50 Years of ASD: Celebrating with a Massive Upcoming Trade Show!

With only a couple of months left until the wildly anticipated start date for one of the most epic of ASD Trade Shows, there is already a lot of buzz being generated that will give everyone in the entire wholesale, merchandising, manufacturing, and retail industries something to talk about. There’s less than 18 weeks to go, and only the ones who start making their plans now will get the most out of this incredible event.

It’s all happening between July 31 – August 3, 2011, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and to make things even more irresistible for attendees this year, the people who bring us ASDwill be celebrating the50th year, and are having an enormous birthday bash, right in themiddleof the show.

ASD certainly has a lot to be proud of, as one of the biggest and most influential movers and shakers in the industry, and with 50 years of history behind the shows it’s no wonder why everyone is talking about this upcoming show, which promises top bring the rest of the world to a standstill.

Many of the vendors and retailers that make up the foundation of the entire business, have been doing business in this industry for a long time, and they are in agreement over which of the shows are in the “must-see” category, and which are not.

Without further ado, here is a mere sample of what the show has to offer, in terms of featured spotlights on hot new products and services:

Changing the public’s perception of USB is the goal, and DbLY products come in a gift box for your convenience! Just like fashion jewelry accessories, all USB products can be nested inside a firm and secure – yet elegant – black gift box, which only helps to fully express the quality and shine of the powerful little USB’s inside!

What good is a hi-tech gadget, without electricity to power it? Now you can charge or power Your Cell Phone, MP3 Player, Bluetooth Headset, Portable Gaming Device, eBook Reader, or Digital Camera from virtually anywhere! The Ultimate Solar Charger with 3 LED light is the size of an iPod classic, but it fits neatly in your purse or bag

Bling String® sparkly hair extensions by MIA are the newest hair styling sensation, that is quickly sweeping the nation! Bling String® adds a colorful, fun, and sparkly effect without permanently coloring the user’s hair. This product is perfect for a number of applications, and will wow everyone who sees it.

The market leader in gift items, Entrada, is continuously bringing forth the best in high quality products that come at the best prices in the industry. Their manufacturing partnerships in China keep the costs low, while their strict quality control keeps the value high! Home Décor and Accessories have never been easier!

Aurora is a company that provides a variety of affordable, high quality plush toys for children and adults, and with retailers selling their products in every business from major zoos to hospital gift shops, they are making their mark! See what everyone is smiling abut, as they show their goods to you.

Starting out as an importer and wholesaler in 1998, Aeropen specializes in fine writing instruments, personal gift sets, and accessories that set their customers apart. Aeropen has extended beyond the import and wholesale industries, by establishing itself as a premier supplier for the promotional products industry as well.

This is just a preview of what’s to come from this amazing event, and there will be more reports here on the TopTenWholesale.com Newsroom, as they come in… so be sure to watch for them!

Samsung starts volume production of 22in transparent LCD screens

Samsung has started mass production of the first 22in transparent LCD displays, a sector the company looks to dominate in the future.

The displays eliminate the need for a backlight and thus use only 10 per cent of the energy of conventional LCD systems the company claims. The colour or black and white 1680 by 1050 (WSXGA+) screens, are capable of 500:1 contrast and have USB and HDMI connections built in.

"Transparent displays will have a wide range of use in all industry areas as an efficient tool for delivering information and communication," said Younghwan Park, a senior vice president of Samsung's LCD business.

"With the world's first mass production of the transparent LCD panel, Samsung plans to lead the global transparent LCD market by developing various applications."

The panels themselves are 20 and 15 per cent transparent (for colour and black and white respectively) which allows them to use ambient light to reduce the need for electricity further the company said.

Samsung has not issued availability or pricing but will be aiming the panels at the business, advertising and education sectors. The company is already producing transparent 46in panels and has added touch-screen technology to the displays.

Japan Quake Pushes Up Memory Chip Prices

Prices for memory chips are rising as the earthquake in Japan has raised supply chain concerns.

DRAMeXchange, which reports spot process for memory chips, showed increases across most industry segments over the last few days. Spot prices for Flash memory went up as much as 5.57 percent on Tuesday.


IHS iSuppli issued a report noting that the problems are not just in damage to the plants themselves, which in most cases was minor, but the infrastructure that supports them. "Impacts on the transportation and power infrastructure will result in disruptions of supply, resulting in the short supply and rising prices," the firm said.

According to IHS iSuppli, Japan accounted for almost 14 percent of global electronic equipment factory revenue last year. The country accounts for 16.5 percent of that revenue in the consumer electronics industry.

Japan is a significant center for production of NAND flash, with 40 percent of the world's supply, according to Objective Analysis Market Research. NAND flash is a critical part of USB storage devices and solid state drives.

Analyst Vijay Rakesh, of Sterne, Agee & Leach, said the problems for chip companies such as SanDisk, one of the larger memory producers in Japan, are mostly due to rolling power outages. But there is an upside, he said, as the price of certain kinds of memory chips went up 17 percent in a single day. SanDisk, for its part, issued a statement saying that wafer output would not be immediately affected.

Toshiba, a major producer, said it would cut back its power consumption in response to the quake and is closing facilities in areas subject to power outages. The company has warned that shipments could drop by 20 percent.

Meanwhile a Texas Instruments says its plant in Miho, about 40 miles northeast of Tokyo, suffered "substantial damage." The plant is not going to be at full production again until mid-July, the company said. Production is being moved to other plants. The Miho plant produced about 10 percent of TI's output (as measured by revenue). Another TI plant in Aizu Wakamatsu, 150 miles north of Tokyo, was also damaged. That one is expected to be at full production by mid-April.

Other companies such as Freescale Semiconductor, which emerged from bankruptcy last year, will have to adjust investor expectations. "Certainly it will be a bump in the road," Rakesh said. He added that many of the concerns about oversupply in the market will get pushed out to the fourth quarter of the year at least.

Those rising prices could offset some of the costs companies incur as they try to repair the damage and recover production. Companies such as Samsung might benefit, as competitor and the Korean chip maker would have to pick up the slack.