FedEx Kinko's takes aim at big-box suppliers

By Sandra Zaragoza
Dallas Business Journal
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET Oct. 1, 2006
The shop that's built its business making copies is contemplating going pen-to-pen with big-box office suppliers nationwide.

In Florida and Missouri, FedEx Kinko's is testing a retail format that converts its traditional 6,000-square-foot stores into places where customers can make copies, get a sign made, send a package and shop for a wide array of office supplies. Since launching the expanded retail concept 10 months ago, Dallas-based FedEx Kinko's has overhauled 20 stores in Orlando and St. Louis.


The company also has put the idea to work in Indianapolis and Marina Del Rey, Calif. Next, it plans to build a new-style store from the ground up in Memphis, the hometown of its parent company, FedEx Corp.

At the test stores, existing FedEx Kinko's customers may be surprised to find a Wi-Fi Bar, purple shopping carts and retail sales employees fanned out across the sales floor. These stores also have upgraded shipping counters and installed features such as a conveyor belt that stretches from the store entrance to the shipping area to help customers with heavy loads. The 6,000-square-foot stores stock about 2,500 items, from presentation materials to mobile phone and computer accessories, that customers may need to pick up on the fly.

In the next few months, the company should have a better idea of whether it will continue to move forward with the new retail model, according to Tom Leverton, senior vice president for operations growth and development.

Miami, Seattle and Dallas are among the major metropolitan areas that may be in line for the latest retail format, Leverton said.

Different tacks
Meanwhile, FedEx Kinko's has been pushing into retailing with a small 1,800-square-foot format, which costs about 50% less to construct than its traditional 6,000-square-foot model, which offers a limited selection of items.

FedEx Kinko's built a business around office and print services. The first Kinko's store in Santa Barbara, Calif., opened in 1970 and offered a small selection of school supplies and greeting cards. This is the first time it has introduced retail concepts with a wide array of office supplies, as well as packing and shipping materials.

The office supply retail category is already dominated by giants like Staples, which has 1,800 big box and small stores, and Office Depot, which has more than 1,000 locations in the U.S. alone.

Alan Shore, co-founder and president of The Retail Connection, believes that FedEx Kinko's is well positioned to become a significant retail player.

"The advantage they have is size, which they can leverage, and quality of brand. Obviously, they have a wonderful distribution process," Shore said. "When FedEx bought Kinko's they brought in an established infrastructure; They can leverage that for greater store growth and greater profits."

On the flip side, Shore says, FedEx Kinko's is still relatively new to the retail arena.

"They have to be competitive in price, and they have to be able to compete on service and on offerings," Shore said. "They are not a retailer by trade, and retail is a tough business."

Small buildout first
Right now, convenience is at the core of FedEx Kinko's retail strategy.

The company will be bringing its compact, 1,800-square-foot format -- which stocks about 700 items -- to new markets, neighborhoods and downtown areas, Leverton said.

It plans to open 200 of these small stores across the country by June 2007, bringing the company's store count to 1,700 worldwide.

In the last few months, FedEx Kinko's has opened four small centers in Waxahachie, Dallas, Cedar Hill and Mansfield, giving it eight compact locations in D-FW.




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CLIP & SAVE CHECKLIST: Time to winterize

 

 (WILLIAM ARCHIE/DFP)

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• Emergency kit
Autumn's nip is settling in, and we're about two months away from the snow flying. It's a pain to think about winterizing your house when the leaves have barely begun to turn.

But if you start now, you can do one chore per weekend -- and still have time to watch the Lions lose on Sundays.

Clip this list and hang it on the fridge. If you're handy, you can do most of these jobs yourself. If you're not, hire a professional. But don't just ignore them. Small fixes can save you big money later.

Let's get started. And no whining:

Overall house inspection

• Take a few minutes to really look at your house, inside and out. Look for loose shingles, sagging eaves and downspouts, foundation cracks, windows that are losing caulking, mortar that's falling out, tree limbs touching your roof. All could give you problems this winter, or drive up your heating bills.

Heating systems

• Make sure the filter's clean. If not, rinse it to get the dust out, or replace it. You can buy filters at any hardware store. Replacing them is cheap and easy to do.

• Make sure the thermostat and pilot light are working.

• If you heat with fuel oil or propane, make sure your tank is full before cold weather hits. Remember: A blizzard could keep fuel trucks away from your house.

• Clean your humidifier filter. Wash and clean mineral deposits from the reservoir.

Eaves

• Repeat after us: Clean the leaves out of your eaves! And the downspouts, too. Otherwise, water could freeze in your gutters.

• Make sure your downspouts are pouring water out in the right direction -- not up against your foundation.

Chimneys and fireplaces

• While you're up on the roof, make sure no leaves are clogging your fireplace.

• If you use your fireplace a lot, consider hiring a professional to clean it to prevent a buildup of creosote, which can cause a fire.

Trees

• Remove dead branches you can reach. If they're too high, notify your power company. In a snow or ice storm, dead branches can break off and damage your house or car -- or injure someone beneath them -- or bring down electrical lines, which could start a fire or electrocute someone.

Windows and doors

• Check the caulking to make sure there's no cracking or peeling. Recaulk if needed.

• Replace worn weather stripping.

• Don't forget the seal on the bottom of your garage door. If water builds up there, the door can warp.

Decks

• Now's a good time to give your deck another coat of sealer.

Stairs and handrails

• Broken steps and banisters are even more dangerous when they're covered with snow and ice. Make repairs now.

• Now's a good time to buy a chemical deicer. When you really need it, so will everyone else, and it may be tough to find.

Plumbing

• Know where your pipes are located and how to shut the water off. If your pipes freeze, you have a better chance of keeping them from bursting if you can turn off the water quickly or direct a plumber to the problem.

• If you're going to be away for the winter, have a professional drain the water system to keep pipes safe.

Appliances

• Drain the gas from your lawnmower and weed whacker.

• Make sure your snowblower is working. Ignore it, and you can stand in line with other procrastinators when the first heavy snow falls.

• Clean up your outdoor grill and patio furniture and cover them or move them to shelter.

• Clean your outdoor air-conditioning unit -- you can just spray the dirt and cobwebs out of it with a garden hose -- and then cover it for the winter. Store window units, or cover and seal them tightly.

• Drain your garden hose and put it away.

 

Lincoln Galleries

 

AUCTION SALE, featuring a pair of 18C tiger maple delicate canopy beds; 19C tapestry upholstered parlor group; Jacobean-style dining room set; George III-style mahogany dining room chairs; Chippendale-style mahogany slant front desk and bookcase/secretary; Hepplewhite-style mahogany corner cabinet; framed 19C needlework samplers on stands. Vintage Louis Vuitton trunk. Wicker porch furniture, and oak and metal matching patio furniture. Garden ornaments. Pool table and shuffleboard. Dore bronze tool rack with matching tools; other fine fireplace accessories. Brass 8-branch and crystal 5-branch chandeliers. Steinway baby grand piano in ebonized case, Serial # 253757. 1993 Oldsmobile 88, approx. 63,000 miles. Early 20C Chippendale-style mahogany grandfather's clock. Good Oriental rugs. Artwork - 19C oils, incl. still life studies by Oliver Clare and George Clare, and interior genre scenes, one signed W.S. '87, one unsigned; also, oils by B.A. Pierce and others; Thomas Nast Christmas illustrations; 19C print, "The Death of Tom Moody". Venetian mirror with bow pediment, large Rococo gilt gesso framed mirror, Victorian-style pier mirror and maple framed 駬omis頰anel mirror. Tiffany Studios picture frames and diminutive box. Large collection of antique English and American pewter. Art Nouveau gilt bronze ashtray signed J. Moreau-Vauthier. Renaissance Revival marble and gilt bronze mantel clock and matching urn-shaped table lamps. French onyx clock and candle holders. French gilt bronze porcelain panel inserted diminutive chest. Meissen and Minton porcelain. Limoges fish decorated plates. Royal Worcester porcelain bird and fowl figures. Steuben airtwist stemware. Cut crystal, incl. large punch bowl with matching underplate, stemware, more. Fine selection of sterling, incl: International Silver's "La Paglia Designed" center bowl with matching tray and candle holders; English monteith bowl; Scottish Victorian small pierced basket; large Revere-type bowl; dressing and smoking accessories. Gorham plated "Richmond" pattern flatware in fitted box, and other plated flatware. Unframed Persian miniatures, and other miniatures in shadowbox frame. 19C Colt revolver, with accessories, in fitted wooden box. Large collection of stamps, incl. worldwide collection in 29 Scott's International Albums, mint sheets and blocks. Commemorative coins and ingots. Picture post cards. Books.

PREVIEW: MON., SEPTEMBER 11, 9AM - 7PM
AUCTION: TUES., SEPTEMBER 12,
starting at 9:30AM - Furniture, clocks, chandeliers, artwork, rugs, household goods, car.
WED., SEPTEMBER 13,
starting at 9:30AM - Silver, crystal, porcelain, coins, stamps, books.

Telephone bids for each day's lots must be arranged by 5PM the day BEFORE the lot is to be sold.

225 SCOTLAND ROAD, ORANGE, NJ, 973-677-2000
15% BUYER'S PREMIUM * 3 ?% SALES TAX * PAYMENT BY CASH, PERSONAL CHECK OR MAJOR CREDIT CARD
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SALE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF REG. T. BLAUVELT III, DEIRDRE FEATHERSTONE AND NORMAN SCRIVENER, AUCTIONEERS

Visit our website at www.lincolngalleries.com for additional information, photographs, and schedule of future auctions.

 

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Japan prince fights against female succession

      A cousin of the Japanese emperor has stepped up his criticism of plans to allow women to succeed the throne in an article to be published in a magazine this week, Kyodo news agency said on yesterday.

Japanese Princess Aiko, center, waves from a car window , with her parents Crown Prince Naruhito, left, and Crown Princess Masako as they visit the Emperor and the Empress at the Imperial Palace, in Tokyo on her birthday December 1, 2005. [AP]
    Prince Tomohito of Mikasa criticises a government advisory panel on imperial succession for rushing to put forward plans to allow female monarchs, saying there is no need to make an immediate decision, Kyodo said.

    The panel put forward the proposal in a bid to avert an impending succession crisis in the imperial household, where no boys have been born for 40 years.

    Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said he wants to present a bill enacting the changes to parliament this year.

    Emperor Akihito's son, Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife Crown Prince Masako have a four-year-old daughter, but have produced no male offspring since their marriage in 1993.

    Under current laws, women are not allowed to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne, one of the world's oldest monarchies, although females have occupied the throne in the distant past.

    Tomohito, who is fifth in line for succession to the throne, suggests in an article in the February edition of Bungei Shunju magazine that the panel should look into alternatives such as reinstating the abolished branches of the imperial family.

    The article entitled "Weight of the emperor's blood why I am opposed to a female-line emperor," follows a similar opinion piece published last year in a private newsletter, circulated among members of a welfare foundation Tomohito heads.

    The prince risks criticism by publishing the piece, after the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Shingo Haketa warned last year that imperial family members should avoid expressing opinions on the succession issue, Kyodo said.

    A change in the law might allow Emperor Akihito's granddaughter to become the first woman on the throne since the eighteenth century.

    It may also come as a relief for her mother. Masako, 42, has recently begun returning to public duties after suffering from a mental disorder royal watchers said was probably due in part to pressure to produce a male heir.

    Public opinion polls have shown that most Japanese support the idea of women on the throne, but the proposals have been opposed by some conservative scholars. Enditem

(Source: China Daily)
 

 

 

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Japan prince fights against female succession

      A cousin of the Japanese emperor has stepped up his criticism of plans to allow women to succeed the throne in an article to be published in a magazine this week, Kyodo news agency said on yesterday.

Japanese Princess Aiko, center, waves from a car window , with her parents Crown Prince Naruhito, left, and Crown Princess Masako as they visit the Emperor and the Empress at the Imperial Palace, in Tokyo on her birthday December 1, 2005. [AP]
    Prince Tomohito of Mikasa criticises a government advisory panel on imperial succession for rushing to put forward plans to allow female monarchs, saying there is no need to make an immediate decision, Kyodo said.

    The panel put forward the proposal in a bid to avert an impending succession crisis in the imperial household, where no boys have been born for 40 years.

    Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said he wants to present a bill enacting the changes to parliament this year.

    Emperor Akihito's son, Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife Crown Prince Masako have a four-year-old daughter, but have produced no male offspring since their marriage in 1993.

    Under current laws, women are not allowed to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne, one of the world's oldest monarchies, although females have occupied the throne in the distant past.

    Tomohito, who is fifth in line for succession to the throne, suggests in an article in the February edition of Bungei Shunju magazine that the panel should look into alternatives such as reinstating the abolished branches of the imperial family.

    The article entitled "Weight of the emperor's blood why I am opposed to a female-line emperor," follows a similar opinion piece published last year in a private newsletter, circulated among members of a welfare foundation Tomohito heads.

    The prince risks criticism by publishing the piece, after the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Shingo Haketa warned last year that imperial family members should avoid expressing opinions on the succession issue, Kyodo said.

    A change in the law might allow Emperor Akihito's granddaughter to become the first woman on the throne since the eighteenth century.

    It may also come as a relief for her mother. Masako, 42, has recently begun returning to public duties after suffering from a mental disorder royal watchers said was probably due in part to pressure to produce a male heir.

    Public opinion polls have shown that most Japanese support the idea of women on the throne, but the proposals have been opposed by some conservative scholars. Enditem

(Source: China Daily)
 

 

 

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