become a teacher....luckily I bailed. Working for curriculum nitwits would have killed me...but probably not before I took a few with me.
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| jb |
Soldatti makes some compelling points...I tend to downplay their sales but cumulatively they are pretty competitive...but nonetheless, I'll stand by my statement that overall, this "boycott" will not hurt either the retailers or the Stones...and perhaps, it may indeed help sales, as any news , negative or positive, stirs up interest. Thanks again for your figures Soldatti..however, even you have not got the final tour figures |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
jb wrote:
stand by my statement that overall, this "boycott" will not hurt either the retailers or the Stones...and perhaps, it may indeed help sales, as any news , negative or positive, stirs up interest.
You're absolutely right jb. All this is insubstantial. Whether either the Stones or retailers make or lose money... it doesn't affect me. I don't listen to commercial speak anyway. I write it for a living. It's BullShit. |
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| glencar |
It'll help sales. |
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| corgi37 |
From what i see here in Australia, it seems is true in the U.S. too. The Stones are already boycotted. Absolutely no mention has been made of the upcoming dvd. I agree a boycott could help the old geezers out. Might even have the unexpected plus of gaining them new fans. "Oh, the Stones being bad-boys again, me-thinks i will buy their dvd. And 1/2 dozen cd's as well". Ya never know. Worst thing is, i have to wait until Dec. 1 for the dvd. |
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