Weisman to Leave The Advantage Group

<February 11, 2009>The ALERT has learned from sources that David Weisman, President and COO of The Advantage Group (TAG) will soon be leaving the organization, perhaps as early as the end of this month. While details were not available at press time, sources have indicated that TAG, a prominent national distributor group, will revamp their strategy with an unspecified new approach to the market.

The information provided to the ALERT comes from sources close to the organization who requested anonymity as they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the group.

The ALERT was in the process of investigating a much rumored “change in status” of Weisman who lists his current position on the LinkedIn business networking site as “Sales, account management & business development at Locus Marketing,” as well as “President & COO at The Advantage Group.” This listing indicates that Weisman started with TAG in March 2007 and with Locus Marketing in November 2008.

The ALERT made attempts to confirm Weisman’s status with the organization, however, those contacted declined to comment.

The ALERT also contacted Weisman directly who responded to all of the ALERT’s questions by saying “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any of this at this time.”

It is expected that distributors will face difficult times this year as the cutback in consumer spending has resulted in most retailers being stuck with too much inventory. Because of this, retailers are cutting back on orders with distributors and holding off on any future purchases until they clear their existing stock.

At the same time, many distributors complain that they are receiving immense pressure to continue purchasing from manufacturers seeking to maintain their level of business in the face of declining demand. It is a difficult squeeze that is causing profits for many, already razor thin, to disappear.