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The Delaware is poised to get an urban entertainment center. UECs, as they are called, meld retail, themed restaurants, movies, amusements and more. Urban entertainment centers. Or, if you prefer, [...]

Each year millions of travelers visit Philadelphia. What do their inquiring minds most want to know? * Where's the Liberty Bell? * What's a good place to eat? * What's [...]

If you can't get a reservation at your favorite restaurant next week, odds are you can blame it on QVC's The Book and the Cook. QVC, the West Chester-based home [...]

SunSource Inc. has been on an acquisition binge this year that has added tens of millions in new revenues in its drive to consolidate its industry and become a leading [...]

Is the cost of unionized labor costing the Pennsylvania Convention Center business? People in the local hospitality industry have long believed so, a point of view bolstered by a recently [...]

QVC, an electronic retailer based in West Chester, PA, is aiming to make a foray into the record business with the formation of its own recording label, Q Records. The new QVC will market an extensive range of musical genres, such as classical, R&B, country, pop, rock, soundtrack and cast albums. Alan Rubens, a veteran of then record business, has been hired to serve as general manager of Q Records. The first album that Q Records will release is 'Live at Gilleys,' which features the performances of 29 country singers, including Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and the Oak Ridge Boys.

The New Jersey State Aquarium has reported an increased attendance for July 1998 through September 1998 because of the yellowfin tuna exhibition. The aquarium is the second aquarium in the US to exhibit a yellowfin tuna, which is known to be difficult to capture alive because it is a very delicate and sensitive fish. The yellowfin tuna was captured using the new vessel Pelagica, built by Patriot Boat Co. of Waretown, NJ. The 38-foot boat features custom-built, 1,000-gallon water tank, through which ocean water circulates, keeping the fish from hitting the side of the tank. The aquarium had 180,000 number of attendees during the first quarter of 1998, an 8% increase from the same period a year earlier.

Longwood Gardens, a 350-acre tourist attraction in Chester County, PA, is developing its first long-term plan, in which the primary goal is to maintain its status as the world's leading public display garden for all time. The plan, which is still in draft form, consists of both financial and structural aspects of Longwood Gardens. Longwood is looking into creating special services, such as in the area of transportation, for its primary target market, that is, the older people. At the same time, Longwood plans to include more family and children's programs to lure the younger market. Longwood also intends to offer more information using several mediums about Pierre S. du Pont, a 20th-century chemist who created Longwood.

Specialty food stores in the area of Philadelphia, PA, are growing due to demand for gourmet foods. Zagara's, one of the more popular gourmet food store in the area, has entered into leases or signed letters of intent for not less than four new stores, including one in Princeton, NJ. Kulpsville, PA-based Clemens Markets Inc., is constructing a prototype outlet in Bryn Mawr, PA, to offer a broad array of prepared foods and other items. Bryce's Market is also opening a store in Bryn Mawr Square that will offer hormone- and antibiotic-free meat and poultry, among others. Fresh Fields is trying to secure an authorization for a new site along South Street.

West Coast Entertainment Co., a video chain, is planning a new series of store shutdowns and revising its strategy as its stock price suffered a number of setbacks in recent weeks. The company was delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange after it failed to satisfy the exchange's net tangible asset requirement of not less than $4 million. Moreover, the company's stock price fell below the exchange's new $5 per-share lower limit. Steve Apple, vice president of corporate development, said that the delisting was not related to the basic fundamentals of the company, which, Apple said, are sound and positive. One indication of changes in West Coast's strategy is that it is opening more of its bigger and brighter format stores.

Lane Bryant Inc., based in Reynoldsburg, OH, is set to face trial in US District Court for the Southern District of New York on alleged infringement of the products and name of French-born entrepreneur Solange Diter Chadda. The company has been selling Solange products for large-sized women and from 1992 to 1996, it has accumulated revenues of over $600 million. Lane Bryant stated that it was unaware of Chadda's products when it decided to sell its own line, but Chadda claimed that her small company and Lane Bryant once struck a business deal, in which she left some Design Solange samples that Lane Bryant did not return.

Manhattan, NY-based Ranch *1, a chain of fast-food grilled-chicken-sandwich restaurants, disclosed plans on inaugurating through the year 2001 at least 20 new outlets in the region of Philadelphia, PA. Ranch *1, which operates 31 stores at present, offers food products such as stuffed baked potatoes, burritos and its best-selling boneless-chicken-breast sandwich. Inspite of its weakness in terms of name recognition, Ranch *1 has the potential to establish a legitimate niche in the market for its operations due to the cheery environment it offers to patrons.

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.'s first advertising campaign helped bring in over 1 million trips and about $97 million in new travel-related dollars to Philadelphia, PA, according to study made by Canadian-based travel research company, Longwoods International. The study of the impact of the campaign also reported that the region generated $54.75 for every dollar spent on advertising; that cost for every trip generated by the ads was $1.56 and that travel expenditures in Philadelphia in 1997 totaled $3.8 billion. With the favorable results, GPTMC and the region's Center for Travel Tourism and Film Promotion are currently organizing a new program, this time promoting Philadelphia's cultural, historic and entertainment assets.

Henry Ortlieb's Original Philadelphia Beer Works Ltd., which acquired Dock Street Brewing Co. in early 1998, has modified the packaging of Dock Street in response to complaints from retailers, consumers and distributors over buying confusion. Dock Street now sports a new design, label and colored box for each type of beer. Its USA designation has also been removed and replaced with the word 'Philadelphia' to identify Dock Street as being a Philadelphia company. Aside from the new appearance, the brand also gets a new brewer with Ortlieb's, which has its own brewing facility in the city's Northern Liberties section.

Entree Express, the Philadelphia, PA-based company that specializes in providing restaurant delivery service, was able to expand its market reach by consolidating its business with two other restaurant delivery operations. Entree Express completed its merger deal with a Takeout Taxi franchise on Sept. 8, 1998, and another merger with Cherry Hill's Carry-Out-Cab in May 1998. The company said it intends to further extend its market reach to include Princeton, NJ, Wilmington, DE, and Delaware County, PA, near Philadelphia International Airport, through acquisitions and mergers.

Franklin Electronics Publishers Inc., a maker of hand-held electronic information products, is putting more emphasis on marketing its products, including the Rex electronic organizer. It has hired New York-based advertisement agency DeVito Fitterman to handle the advertising. The company has also cut the price of its Rex organizer. While the original Rex was launched with limited advertising in specialty magazines, the Rex and the more advanced Rex Pro will be advertised in both specialty publications and more mainstream ones. The advertisements, which feature the line 'Lose weight fast,' has a straightforward approach and employs simple text. Aside from print advertisements, there will also be outdoor advertising that will be seen in airport kiosks and trade shows.

Tasty Baking Co., a Philadelphia, PA-based baker, has included desserts in its product lineup in order to gain new customers and improve sales. The company, famous for its snack cakes, is now baking chocolate-chip and oatmeal-raisin cookies. Tasty Baking is also growing its snack product line with the launch of cream bars, which is a dark chocolate-covered chocolate cake with peanut butter or vanilla filing. Given the repute of its brandname Tastykake, the cookie products should allow the company to gain a least a small portion of the $3.6-billion cookie market. The cream bars may allow Tasty Baking to gain a portion of the chocolate-covered cake market, which amounts to around $200 million.

Dynamic Imaging Systems Corp., an online supplier of audio and video presentations headquartered in Philadelpia, PA, is poised to launch A/V Daily News, its first multimedia Web-based newspaper. The new online site www.avdailynews.com is set to be launched on Sept. 9, 1998. A/V Daily News will present news from various sources such as the Associated Press, United Press International, Comtex, CNBC, ITN World News and The Sports Network. The site is also proposed to include stories and information about health, technology, business, entertainment, weather and sports.

Holt's Cigar Holdings Inc., a cigar retailer headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, is launching new brand names in an effort to cover new markets. The move that allows the firm to capitalize on its recognition is timely despite the levelling off of cigar boom, according to Holt's executive vice president Mike Pitkow. The publicly-traded company, which supplies cigars through retail and wholesale channels, has retail facilities in Philadelphia, Center City, PA, and at its Philadelphia headquarters.

Entercom Communications Corp., one of the leading broadcasting firms nationwide, is poised to generate $241 million in its initial stock offering. The public offering, initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has underwriters that include Credit Suisse First Boston, BT Alex., Brown, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Entercom, which has forged deals with CBS Radio Inc., has registered increase in net revenues from $29.1 million in 1994 to $156.3 million in 1997.

Port Elizabeth Partners LLC's Bucks County MarketPlace in Levittown, PA, will soon open to provide mall shopping, flea-market style. The Westfield, NJ-based company developed the 105,000-sq-ft shopping center to provide service similar to a flea market. Bucks MarketPlace will have an estimated 150 to 200 booths selling collectibles, jewelry, crafts, electronics and off-price merchandise. The center becomes more mall-like with its fully enclosed, climate-controlled environment, complete with a food court, centralized credit card and check-cashing service and free child-care facility.

Banyan Productions has launched new direct-response unit Banyan Direct in an effort to position the company as a key competitor in infomercial and direct-response industry. The branch is designed to take advantage of emerging opportunities on the Internet and give the parent firm a stronger hand in new product development and distribution. Banyan has been producing infomercials and cable shows since 1992, growing from four to 55 employees with gross sales of about $10 million in 1997. Banyan is currently producing short-form infomercials that run for two minutes as firms opt for the shorter format since it is cheaper to make and allow for more and better slots.

Ryko Corp. of Salem, MA, has merged with holding company Islandlife of New York under an an agreement on August 7, 1998. Islandlife's entertainment unit Palm Pictures will be consolidated with Ryko's Rykodisc, Rykomusic and Ryko Distribution Partners divisions. Ryko was created as a CD-only company specializing in re-mastering and re-releasing albums by prominent artists and then soon started producing new records, while Islandlife owns hotels and entertainment-related companies. Islandlife will pay off the outstanding bank debt of Ryko under the agreement, the value of which is estimated by Billboard magazine at $30 million to $35 million.

Schuylkill Valley Sports, a privately-held seller of sports gear and apparel, attributes its success to its focus of less is more. The company is thriving in a competitive industry against larger retailers for advertising by slowly and carefully selecting the best products at the best price. The carefully-picked selection is complemented by sales people that are well versed in the company's inventories. Schuylkill Valley Sports has grown from a single store in 1971 to currently 11 outlets, most of which are in Montgomery and Berks counties, PA. The firm estimates 1998 revenues at $14 million.

Competition is driving several hotels in Pennsylvania to offer so-called environmentally safe rooms or rooms evoking themes, and loosen up their policies to include pet accomodations. Among those hotels allowing pets include the old Rittenhouse Hotel, The Four Seasons and Hilton. Meanwhile, Sheraton Valley Forge is reportedly the hotel with the most distinction as it has constructed 40 fantasy suites or themed rooms. Each room evokes a particular setting such as a cave, RMS Titanic, campsite, country cabin, Tahiti and a Paris apartment.

Comcast Online announced that it has forged new partnerships with 13 content providers, including AccuNet, American Movie Classics, E! Online and SonicNet. The move steps up the company's strategy aimed at becoming the top choice for local content. There are about 25,500 current subscribers in Comcast oHome, a high-speed modem service offering Internet delivery at hundred times faster than a dial-up modem. Comcast intends to launch offerings that work best using high-speed broadband modems, such as multimedia and audio or video streamed product.

Gulph Creek Hotels, a Wayne, PA-based business handling acquisition, development and management of hotels, is looking for more growth in number of Hampton Inns in the future. The company just opened a Hampton facility in Great Valley and is set to open another hotel at the Airport Interplex in October 1998. Gulph Creek plans to target the suburbs, which it believes will have growing demand due to the increase of commercial parks and corporate centers in those areas. More Hampton Inns are in the works, but the company intends to stay in the Greater Philadelphia area as its main market.

Red Bell Brewery Co., based in Philadelphia, PA, is preparing to issue an initial public offering and has hired the services of Ernst & Young LLP to make all the financial information necessary for a prospectus. Company President, CEO and Co-founder James Bell said that his company will target stock sales in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and possibly, part of Baltimore. Red Bell intends to generate $7 million from the IPO and use the money for its expansion program, including new brew pubs in Central Pennsylvania and Washington DC. With 13 types of beer, Red Bell operates brew pubs at the CoreStates Center, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia International Airport and in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia.

Tierney & Partners' 'Philadelphia: The Place that Loves You Back' print campaign for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. (GPTMC) needs to be re-examined, according Bill Siegel, president of Longwoods International, a Canadian-based research firm. GPTMC hired Longwoods to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Both print and TV ads featured voiceovers by famous Philadelphians such as Julius Erving, Kevin Bacon and Bill Cosby. Out of 2,200 households that received surveys from Longwoods, 1,440, or 65.5%, were returned. Longwoods' study covered April 1997, to October 1997.

Snowline Communications and its owner, Larry Ceisler, filed a lawsuit in US District Court of Pennsylvania against KYW News Radio and its parent firm CBS Inc., allegedly for unfair competition and trademark violation. The lawsuit centered on 'Snow Phone/Snow Line' service that was introduced in winter 1996 by Snowline. The service, which was advertised on radio station B101, provided a no-cost, voice-activated system that enabled callers of a toll-free number to hear a message on whether their schools were open or not during inclement weather. Snowline asserted that KYW threatened local schools that they would be eliminated from KYW's snow closing list once the schools cooperated 'too closely' with Snowline's project.

Networks Around the World Inc., which provides customized phone cards, has secured a position in the market dominated by the likes of MCI, WorldCom and AT&T due to the determination and hardwork of its founder Randy Cherkas. Through Cherkas' effort, Networks gained the confidence of costumers, some of which had previously depended on the big telecommunications firms for their phone cards. Cherkas' aggressive sales approach has given the firm the attention that other similar firms had not previously received when they entered the market of selling customized phone cards.

Brunson Communications Inc.'s WGTW-TV Channel 48 will broadcast original programming as part of a strategy to boost attract more advertisers in television market in Philadelphia, PA. The company, which is set to finish a production studio, is planning two new WGTW-produced shows: 'Another View,' which focuses on timely subjects, and 'Health Check,' which investigates health issues. The station will also launch in fall 1998, a new promotional campaign using the tagline, 'WGTW: Good Television to Watch.'

Checkpoint Systems Inc. is developing a paper-thin security tag embedded with a computer chip to 'fingerprint' any item in a retailer's inventory. With the help of radio frequency identification technology, the tag can provide information such as make, model, date and point of manufacture, receiving data and serial number. Checkpoint CEO Kevin P. Dowd estimated that the radio frequency identification will provide the company between $5 million and $10 million in sales when it is launched in 1999.

Marriott will undertake a $59-million expansion of its convention hotel property but other hoteliers plan to renovate old buildings in Philadelphia, PA, into hotels. Several hotel developers have contracted architects and interior designers to draw up renovation plans for old structures in Philadelphia. On the south side of City Hall, crews are busy razing the old Mellon Bank edifice and a nearby tower to prepare the property for conversion into a 350-room Grand Bay Hotel. The PSFS building at 12th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, which dates back to the early 1930s, is scheduled to be transformed into a $105-million Loews Philadelphia Hotel.

National Media Corp. of Philadelphia, PA, remains optimistic despite terminating the merger agreement it was negotiating with Value Vision International. The plan ended when the two firms failed to reach terms by the June 1, 1998 deadline, due mainly to the pressure coming from minority shareholders. The shareholders reportedly opposed the ratio of stock allotments proposed for the new company, to be called Quantam Direct Corp. Meanwhile, National Media president Jack Kirby is excited about the firm's new concept that appears to be an entree into Web TV. Kirby is putting much stock on the cutting-edge infomercial concept that will be a union between TV and the Internet.

Vlasic Foods International Inc. is optimistic on a possible turnaround despite posting third-quarter earnings that is below analysts predictions. Company officials believe that the projected rebound will be felt in the second half of fiscal 1999 and occur following the firm's spinoff from Campbell Soup Co. Recently, Vlasic reported a 98% drop in earnings for the three months ending May 3, 1998, to $386,000 from $25.3 million in the same period in 1997. Net sales were down from $1.1 billion in 1997 to $1.04 billion. Vlasic blamed extraordinary expenses for the underperformance, such as $28 million in pretax restructuring charges and certain nonrecurring charges.

Campbell Soup Co. has developed a growth strategy focused on convenience and kids, a program to be promoted through a launch of several innovative products. The firm is bolstering its marketing and advertising efforts for the new canned products, and forged a deal with the Nickelodeon Network to promote its Rugrats soup. In continuing its divestiture of non-core operations and divisions performing poorly, Campbell revealed a $125-million deal to sell Delacre biscuit business in Europe to United Biscuits Holdings plc, along with plans to spin off food service provider Fresh Start.

Tharaldson Properties Management Inc. of Fargo, ND, plans to gain access to the Philadelphia, PA, market with two new projects that both involve a economy line of Marriott International, Fairfield Inns. One of the new projects is scheduled for the Airport Interplex and the other targets Deptford, NJ, along Route 41 in front of the town's K mart. Fairfield Inn rates range between $55 to $75 and its features include same-day dry cleaning, indoor pool, spa and free continental breakfast that appeal both to leisure and business travelers.

Judge Group Inc. is joined by new executives, a brighter financial set and a series of acquisition as part of Martin Judge's efforts to recover his firm's credibility on Wall Street. The Bala Cynwyn, PA-based company also launched four new information technology staffing offices, three of which were in Southern states. Judge Group was left devastated after its business failed to meet projections for its information management solutions division after a $21 million initial public offering in February 1997. Judge attributed the failure to meet expectations to bad information being fed him by sales managers.

Independence Brewing Co. has purchased the license and trademark of Whitetail Brewing Inc.'s new beer product, Nittany Ale. The company has also acquired the rights to Blue Hen Beer Co., as well as purchasing the logo, trademark and recipe rights to Gravity Brewing Co. All acquisitions are part of the Independece Brewing's growth strategy after it saw its stock value lose 95% of its value by the end of 1997, where Independence Brewing's production was only 5,200 barrels of beer from its 14,000 capacity.

A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Inc. and US Vision Inc. were both established through initial public offerings. A.C. Moore held its IPO in October 1997 and the firm has already caught the attention of several buyers of arts and crafts. A.C. Moore, which has 25 branches in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, posted a 26.3% in its yearly net sales to $138.1 million for fiscal year 1997. Meanwhile, US Vision opened 39 stores in 1997 after going public. US Vision, which offers eyewear products and services, reported a 10% growth in its 1997 sales to amount to $122.8 million, along with a $3.2 million boost in its net income to amount to $5.3 million.

Several banks in Pennsylvania are launching advertisements that exploit the apprehension generated by First Union Bank's purchase of CoreStates Bank Corp. The move follows the release of First Union's ads that were aimed to pacify the fears of its customers regarding its purchase of CoreStates. Local banks are then releasing ads that capitalize on the idea that a big, out-of-town bank would be out of touch with its customers, as well as ads that assure their own customers that they intend to serve them rather than being more interested in their business.

The big news was Disney's pending arrival on Market Street East. But retail in 1998 enjoyed a boom elsewhere in the region as well. Many of the region's malls embarked [...]

Building the future with new hotel rooms The early November announcement that the Republican National Convention had decided to come to Philadelphia in 2000 was the major coup that the [...]

The Philadelphia region's hotel industry is about to see yet another competitor: the Twelve Caesars Banquet and Conference Center on City Avenue is adding a 250-room hotel. The facility recently [...]

Some in Philadelphia's taxi industry are once again trying to pull together a trade group that would represent their interests. This time, the drive, is being spear-headed by a few [...]

Seeking to stimulate repeat visits to their shopping centers, a growing number of developers are promoting new customer loyalty programs. The Simon DeBartolo Group and Rouse Co. have each designed [...]

The Pennsylvania Convention Center is making a big investment to upgrade its technical capabilities. The changes, to be installed in the next six months, are designed to enhance customer networking [...]

Investors who put money into CDnow expecting that the online retailer's steadily rising revenues would mean a steadily rising stock price are finding out they'd better hurry up and wait. [...]

The venerable Locust Club in Center City is about to break with tradition by inviting the general public to dine - without needing an escort or invitation from one of [...]