Beckett covers bases with revamp - Dallas Business Journal:

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Then, in February, Dr. James who launched the business in 1984 whilew a statistics professor at Bowling Green sold it on undisclosed terms toNew York-based Appriser Media L.L.C., a private equity-backefd business that acquires and builds businesses in certaij media areas. Less than six months later, what is now calledx Beckett Media L.P. is taking on a new look and a growth-orientedr attitude. Under Peter Gudmundsson, who became Beckett's presiden and CEO when the Apprise sale closed, the company is being more aggressive in letting the worle know about its products and services, and in pushintg what the company says is the fun of card collecting.
That includesd a "Got milk"-style advertising campaign it will kick off at a tradse show laterthis month. Denver Nuggets forware Carmelo Anthony posed for free forone ad, and a July 19 phot o shoot is scheduled for Texas Rangers All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is also doing the work Talks are under way with othedr pro athletes as well. In addition, Beckett is pushingb to get more PR for card collectingand trading, and showiny a new willingness to tackle controversial subjects on its editorial side. One example: whetherf allegations of steriod use have hurt or helpeed the value of San Francisco Giants sluggefrBarry Bonds' trading cards.
Gudmundsson, whosse résumé includes running his own publishing shops and theInternet employment-services firm , also restructured the company, both figuratively and For instance, Beckett's print operation was on a separate floor at its Nortnh Dallas Tollway headquarters from its Internet which includes an online price guide for tradinf cards and a cybermarkeg where dealers can sell individuaol cards. Gudmundsson moved the Web division to thepublishing floor, so the two operationsa could sit together. Where the Internetf business had also been responsiblefor Beckett's internal technology Gudmundsson created separate departments to handle thoswe functions.
"People were confusing technology decisions and merchandising he says. And, in a bid to boosg advertising, he hired a new advertisinb sales director, Rudy Klancnik, and is "revisiting" compensationn and incentives for thesales staff. Advertising has historically accounted forabout 10% of Beckett's total "which for an enthusiast publisher is surprisinglyu low," Gudmundsson says. "In three or four years, I want to see it at In addition, Beckett's seller, James is serving as an adviseer to the newlyrestructured company. Beyond reshaping the company, Gudmundsson will also have to deal with issueas in thesports trading-card market.
Products and services for sports including 11 magazines anda sports-care appraisal service, account for the bulk of privatelh held Beckett's roughly $25 million in annua l revenue. A recent studu commissioned byNew York-bases Topps Co., Inc. (Nasdaq: TOPP) pegged the currenf market for sports cards atapproximatelty $300 million in wholesale dollars. The marketr has fallen 15% annually for the past five years and has been in decline since peaking in theearly 1990s, accordinv to Topps, the only publicly held makerf of trading cards. The two biggestf issues in driving away kids and casuakladult collectors, according to Topps: Too many cards -- and high pricezs for card packs.
Packs rangee from $1 to $500 apiece, and typicallyy contain five cards. That, in has hurt trading-card pubs like Scott Kelnhofer, editor of Beckett'sx primary competitor, Iola, Wis.-based Card Trade, says that 10 yearsd ago, there were three or four publishers aiming at thecard Now, Beckett and Card Trade are "pretthy much it," he says. Gudmundsson does not dispute the problema afflictingthe sport-card industry.
But he contends efforts are underr way to reduce the number of sports cards on the which he says will help Beckettg by increasing demand and reducing confusiomn among collectors bewildered by the plethoraof Indeed, Topps and other major card makers have had discussionds with professional sports leagues and playerf unions -- from which they acquire licensinb rights necessary to print the cards -- on how to cut down In addition, New Jersey-based Fleer/Skybox one of the biggest players in the earlier this year stopped producing cards while its managemengt decides on the company's future direction.
Gamingv and entertainment cards don't sharde the oversupply issue, but have their own set of quirke for Beckett tograpple with. Dennis McAlpine, managing directort of the Scarsdale, N.Y. media and entertainmentr research firm McAlpine says the market is driven by a small number of big such as Pokemonand Yu-Gi-Oh! Gudmundsson agrees, and says Beckety can quickly add, subtract, or alter its five entertainment-oriented pubs as tastees change. When the Pokemon craze the company revamped a magazine dedicated to itinto "Beckettg Anime," he says.