Zoomix, headquartered in Jerusalem, has appointed Martin Query as vice president of U.S. sales. Query will lead the company's new U.S. office. He has worked in the technology sector for more than two decades and spent five years in sales management in the U.S. enterprise data-quality software market. He served the North American sales and marketing department for Informatica's DQ division as vice president and prior to that worked as senior director of worldwide sales and business development for DataFlux. Zoomix is a provider of enterprise master data-management solutions.
Retail sales in May best in 19 months
Retail sales shot up by 1.4% in May. The sector's strong performance followed comparatively disappointing performance in April. Dealers, retailers, and even specialty clothing stores enjoyed heavy increases in sales. The 1.4% increase in sales in May was the greatest single-month advance since the 3.3% increase recorded in January 2006. The seasonally adjusted annual rate for May was a strong $377.9 billion. Sales at general-merchandise stores, including department stores, registered a rise of 1%, and sales at department stores rose by 1.3%.
Toshiba lowers sales target for its HD DVD players
Toshiba has lowered its sales target for high-definition DVD players based on weaker sales in the U.S. The electronics giant now plans to sell 1 million optical-disc players and recorders in North America by December 2007. The new figure is 44% lower than Toshiba's previous target of 1.8 million unit sales. With the increase in demand for next-generation DVDs in North America, Toshiba had previously expected to sell 3 million HD DVD players and recorders worldwide by the end of March 2008. By the end of May 2007, more than 60% of all next-generation DVD players sold in North America supported HD format.
New sales manager hired for Old Towne development
Debbie Houston, president of Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston Builder Services, announced the appointment of Petra Bottomley as sales manager for the company's Olde Towne development. Bottomley started her career with Coldwell Banker in 1998 and has represented builders and developers for more than nine years. Olde Towne is a North Carolina urban-development project. It will have 2,400 home sites, and some of its land will be used as a wildlife habitat and for public recreation. Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston Builder Services, established in 1979, is a sales and marketing organization focused on new home developments.
West Corporation launches Direct Connect to improve sales procedures
Leading outsourced-communication solutions provider West Corporation has launched "Direct Connect," a workforce exchange service that channels motivated buyers to motivated sellers throughout the U.S. Direct Connect directs interested prospects to companies' sales representatives, who can then start the sales process. It brings down sales costs and boosts sales conversion and revenue by allowing transactions to be conducted in the initial call, eliminating the need for routing through a call center. West Corporation, established in 1986, is headquartered in Omaha, NE. The company provides outsourced-communication solutions to many large companies and organizations.
