Shop at Home (SATH) is currently up 5 points. It could be a preview of how hot RDIM might get one of these days if the business plan falls into place as expected:
biz.yahoo.com
The following material was obtained on RDIM from the Small Cap Journal Site:
smallcapjournal.com
The Internet is hot and 1998 is being celebrated as the Year of the Web – the first big
year for Internet shopping. The next "killer app" may very well be the current offering
from RDI Marketing, Inc. (symbol RDIM). Through acquisitions and consolidation,
RDIM plans to do an extensive consolidation of a segment of the 100 billion dollar
membership club industry. According to Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass., Web
sales for the year may reach $7.8 billion. RDIM's mission is to have a growing share of
those sales through private member wholesale clubs by adding new e-commerce and
database management technology. RDIM was organized to become the largest private
wholesale consumer buying network in the United States.
Through RDIM's world class management staff, the Company is striving to transform an
industry comprised of fragmented single unit operations. RDIM's plans will revolutionize
the existing industry. This Company takes advantage of the combined power of the
Internet, demographic and psychographic customer profiling, and sophisticated
database marketing to expand membership and solidify membership loyalty. RDI
Marketing is on the leading edge of online shopping, and is poised to revolutionize an
existing industry - that of private wholesale consumer buying clubs. You might ask
what's so new about that. Even though it's a relatively unknown entity, it's not entirely
new. But RDIM's focus is revolutionary in the way everyday purchases are made.
Initiatives in state-of-the-art e-commerce technology applications will be the catalyst.
RDIM's e-commerce division is being headed by Alfred Werner. Mr. Werner's Internet
development team has delivered successful financial results on behalf of such notable
Internet sites as "PC Flowers and Gifts". RDIM expects to open or acquire over 100
physical locations within the next three years. Recently the company announced that it
had agreed to acquire America's Hometown Brand Center, Inc. (AHBC), which has
$18 million in sales and distributes to retailers nationwide. Management of AHBC came
from the catalogue giant Sears, Roebuck and Co., bringing relationships of major name
brand manufacturers to the table. Through the use of RDIM's proprietary e-commerce
services, RDIM expects to double AHBC's revenue stream within a year of the
completed acquisition. Through this and additional acquisitions, RDIM expects to reach
revenues of one hundred million within two years. RDIM's private membership club
offers current and new brand-name products at wholesale prices directly to its
members. That's wholesale, not closeout or overstocked items that the public-buying
clubs, such as Costco, BJ's and Sam's, offer. Additionally, through the RDIM site,
members will have live links for updated and current catalogue information. For those
consumers who are not computer literate, in addition to the physical locations, RDIM is
adopting a WEB TV type of technology to enable home-style shopping like QVC. The
difference, of course, is that instead of waiting for the cubic zirconium to become
available at 3 AM, you can make your own choices for products and time. The site will
also offer live audio and video product presentations sponsored by the vendors
Currently within the industry, there are approximately 2.5 million members of
private-style clubs representing close to $8.5 billion of annual purchases. The President
of RDIM. John Folger states, " RDIM is in business to create the most dynamic,
interactive, consumer purchasing process through e-commerce." It's taking a market
already in place and superimposing a faster, better market. "That market, without
e-commerce, already is an $8 billion industry, says Folger. "Imagine what it can reach
with all the technology now available." Here's how it works through RDIM. The
Company has identified a significant growth opportunity within a relatively unknown
industry, that of private-member wholesale buying. Folger saw the value of focusing on
existing members. His Company now is transforming a multibillion-dollar industry
comprised of fragmented single-unit operations by adding new technology that is
completely Internet commerce-enabled. And, it is in the acquisition stage of physical
facilities (showrooms) that are already in place. Management is the key to service
oriented businesses. Mr. Folger has over 25 years of irect management experience in
the formation, capitalization, merger and consolidation of business ventures. "My skill is
in seeing through business in a way that others don't; they're too close to it," Folger
states. "In this venture, I saw the incredible value in consumer down-channeling, which
represents to us 20 to 30 years of individual consumption for sales in the neighborhood
of $1 – 2.5 million per member over that life cycle. Historically, the management attitude
was to focus on membership sales. Obviously, that alone won't cut it." RDIM serves as
a purchasing agent on behalf of its members. It also serves as an e-commerce facilitator
to sell anything manufacturers and distributors have to offer. The best part is that, with
the acquisition of physical showrooms, the consumer can go feel and touch before
buying. "This is unlike anything out there," says Folger. The private membership concept
in this case makes its money three different ways. Initial investments to join; a
per-transaction service fee of 5 to 10 percent; and an annual renewal fee to remain a
member. These aggregate fees represent significant annual revenue for RDIM. And,
everybody wins. There are significant difference between public and private buying
clubs. In private clubs, member are more forthcoming with personal information that
allows the clubs to serve their needs more efficiently. This allows the clubs to build
database profiles of their members that any vendor, supplier and manufacturer would kill
for. Public member clubs sell at discount prices below normal retail. RDIM sells to its
members at factory and distributor prices, thereby beating almost any competitor on a
broad product range. Finally, public member clubs are supply-driven, limiting their
inventory range. RDIM is request-driven, so sources of supply expand to meet the
demand of its membership. Folger projects $100 – 150 million in the Company's
second year of operations. He is looking to increased membership to 250,000 by the
end of 1999. RDIM's Web site for online buying is slated to be up and running by the
second quarter of 1999. Within three years of that implementation, membership is
planned to exceed five million. The Company will become a major player in the
e-commerce market via rollups and acquisitions, further consolidating the membership
marketing industry and adapting it to the Internet. It's safe to say that, within the
industry, RDI Marketing definitely is poised to engage its mission statement: "Positioned
on the Leading Edge of the Next Generation.".
I copied this from the Small Cap Journal site. I also signed up over the phone to
receive their free magazine as well.
Regards, Jeff
Regards, Jeff |
