Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS MARCH 2020 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 4 FROM THE EDITOR I was in New York City recently for a press event previewing this year's In- spired Home Show and took the opportunity to visit a stationery store that will remain name- less. You'll see why in a moment. I spent about half an hour in the store, wandering down the long aisle of blank journal notebooks and past a case of foun- tain pens. Then I came back to the fountain pen case and stared down into it. I recog- nized several pens that I already own, so I had the sense that I was looking at my price range even though all the price tags were facing down. This is important once you know that a fountain pen that retails for over $1,000 is not especially rare. I own none of those. Then I noticed that there were some fountain pens on a shelf behind the display case, so I wandered back there. I found a cute little pen that just fit my hand. It was a brand I'd never heard of, but it looked well made, and it was in my price range. I made a mental note of the brand and wan- dered back to the display case to stand over it some more. I walked back down the length of the aisle alongside all those notebooks. Then I came back to the pen case, where I did all but drool a little longer, casting glances across the 10 feet of space be- tween the case and the cash register, where the two teenage sales clerks sat chatting to each other. So, after a few more minutes, I left the store, empty- handed except for a purse with a wallet full of credit cards. When I got back home, I opened my lap- top, clicked onto my favorite online sta- tionery store and ordered one of the little pens I'd seen in that shop. By the time I paid the charge for expedited shipping, it cost me almost exactly the same price I'd have paid in New York. The point of this story is that it's almost impossible not to sell me something once you've gotten me into a stationery store. Many of you who've met me at trade shows have asked me about the fountain pens I use there, and a few of you have com- mented on my choice of notebooks, too. I've shown some of you my writer's calluses – I have several. I assure you that if either of those sales clerks had so much as asked me if I'd like to have a closer look at some- thing inside that case, they'd have made a sale. I can't imagine that kind of thing hap- pening in a specialty kitchenware store. The clerks in specialty grocery stores have no trouble spotting when I can't find what I want to buy, and they race to help. So I know for sure that every single time a re- tailer takes the trouble to ask for a sale, the odds that I'm going to walk out of the store with a purchase have materially advanced. See you in Chicago at The Inspired Home Show! GN — Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director FROM THE EDITOR G OURMET N EWS ® OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP FOUNDER Lee M. Oser MEMBER OF: Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and additional mailing office. Gourmet News (ISSN 1052-4630) is published monthly by Oser Communications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of pro- prietary classified information. ©2020 by Oser Communications Group. All rights re- served. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without writ- ten permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $7 each within the past 12 months, $12 each prior to the past 12 months. Back orders must be paid in advance either by check or charged to American Express, Visa, or Master Card. Gourmet News is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and dis- tribution channels of the specialty foods and hardgoods trade; paid subscriptions cost $65 annually to the U.S. and Canada. All foreign subscriptions cost $150 annu- ally to cover air delivery. All payments must be made in U.S. funds and drawn on a U.S. bank. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. WWW.GOURMETNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Kimberly Oser SENIOR ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jules Denton-Card jules_d@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann editor@oser.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Anthony Socci anthony_s@oser.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jeanie Catron ART DIRECTOR Yasmine Brown GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jonathan Schieffer CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Susan Stein CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE Rae Featherston CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Heather Albrecht heather_a@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road P.O. Box 1056 Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Gourmet News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300

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