RDIM Relevant Information: 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
Direct 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 |
