Going Out Of Business Sale? Try Milton Waldoff!

In the past year “how do I close my retail store”, “best way to close a retail store”, “retail crisis turnaround” and “retail crisis management” have become popular search phrases on the Internet. Business owners in increasing numbers are having going out of business sales.  Not since the 1980s has our country struggled so hard against dire economic forecasts and rising unemployment.  New retail businesses as well established retail stores are both closing their doors at a rate not seen since 1983.  With unemployment topping 10% (USA Today), Americans are spending less on non-essential items and making do with last year’s purchases.  A growing number retail businesses are seeking assistance in closing their stores profitably.  Many will seek the specialized services of a retail crisis manager before they have a going out of business sale.

While small and midsize retail establishments struggling the past eighteen months, now some of the major brands and design giants are seeking retail crisis managers to stay in business or close their doors.  The struggling apparel retailers include GAP, Eddie Bauer, Timberland, Ann Taylor and Pacific Sunwear (Forbes).  Unfortunately for shoppers Eddie Bauer is on the “critical list”, while Timberland, Ann Taylor, GAP and Pacific Sunwear are closing stores in an effort to stay in business. Another casualty Charming Shoppes (owner of Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines) is set to close another 100 stores.

A  leader in the field of retail crisis solutions (ranked #1 by Google and MSN), The Waldoff Group has been serving the retail community with its expertise for nearly 2 decades.  CEO Milton Waldoff currently based in Hattiesburg, MS has a long family history owning and operating retail business throughout Mississippi.  He brings a unique business perspective to retail crisis situations having experience both highly acclaimed success and, himself,  being a retail casualty of the 1980s economic downturn.

They take a personal approach to each owner’s specific needs. Their clients vary from businesses needing to find a retail turnaround solution to those needing to close their retail stores. Their Group believes “Good management means knowing when to call for help”.  As a retail consultant He contributes his expertise and years of experience as a very successful merchant and businessman, in assisting store management in recognizing problems and the successful implementation of solutions.  Turnaround and crisis management has become a specialty of The Waldoff Group. Through his personal experience, guidance and leadership he continues to assist troubled companies in returning to profitability.  Of course there are many other retail crisis turnaround managers other than Mr. Waldoff. We chose him as an example since he is ranked number one by the two major search engines and the testimonials on his site certainly reflect why with a plethora of happy clients.

Business owners should be aware there is a wave of newly minted retail crisis managers promoting themselves online.  According to the management library “Crisis management is a relatively new field of management. Typically, proactive crisis management activities include forecasting potential crises and planning how to deal with them.”  Finding a retail crisis manager with experience and a track record of results will become more difficult as the recession deepens.  Store owners will need to carefully check the experience and testimonials of perspective retail crisis managers.  Acting before the crisis worsens, more often than not, will mean the difference between liquidation and closing ones store profitably.

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Rick London is a writer, cartoonist and entrepreneur. He founded Londons Times Cartoons in 1997 which have been Google and MSN’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoons since 2005. He also founded the world’s only famous love quotation shoes at ShoesThatAmuse.com featured in USA Today. He has several licensed cartoon stores which feature his odd cartoons on tees, mugs, and more

$500 Gift Certificate Contest For “Most Friendly Twitter” From Cartoonist Rick London

My Jewish Dentist

TOP GOOGLE OFFBEAT CARTOONIST AND  E-GIFT SHOP OWNER OF LONDONS TIMES CARTOONS & GIFTS  OFFERING $500 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO LUCKY TWITTER WHO CAN PUT HIM AT THE VERY TOP (OF TWITTER)  (If he doesn’t go to “The Twitter Top” he’s still giving a $250 gift certificate to the one who retweets him most)

Dateline: Hot Springs,Ar. March 11, 2009:   Cartoonist E-entreneur Rick London announced today his firm, Rick London Group, LLC., is offering a $500 gift certificate to his award-wining top-ranked offbeat cartoon funny gift stores, if Twitters will put him at the top of Twitter. Making it “to the top” simply means having the most followers. (His user name is “ricklondon”) on Twitter.

London is the founder of Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon, Londons Times.

London’s six award-winning Internet stores feature over 165,000 gift items such as coffee mugs, T-shirts, gourmet coffee gift baskets (his own line of farm-fresh coffee beans with cartoon mugs and coasters, teddy bears, maternity wear, magnets, buttons, jogging suits, caps, aprons, hoodies, shoes, wall and desk clocks, and much more more.

London is also the designer of (Shoes That Amuse) women’s casual sneakers with famous love quotations and graphics of the famous person who penned them, featured recently in USA Today and AP Wire which will also be included in the contest. London adds, “But not to worry, even if I don’t make it to the top, (Obama is there now), so we are also giving a $100 certificate for the most ‘retweets’.

So I really don’t have to be at the top for other Twitters to win. Simply following me and retweeting, and one can still win a $250 gift certificate, easily, without even a drawing. Second most retweets #50 gift certificate.

We simply count the retweets of each Twitter member at the end of the contest. A re-tweet is when another blogger at Twitter copies and pastes your tweet with an “RT” in front of it which stands for “retweet”,  giving the original blogger credit for the post, and, sharing it with , often a whole separate network of followers.

London will allow 120 days for the contest to end, and a name to be drawn at random on his birthday which is July 16th, when the winner will be announced, and paid on August 1 via Paypal or check (winners choice). London plans to print his page of followers, cut the names into squares, place them in a box, and draw one.

London adds, “In addition, we plan to issue a press release, if the winner wishes, including his/her name and web address to the wire services for yet more value to the prizes. Londons says, “There also will be a second prize winner, of a $250 gift certificate. In addition, a $50 second prize for the second most “retweets”.

The gift certificates will be good at all of London’s stores. He founded Londons Times on March 22, 1997, and it has grown to be one of the most visible sites on the Internet, and Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon and gifts since 2005.

He will also add an extra $25 bonus gift certificate if the winner has visited his main superstore site and signs up for his monthly newsletter. His stores include Rick London Special Editions Top-selling funny gifts Rick

LondonWear rare line of funny rock star memorabilia and other novelty gifts

Rick London Collection Huge variety of best-selling funny gift ideas

Londons Times Superstore Londons largest funny gift store and exclusively sells world’s only gourmet coffee cartoon gift basket (Londons Own Line).

Rick London Organics (organic cotton tees) bearing his top-selling cartoon images. Shoes That Amuse (World’s Only Famous Love Quotation Shoes) These are not cartoon products but women’s casual shoes he designs. For more information: contact: info@londonstimes.us

A Londons Times Cartoon

A Londons Times Cartoon

Should We Laugh At Lawyers?

As a cartoonist, I find myself in the precarious position of writing about law. Though I do take the law seriously, I find humor in it as well. And I believe I have carte blanche to do so.

I come from a family of attorneys. One of my direct maternal ancestors was Supreme Court Judge Benjamin Cardozo. That name might not mean much to many, but it does within the legal community. His word, still, a century or so later, remains the final word on Constitutional Law.

I have dated attorneys. Some are very astute, and some not so good. I have watched them in the courtroom. Sometimes it is dramatic, sometimes a bit drab. But I continue to have an affinity for the law, given that it is in my blood, I guess. Of course my mother insisted upon either law or medical school for me, so like the good rebellious baby-boomer of the 60’s, I became a cartoonist. At least I could make people laugh purposely. People laugh at lawyers, and often the attorney in question does not appreciate it. But how can we help it? I know, I know. They are just doing their job, and we laugh at them, until we need them. Then they are our confidants.

To be fair, most lawyers of whom I have met and/or associated, truly take their jobs and cases seriously. Sure, like everyone else in business, money is a motivator, but not always the primary motivator. Many, yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus, (or clause in this case), many have a very altruistic side, and take the law and their clients very seriously and want to help.

As the old joke goes, “It is the 98% of dishonest lawyers who give the other 2% a bad name”. It’s a great joke, but really far from reality. Many lawyers are just doing their job, just like you and me.

Sometimes hiring a lawyer can be expensive, and several Internet-savvy lawyers have launched websites in which the common layman can read, study, and learn about law and legal forms, and actually pay and download template forms from the sites at a fraction of the cost of hiring a law firm.
Some of these sites include Findlaw.com, Legalzoom.com, and the up-and-coming Lawkipedia.org, which has not yet been launched but is in the plans for this year. It will probably be the most exciting and different of all the other legal websites, just from what I understand regarding the planning.

Still, the saying goes, “The person who represents himself legally has hired a fool for a lawyer. And that is true. Especially regarding courtrooms and criminal law.

But many business conflicts do not have to turn into courtroom law. Mediation has become very popular and there are ways to work out such conflicts, often, and bring the parties even closer, once they realize they have similar goals, simply different ideas as to how to reach those goals. That is okay. It is often done by more professional persons, who is not out to “trash” a partner or remove him/her from the scene. I have seen it work many times.

Because law is of interest to me, I make sure to do a great many law related cartoons, and produce funny lawyer gifts. Even though many of them poke fun at lawyers, I find the majority have a great sense of humor, and more often than not, when the orders come in for our gifts and collectibles featuring lawyer cartoons, the names have a “comma and Esquire” at the end, in other words, our biggest customers who love to make fun of themselves, are, indeed attorneys.