A federal grand jury here has charged a Florida man with criminal contempt of a federal court order in connection with the operation of a fraudulent vending machine business opportunity... | KRh Thermal Systems and IntelliVend have announced an agreement with Kosher Vending Industries LLC (Valley Cottage, NY) under which KVI's Hot Nosh 24/6 operations will transition to franchises in a number of U.S. markets... | New York's operators were dealt a blow this week when a bill seeking to raise the state's tax exemption on vended food and beverages failed to make it past the State Assembly's Ways and Means Committee... | Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has begun shipping the Keurig K-Cup vending machine, which offers up to 12 selections and accommodates more than 1,000 portion packs... | Hercules Networks is looking to partner with vending and ATM operators to accelerate the nationwide deployment of its Automated Charging Machines, which allow away-from-home consumers to quickly power up cellphones, PDAs and MP3 players for a small fee… | New York state's vending association is supporting a bill seeking to raise the state's tax exemption for vended food and beverages that is now before the State Assembly's Ways and Means Committee. With the session ending Tuesday, June 23, the association is urging every operator in New York to call their legislators to voice support... |
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New research data pinpointing specific consumer preferences and trends regarding coffee that can help coffee service operators build their businesses and increase profits will be unveiled at the second National Automatic Merchandising Association Coffee Summit. It takes place Monday, June 15 through Wednesday, June 17 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ... | Coffee industry veteran Leo Fante will deliver the keynote address at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's upcoming Coffee Service Education Summit. An article in the May issue incorrectly said that Fante had been appointed chairman of the event… | Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. reported that net income increased 118% to $13 million during its second quarter ended March 28 from $6 million a year earlier. Net sales totaled $193.4 million, marking the 11th consecutive quarter of overall growth. The company's Keurig single-cup coffee system and K-Cups will be sold in 3,000 Walmarts... |
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Three years ago, I wrote an article dealing with retirement planning in the aftermath of the dot-com collapse. Unfortunately, the two most common responses to huge financial losses are total withdrawal from the markets, based upon abject depression, or making abnormally high-risk investments in an effort to recover losses. Obviously, as we should have learned by now, neither of these approaches will be successful for long. Given the recent carnage on Wall Street, it’s probably time to revisit our plans for retirement... by Allan Z. Gilbert | Here’s a radical idea. New technology is important, but it will not control the fate of the amusement trade. Instead, technology will simply offer all manufacturers, distributors and operators a chance to shape their own destinies ... for good or ill. This article looks at today’s most important technologies for amusements and music...by Kevin Williams | Despite centuries of folk wisdom that urged "Don't put all your eggs in one basket," one of America's most successful industrialists used to recommend the opposite approach. Andrew Carnegie claimed that diversification was actually a terrible idea. He said the secret of success was to "put all your eggs in one basket -- and watch that basket!" …by Frank Seninsky |
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As Americans celebrate Independence Day this weekend, the nation's jukeboxes are expected to set off their own fireworks. Michael Jackson plays soar. The Boss makes an apparent -- and overdue -- digital jukebox debut on the TouchTunes network as operators rejoice... |  Competition for the second annual Big Buck Hunter Pro World Championship tournament gets underway in August, and it will run alongside a second title contest on Big Buck Safari. This year, two championship titles and $60,000 in prizes will double the competitive stakes amid Big Buck's rising pop-culture status and player base… | AMI Entertainment Network has released the spring update for its Megatouch videogame line. The 2009.5 update adds several enhancements to the brand's Ion and Force touchscreen machines for service and play... | Jukebox patrons from Tennessee and Wisconsin were the winners in a contest featuring prizes from American country music star Jason Aldean. Sponsored by AMI Entertainment and RED Distribution, the sweepstakes was part of a nationwide prerelease promotion that attracted a record number of entries... | A down economy would seem to be good news for coin-op games and attractions along the fabled New Jersey shore. When the summer arcade season kicked off a month ago, operators were predicting big crowds as budget-conscious consumers seek out bargain getaways... | As the vote to merge IAAPA and IALEI approaches, the vigorous debate over the merger question has heated up considerably in recent weeks. Among the most prominent volleys: 10 IALEI past-presidents launched a 2,100-word broadside... |
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Although many in the industry agree that raising vending prices is a necessity, the hesitation on the part of most bulk vending operators remains somewhat puzzling. Not so for Great Dane Cranes’ John Honeycutt, who successfully transitioned his entire route to higher price points... | Lee Park is out to change the way many operators think about locating services. The top salesman at Got Locs? -- as in "got locations?" -- stresses creativity in opening up new locations for operators of bulk vending, coin-op amusements, ATMs and wireless Internet service... | Rylo Products' new turnkey Revive Energy Mint vending program is helping bulk operators capture new business by bringing consumers a quick and affordable energy fix... |
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As a very smart man once said: "My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." It's a cute saying, but it ultimately rings true. Equally true is the fact that the future is pretty much upon us in bulk vending. That is to say, a significant percent of this industry's customers was born in the 21st century...…by Hank Schlesinger | A few months ago, VT ran an advertisement from a mergers and acquisition company encouraging operators to sell their businesses before it was too late. The message in the ad was to get out while you can, while your business still has value... by Alicia Lavay-Kertes | A recurrent theme in the industry dialogue is the value to a vending or coffee service operation of differentiating itself from its competitors. Operators recognized, half a century ago, that clean trucks, well-groomed uniformed personnel and an attractive building conveyed an impression of professionalism not only to clients, but to prospects, too... by Tim Sanford |
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